The Art of Social Media

Author: Guy Kawasaki
Rating: 4.2 / 5
Keyword | Hashtag : Marketing, socialmedia
Summary:
Detailed methodology (step by step) on how to post on each main form of social media. Very good content but the actual book is small, not the easiest font to read and there are no colour graphics

Getting Real

Author: 37signals, Jason Fried
Rating: 4.5 / 5
Keyword | Hashtag : Software, development

Summary:
I found this book very on point and useful when thinking about creating any kind of software or web interface

Art of the Start

Author: Guy Kawasaki
Rating: 4.6 / 5
Keyword | Hashtag : Fundraising, venturecapital, VC, pitching
Summary:
Step by step approach on how to create a great pitch deck for investors or customers, with solid examples by an ex-VC

Social Networking for Business

Author: Rawn Shah
Rating: 3.4 / 5
Keyword | Hashtag : socialnetworking

Summary:
Addresses the management and technical issues involved in implementing social networks in a modern top down corporation. Chapter 10 has a good summary. Clearly written but lacks real world examples

Networking for People Who Hate Networking

Author: Devora Zack
Rating: 2.8 / 5
Keyword | Hashtag : networking, professionalnetworking

Summary:
how-to book on face to face networking but it is mostly common sense stuff, no real insight or magic. A few good techniques.

Networking is a Contact Sport

Author: Joe Sweeney
Rating: 2.9 / 5
Keyword | Hashtag : networking, professionalnetworking

Summary:
Some good stories, real life examples and covers lots of different situations. But a lot of the book is Sweeney self-promotion

Groundswell

Author: Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff
Rating: 3.4 / 5
Keyword | Hashtag :socialnetworking

Summary:
A decent high level summary of social networks with lots of statistics, but lacks real depth of on how to attack them. Some repetitive sentences throughout the book. Lots of good lists but a bit weak on substance.

Socialnomics

Author: Erik Qualman
Rating: 3.9 / 5
Keyword | Hashtag : socialmedia, socialnetworking

Summary:
Qualman does a great job selling readers on how important social media marketing is, and his YouTube video with the same name is awesome. But the book lacks real data & research. It feels like these are all the author’s own thoughts and conclusions…touchy feely book but not hard evidence.

Crowdsourcing

Author: Jeff Howe
Rating: 4.4 / 5
Keyword | Hashtag : Crowdsourcing

Summary:
If you want to read one book about how to harness the power of the crowd’s knowledge, this is the book. Lots of solid examples, good insight, solid conclusions.

Drive

Author: Daniel Pink
Rating: 4.4 / 5
Keyword | Hashtag : motivation, inspiration

Summary:
What motivates people? It isn’t the carrot or the stick. It’s autonomy, mastery, and purpose. Great for human resources and managers of any company.

Empowered

Author: Josh Bernoff, Ted Schadler
Rating: 4.2 / 5
Keyword | Hashtag : Marketing, empower

Summary:
Empowering your audience. Instead of spending marketing dollars to advertise, spending it on wowing the customer and coming up with ways to help them get involved and spread word of mouth. What’s in it for them?

Engage

Author: Brian Solis
Rating: 3.9 / 5
Keyword | Hashtag : Marketing, engagement
Summary:
Marketing book about harnessing online media to build and spread your brand. How to avoid pitfalls and best practices for social media marketing. A few real life examples.

Networks, Crowds, and Markets

Author: David Easley and Jon Kleinberg
Rating: 4.0 / 5
Keyword | Hashtag :Networking, gametheory, crowdsourcing
Summary:
A very detailed oriented book on game & graph theory, efficiency of markets, harnessing power of crowd thought. Designed for the classroom, it is a long technical read but very in depth.

Inbound Marketing

Author: Brian Halligan, Dharmesh Shah
Rating: 3.9 / 5
Keyword | Hashtag : Marketing
Summary:
Marketing book that de-emphasizes old school advertising (interruption marketing) in favour of allowing customers to find you because you’ve given back via great content. You’re an expert in your field.

New Rules of Marketking

Author: David Meerman Scott
Rating: 4.3 / 5
Keyword | Hashtag : Marketing
Summary:
Old school public relations (PR) doesn’t work anymore. Specific methods for crafting news and how to approach media. People want valuable info and good content. You are what you publish and people want authenticity. They want to trust a source.

