The Social Media Library

Sitting on the corner of my desk is a small (but growing) collection of books on social media and Web 2.0 that I've somewhat affectionately dubbed "The Social Media Library".

The idea is that people can borrow books from the library to get up to speed with what's going on in social media and Web2.0 right now and the theories behind the latest developments. Sure, there's blogs and Twitter to keep track of too, but books are still an important way of exploring current issues. People can then add to the collection if they spot a good read - I've been potentially promised a copy of Chris Anderson's The Long Tail by a colleague already - and share their thoughts with each other on how they can use the ideas described in each book.

Because the collection is quite small at the moment, I should probably call it a "mini-library", but it's getting bigger as I get more books. I also considered calling it "Library 2.0", but the collection is based in the real world, so that idea went out the window.

So far, the books in the library are:

• Small Is The New Big, by Seth Godin (@sethgodin)
• We-Think, by Charles Leadbeater (@wethink)
• Here Comes Everybody, by Clay Shirky (@cshirky), courtesy of Tom Watson (@tom_watson)
  
• Groundswell, by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff

I've read "Small Is The New Big" and "Here Comes Everybody" (both highly recommended) and have just started reading Groundswell, which I want to give a little background on as to why I'm looking forward to getting really into it.

Groundswell's bottom line is that Web 2.0 is about LISTENING to PEOPLE, not about the technologies. Loads of varied yet relevant examples are woven throughout the text to illustrate the points, which is great to see how other companies have innovated in this field. The authors also provide numbers that show how an investment in executive blogging and nurturing customers and partners can give back at least 150% if not more - vital for any PRs wanting to demonstrate added value to their clients.

It's also worth sharing an opinion from someone who's actually finished the book, so here's an excerpt from a review by David Berkowitz (www.marketersstudio.com):

"Groundswell is the best book on social media I've ever read, and it may be the best book ever written on the subject. Here's why:

1. It's current. Books on social media by nature almost can't be current. Everything is blogged or twittered one day, forgotten the next. Yet this book has some staying power, and you can give it to your boss or your client feeling reassured that even if they don't get around to reading it for six months, it'll still be valuable when they do.

2. Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff write the book like authors, not analysts, even though there's plenty of number-crunching with meaty take-aways. The human stories that illustrate each point provide protagonists you can identify with.

3. If you're new to social media, you'll appreciate a lot of the how-to material. If you're a pro, you'll appreciate how to do it even better and some of the more advanced material in the book.

4. The technographics, discussed frequently on the Groundswell blog and in the analysts' presentations, are useful. I've already used these for planning client campaigns to at least check if I'm on the right track or inspire some new thinking. If you read the book, the technographics tool on the Groundswell site becomes even more intuitive, although the site has enough info to get value out of it. It's amazing how much Forrester's giving away.

5. You get breakdowns of return on investment metrics of an executive's corporate blog, ratings and reviews, and a community support forum, figures which are hard to find elsewhere and can provide good benchmarks for related scenarios you may encounter.

6. The book offers thoughtful answers to some of the more important questions. How can you tell if a new technology has staying power? Why do people participate with social media? How do you energize your customers? When should you use blogs, social networks, and other media technologies?

The one thing the book doesn't do enough of is describe why some campaigns go awry. They mention a Special K community on weight management that had a promising start but soon fizzled. Why?"

Groundswell is shaping up to be a "ripping yarn" and I'll let you know my thoughts on it when I finish. I'm hoping that The Social Media Library will have grown - both in the number of books and readers - by the time I finish it.

What about you? Do you have a social media library? If you set one up, what books would be in there? What books should I add to my library?