Socialnomics – how social media transforms the way we live and do business, written by Erik Qualman, is an excellent read and provides many great takeaways on why social media matters. Through colorful examples and thought-provoking insights, the book takes a deep dive into social media’s effect on our lives and business practices. A lot of people think that social media is a trend. A fad to fade. Or at least that was the whisper up until this last year, when it became obvious that social media was here to stay. Through his book, Qualman discusses that there's a lot more to social media than collecting friends and promoting your blog posts or products. Social media is changing the way we do business, and the way we live.
Qualman takes a conversational tone in his book, which definitely makes sense. Social media is all about the conversation. People no longer want to be talked at, or lectured to, they want to be talked with. As you can imagine, making someone feel a part of the conversation through a non-social medium, such as a hardbound book, is not an easy task. But somehow Qualman manages to do so. Qualman wakens the world to a new reality through his book. As he writes, "the world as it was, no longer is" (page.14). This cryptic remark is the key construct of his book as he tries to show how social media has changed the way people connects, communicates, interacts, and changes their perception of reality.
Qualman confirms what most of us are aware-that social media is changing the very fabric of our society. His chapter on how Obama became president is illuminative. The data mining of people's use of search engine may predict future social trends is interesting. The little known fact that Pepsi, by using Yahoo's search engine data, was able to predict Britney Spears' popularity a few months in advance and are able to sign her up for their commercial is telling. Unfortunately this did not able to save her from the dangers of becoming a celebrity. Social media especially micro-blogging such as twitter and texting, argues Qualman, actually makes people better because whatever they have sent into the internet will remains as a permanent record. While the records are permanent, it is debatable whether most people actually care about that-except maybe politicians and CEOs. People will continue to spin a more than perfect image of themselves online.
Also, Erik discusses how "It's not a 9-to-5 world anymore, it's a 24/7 world". He talks about "the fluid schedule" and finding balance between gadgets, updates and real life. While some may feel this makes you less connected and less productive, it's actually exactly opposite. You no longer have to sit in front of the television for an entire hour twice a day to get the news. You can select what type of news you want, and have it delivered to you instantly the minute the story breaks. You no longer have to research products online for hours - you can get recommendations and links to peer reviews in a matter of minutes. You no longer have to go it alone. You have the entire world at your fingertips - no matter where you are, no matter what time of day it is.
I've really enjoyed Socialnomics from a personal perspective, but it also addresses brand marketing and social media success stories. Erik gives very specific examples of social media campaigns - and why they worked (or flopped). How do you get loyal raving fans, and get them to talk about your brand online? That's exactly what you'll learn. "Consumers are taking ownership of brands, and their referral power is priceless." (page 97). Traditional marketing methods simply don't work in the social media space. And in addition to changing the message and the method, there's a whole new world of possibilities available thanks to this changing landscape.
The book left me pondering several interesting insights. On a scale of one-to-five, I’d rate it a four and would recommend it to anyone interested in social media. I found Qualman’s examples interesting and on-point, his key constructs valid and his writing style engaging.