Total Engagement

Author: Byron Reeves and J. Leighton Read
Rating: 4.3 / 5
Keyword | Hashtag : Marketing, engagement
Summary:
How to apply fun to work environments. Use online game mechanics to keep audiences engaged and participatory.

Game-Based Marketing

Author: Gabe Zichermann and Joselin Linder
Rating: 4.0 / 5
Keyword | Hashtag : Marketing, gamification, gaming
Summary:
Application of game-based mechanics to marketing. Similar to the book Total Engagement. Some good, fresh examples and clear focus on loyalty rewards vs. frequent flyer programs. Short term vs long term desired customer behavior.

Game-On

Author: Jon Radoff
Rating: 4.1 / 5
Keyword | Hashtag : Marketing, gamification, gaming
Summary:
The theory of why games work and why they continue to be captivating. The book then details specific practices on when and how to motivate them: the balance between making things too easy vs. too tough.

The Kickstarter Handbook: Real-Life Success Stories of Artists, Inventors, and Entrepreneurs

Author: Don Steinberg
Rating: 4.4 / 5
Keyword | Hashtag : Crowdfunding, fundraising
Summary:
Another must read for those who want to run a crowdfunding campaign. Very concise book. Only downside is lack of examples. He uses the same ones instead of researching a more rounded group of examples, in different fields.

Mastering the VC Game

Author: Jeffrey Bussgang
Rating: 4.3 / 5
Keyword | Hashtag : Fundraising, venturecapital, VC, pitching
Summary:
Solid read about best approach to pitch VCs and how they think

33 Million People in the Room

Author: Juliette Powell
Rating: 3.7 / 5
Keyword | Hashtag : socialmedia, branding
Summary:
Best practices book on how to use social media to build your online brand/persona and get a competitive advantage over the competition. But a lot of the book is common sense, repetitive and lacks corroborative evidence.

The Wisdom of Crowds

Author: James Surowiecki
Rating: 4.1 / 5
Keyword | Hashtag : Crowdsourcing
Summary:
Counter-intuitive idea that large groups of non-experts are smarter than individual or small groups of experts

Changing the Game

Author: David Edery, Ethan Mollick
Rating: 4.2 / 5
Keyword | Hashtag : Engagement, gamification, gaming
Summary:
Lots of great real life examples of companies using games for employee or customer engagement as well as brand placement within advergames.  Central theme: best games keep people very close to the point of mastery then keep moving the goalposts by adding new features and challenges

The Challenger Sale

Author: Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson
Rating: 3.7 / 5
Keyword | Hashtag : Marketing, sales
Summary:
Good book about selling techniques based on thousands of surveys and interviews. But book is a bit long and very specific to more complex sales funnel (complex products or services)

Connected – The Surprising Power of our Social Networks

Author: Nicholas Christakis, James Fowler
Rating: 3.9 / 5
Keyword | Hashtag : socialnetworking, networkingtheory
Summary:
Very scientific approach to explain the power of human networks and where the value lies…closer to the center has more influence. Solid book with lots of stats but rambles a bit too much. Could be shorter.

Design of Everyday Things

Author: Donald Norman
Rating: 4.5 / 5
Keyword | Hashtag : Marketing, design
Summary:
How to design things in order to make them intuitive for any user. A very smart look mistakes and best practices. Lots of concrete examples from a simple lightswitch to complex telephone systems.

Made to Stick

Author: Chip & Dan Heath
Rating: 4.9 / 5
Keyword | Hashtag : Marketing, engagement
Summary:
My fav book so far. Why do some ideas stick in our heads and others don’t? Whether you are training people or selling a product, getting an idea to stick is paramount

Ultimate Competitive Advantage

Author: Donald Mitchell and B. Thomas Golisano
Rating: 3.2 / 5
Keyword | Hashtag : Businessstrategy, strategy
Summary:
Book starts off with solid real world examples but quickly drags on. A lot of commons sense ramblings.

Linked

Author: Albert-Laszlo Barabasi
Rating: 4.2 / 5
Keyword | Hashtag : socialnetworking, networking
Summary:
A fresh look at how we should develop the network of our vendors, alliances and peers because a breakdown in the network affects everyone in the network. Book offers plenty of real world examples.

