I’ve been talking to a number of folks lately about the books I have been reading. All have been related to my embracing and studying of social media and personal branding over the past couple of months. So I can make it easier for anyone who might want to check them out, I thought I’d put a list together here. Full disclosure, if you order any of them by clicking on the links to Amazon that I’ve included, I’ll get a small kickback from Amazon through their affiliate program. But you sure don’t have to–I just want you to read these if you are the least bit interested. (Most of them are also available on Amazon’s amazing Kindle which is cheaper than ever and still my favorite gadget of the year Kindle Wireless Reading Device (6″ Display, Global Wireless, Latest Generation)
So here we go, in no particular order of importance:
1. Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion – Gary Vaynerchuk’s book is the most readable and inspiring thing I can point anyone to who is looking to establish themselves in the fast growing and ever changing social media landscape. If you only read one book from this list, then this would be the one I’d suggest you pick up. And when you’re finished, pass it on to someone you think could benefit from it.
2. Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust Co-author Chris Brogan was my favorite speaker at the recent BlogWorld ’09 conference I attended. Brogan makes points that don’t just apply to the web, but they are even more imperative in the “Wild West” that often is the Online world.
3. Re-Imagine!: Business Excellence in a Disruptive Age The afore mentioned Chris Brogan recently twittered about “Re-Imagine” that everyone should read it once a year for all of the great ideas worth re-visiting. I couldn’t agree more. Plus, the book is a visual feast and any chance to spend some time in Tom Peters’ world is amazing.
4. Twitter For Dummies I have two Twitter books on this list, because as simple as Twitter appears at first, you’ll get so much more out of it if you spend some time with an instruction manual. Even if you hate to “read the f–ing manual” Laura Fitton’s book is great and so is her Twitter Apps review site, OneForty.com
5. The Twitter Book is my other Twitter book worth recommending. It’s a little more colorful and easy to digest in bites than the previous title, but either one will serve you well. Both will need updating with the new Twitter features that have come online in the past few weeks–including Lists, but whether you are starting out or an experienced Twitter hand, I’ll bet you that you find some new things you didn’t know in either of these books.
6. The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs: How to Be Insanely Great in Front of Any Audience I actually love talking to an audience, be it a couple of people or a couple of hundred. But I’ve seen Steve Jobs present to thousands at a MacWorld keynote, and it is an amazing thing to witness. If you have to give a presentation, particularly one where you will be using PowerPoint or Keynote for graphics from your laptop, you absolutely need to read this. Even if you despise every product Apple has ever made.
7. Free: The Future of a Radical Price Chris Anderson’s book is definitely an eye-opener for anyone who is trying to figure out how to make money in the new economy where so many people expect so many things to come with the ultimate low price tag. As in not paying. (Sound familiar, news organizations?) Not quite Freakonomics or The Tipping Point, but still worth the read.
8. The Worst-Case Scenario Business Survival Guide: How to Survive the Recession, Handle Layoffs,Raise Emergency Cash, Thwart an Employee Coup,and Avoid Other Potential Disasters This book seems like it is a goof on some serious topics, but it is anything but. A lot of wisdom packed in the pages on topics that they don’t teach you about while you are on the job.
9. Designing Brand Identity: An Essential Guide for the Whole Branding Team I’ve been helping out a friend on a branding project lately, and I turned him on to this book by Alina Wheeler. It’s the best all around textbook, I’ve found on the sometimes fuzzy science of Branding and Brand Management. And if you think that’s only something that big companies need to worry about, then think again. The stuff that the big enterprises worry about is the same stuff that even one person shops need to work on.
10. South of Broad Well I had to have something on the reading table that wasn’t work related. I’ve told people who’ve asked me about where I come from for years that “Much like Capt. Rhett Butler, I’m not accepted in the finer homes South of Broad street in my native Charleston.” Which is true, because I actually hail from North Charleston. Being from that part of the world, not reading a Pat Conroy novel just isn’t done, darlin’. It’s not my favorite Conroy tome, but it’s quite good.