“Socialnomics: How Social Media Transforms the Way We Live and Do Business” by Erik Qualman is probably one of the most popular books out on Social Media right now.  Ever since seeing Qualman’s video by the same name, Socialnomics, I’ve wanted to read his book.  Like the video, this book is packed full of staggering statistics on social media as well as a plethora of anecdotes and examples.

As an avid reader of social media and business books I generally have a few issues with them.  First, especially with books on social media, by the time the book is printed and I get around to reading it, the information inside is outdated.  This is common with social media since the industry is constantly changing at such a rapid pace that it is hard for print resources to keep up.  The first thing I noticed about Socialnomics was the “about this book” page in the very front.  In this section Qualman states that the book doesn’t have to be read from front to back and that he encourages the reader to work through it at his leisure.  He describes it as “…written in sporadically digestible sound bites.”  So true.  Additionally, he notes that updates and added material can be found on his website and encourages readers to contact him directly via twitter and email.  He even promises to respond personally.  I haven’t tested him on this one, so we’ll just take his word. J

Rather than boring you with another review of one of the most reviewed social media books, I’ll give you a sporadically digestible list of what I consider to be the book’s pros, cons and my favorite passages/quotes.  Enjoy!

The Pros

Qualman very strategically chose relevant content to cover.  All the topics he discusses are important, with very little “fluff.”

Love love love that the book contains key points at the end of each chapter.   The chapters are pretty lengthy so having a list of key points at the end of the chapter helps to recall key points.

Tone of the book is good for both social media pros as well as beginners.

Socialnomics contains countless stunning statistics and factoids. Qualman also sites multiple detailed examples to back the data up.  It’s pretty hard to argue with statistics and specific examples.

I like the idea of having a “who’s who” list of social media authorities at the end of the book.

The Cons

Some of the chapters get a bit off target.  Not that the information discussed is not interesting, it just kind of goes off on random tangents.  I think that a lot of the subjects could be more concise with less rambling.

The book is kind of text book-y.  While this book is supposed to be informational, the overall feel of the book is somewhat academic.  To that point, it would be a great supplement textbook for any college media or marketing class.

I’m a visual person, so I love when books include graphs, charts, diagrams and such.  I think that there are only 2 diagrams in total… and they are really not an integral part of the content at all.

I was excited to see chapter nine, Social Media Rolodex and Resources, in the book.  I thought it was a great idea to list some popular “digital thought leaders” as he calls them.  However, the list is just a basic roll call of popular social media “celebrities.”  Although it would be impossible to list all the talented and awesome folks in the world of social media, there are some on the list who I’m not a fan of, as well as some others that were not even mentioned.

The Favorites

The Internet’s greatest strength—rapid and cheap sharing of information—is also its greatest weakness.  p. 10

Google’s strongest competition may not be other search engines (Yahoo!, MSN, Ask, etc.), but social media, instead.  p. 11

We no longer search for the news; rather, the news finds us.  p. 12

LinkedIn will most likely make HotJobs, Monster and CareerBuilder obsolete…Today, 80 percent of all companies use social media tools to recruit, and of these, 95% use LinkedIn.  p. 17

Business models need to shift.  Simply digitizing old business models doesn’t work; businesses need to fully transform to properly address the impact and demands of social media.  p. 36

Instead of providing consumers with one-way communication stream, companies today need to focus on supplying something of value.  p. 49

The old adage that you can only have two of the following—cheap, quick, or quality—doesn’t hold true within social media.  It’s possible to have all three.  p. 119

The social graph is the world’s largest and most powerful referral program.  p. 135

Fail forward, fail fast, fail better.  p. 135

Making multiple mistakes within social media is far better than doing nothing at all.  p. 187

The social community is “doing” social media even if your company chooses not to.  p. 187

No person or company is perfect, so it is best to admit your faults and the public will respect you for it.  p. 188

Listen first, sell second.  p. 188

Banning social media could send the wrong message to employees and potential recruits as a company that “doesn’t get it.”  p. 252

The ROI of social media is that in five years your company will still exist.  p. 254

The fastest growing segment on Facebook is 55-65 year-old females.  p. 262

Social media isn’t a fad, it’s a fundamental shift in the way we communicate.  p. 263

**Social Media Club members (Open/Pro/SMB/Corporate) are welcome to participate in a free webinar hosted by Social Media Club featuring Erik Qualman, Author of Socialnomics on Tuesday, August 30th at 2pm EDT. Register here!**

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