How to Win Friends and Influence People

Author: Dale Carnegie
Rating: 3.6 / 5
Keyword | Hashtag : Marketing, networking
Summary:
An old book that has been re-introduced to include the digital age. Written by one of the World’s richest people. Title says it all. Drags on a bit

Spin Selling

Author: Neil Rackham
Rating: 3.9 / 5
Keyword | Hashtag : Marketing, sales
Summary:
A smarter approach to selling complex products or services. Out with the “used car salesmen”, in with the methodic sales-funnel approach. Aa bit lengthy just to find those nuggets of info

Here Comes Everybody

Author: Clay Shirky
Rating: 3.8 / 5
Keyword | Hashtag : Crowdsourcing

Summary:
Big picture view of the transition from individual contributor to crowd contribution across various aspects of daily life. It is about empowering individuals that can individually do a decent job but as a group do a great job.

All Marketers Are Liars

Author: Seth Godin
Rating: 4.1 / 5
Keyword | Hashtag : Marketing, engagement
Summary:
How to stand out of the crowd and why you should do so. Don’t sit on the fence, be remarkable

The Crowdfunding Revolution

Author: Kevin Lawton and Dan Marom
Rating: 4.2 / 5
Keyword | Hashtag : Crowdfunding, fundraising
Summary:
Great read for those looking to crowdfunding. Some good examples and methodology to setting up your campaign

Crowdfunding Bible

Author: Scott Steinberg and Rusel DeMaria
Rating: 4.0 / 5
Keyword | Hashtag : Crowdfunding, fundraising
Summary:
This book is so short and concise, best to read the whole book. Checklist style format for crowdfunding campaign

The Anatomy of Buzz

Author: Emanuel Rosen
Rating: 3.5 / 5
Keyword | Hashtag : Marketing
Summary:
Higher level overview about buzz. Only got into nitty gritty near the end

Crossing The Chasm

Author: Geoffrey Moore
Rating: 4.0 / 5
Keyword | Hashtag : Marketing
Summary:
Why can some products jump from early adopters to the mainstream while others never take off even though the product may be excellent?

Jab Jab Jab Right Hook

Author: Gary Vaynerchuk
Rating: 4.6 / 5
Keyword | Hashtag : Marketing, socialmedia
Summary:
Excellent book on how to post on each main form of social media. I’ve used this as a reference guy since examples are in colour and on point

Effective Networking

Author: Johnson, Venda Raye
Rating: 2.0 / 5
Keyword | Hashtag : Networking
Summary:
Except for a couple of lists, this book is not very exciting or insightful

The Accidental Billionaires

Author: Ben Mezrich
Rating: 4.8 / 5
Keyword | Hashtag : Facebook, socialnetworking
Summary:
True story of the creation of Facebook. Movie “The Social Network” was based on it. Very captivating

Liar’s Poker

Author: Michael Lewis
Rating: 4.5 / 5
Keyword | Hashtag : bonds, investment
Summary:
True story written by actual bond trader who told the inside story about how wall street’s extreme greed makes people huge money, rips off clients and tons of bad decisions

Business Networking

Author: Hubert Österle
Rating: 1.0 / 5
Keyword | Hashtag : networking, professionalnetworking

Summary:
A boring book that I could not get through because they kept putting footnotes within the text and breaking away from the central theme. Went on tangents

Theory of Fun

Author: Raph Koster
Rating: 2.0 / 5
Keyword | Hashtag : Marketing, gaming
Summary:
Theory of what is fun and why people need stimulus, but it falls short and book looks like it is made for kids

eBoys

Author: Randall Stross
Rating: 4.1 / 5
Keyword | Hashtag : VC, venturecapital, siliconvalley
Summary:
True story about a group of successful entrepreneurs who became one of the famous VCs (Benchmark Capital). All about early days of dot.com era. Only downside is book is too long

Pitch Perfect

Author: Bill McGowan
Rating: 4.4 / 5
Keyword | Hashtag : Pitches, presentations, branding
Summary:
This was a fun book to read because the author doesn’t pull punches. Starts out saying he wrote the book because he’s tired of all the ‘shitty’ presentations and stupidly used by PowerPoint software. Solid examples. Creates a good bridge between effective presentations and branding. This book + Pitch Perfect are 2 must-read books for giving presentations.