I just got back from lunch with Washington’s PR and social media impresario, Geoff Livingston, who’s a pretty funny guy. He is also author of the newly-published Now Is Gone. He twittered constantly as we talked; I laughed; I told him to stop; he twittered my request. We laughed some more. You get the picture.*
We were planning BlogPotomac (blog site will be up soon!), an advanced-level Unconference on social media to be held in Washington DC in 2008.
Anyways… I’ve got “un” on my mind. And this blog is social media. It’s real; it’s passionate; it’s in-the-moment. It’s persuasive. No sugar-coating and nicey-nice. Oooh Geoff is getting nervous now… heh heh as Scoble would say.
* Er, what is Twitter? Also see page 118 in Now Is Gone.
So think of the review below as a giant twitter. It’s an unreview; it’s a bit upside down.
Nine (out of 10) stars for Geoff Livingston’s Now Is Gone
First and last, rush online and order this book. It’s a gotta-have for your book shelf if you want to understand social media and how it fits into the new marketing mix (and yes, it does).
Heck, put it right next to your computer and stop twittering long enough to read it right now, yes today. It’s well-written and a good read. Does Amazon have same day delivery? Can’t remember.
Best things about the book
The best things about Now Is Gone are… remember, this is an unreview so they’re in reverse order:
- Great cover (love the yellow and black and the swoosh image)
- Lightweight paperback that fits easily in your pocketbook or man-purse or whatever
- A quick read at 194 pages
- Short Acknowledgement
- Includes The Corporate Blogging Book in Recommended Reading (OK, just kidding)
- Well-organized (explains in a logical – and provocative – sequence why social media is being adopted, the impact on business and the challenge of integrating and executing social media strategies)
- Makes the key point (articulately and persuasively) that it’s not your customers, it’s your community
- Includes clear steps to determine whether your company is ready for social media
- Includes numerous well-written case studies. A sampling: GM, Coca-Cola, the Red Cross, Southwest Airlines and many smaller organizations
- Has a companion blog
- Includes a good introduction by Brian Solis on PR 2.0
- Includes Kami Watson Huyse’s Seven Categories of Social Media
- Best chapter is Think Liquid – Geoff’s last chapter, about what comes next and how to think about it, is provocative and lucidly written. I won’t give away the ending.
Why not 10 stars?
Nit-picks… hey the book is terrific, OK?
The books suffers slightly by including sections written by different authors. I found it disconcerting to shift from one style of writing to another.
There is no index.
Finally – and this is a mistake Geoff can easily correct – he is too shy to say Buy ‘Now Is Gone’ NOW in big letters on his Now Is Gone blog and company home page. So you have to hunt a bit to find the Amazon link. There is a clickable thumbnail cover of the book but it’s too discrete.
P.S. About the photo of Geoff
Run your cursor over the photo…