Book review: Now Is Gone

Co-authors Geoff Livingston and Brian Solis solidly deliver on the book's promise and tag line "a primer on new media for executives and entrepreneurs". Now is Gone, however, provides solid knowledge to bolster even the most veteran maven's arsenal. It's a fairly quick read, but the documentation and references help continue the conversations online.

I always take notes when I read books so I can easily reference them later. In my 13 pages of notes on Now is Gone, here are some of the most beneficial points that I took away:

• Brian Solis' opening sets a nice tone and pushes marketers to involve more sociology in marketing and PR planning
• The audience is dead, you have to reach people and add value to their lives
• Research your community to find where they are spending time and get involved
• Dedicate resources, set schedules and responsibilities for content creation
• 100% transparency is paramount
• Look beyond demographics to wants and desires, create content to allow people to add more value to their lives
• Be part of the community, listen and add value where you can
• There are dangers too. Don't astroturf, flog or overtly promote the company
• Find your company voice and stick to it and post on a set schedule

The key themes in the book can be summarized in Livingston's seven social media principles:

1. Give up control of the message
   
2. Honesty, ethics and transparency are musts
   
3. Participation IS marketing
   
4. Communicating to audiences is dead
   
5. Build value for the community
   
6. Inspire the community with real, exciting content
   
7. Manage the media to build stronger, more loyal community members
   

If you're new to the space, this is a great overview to get you up to speed quickly. If this is old hat for you, you'll still pick up enough value to make this book worth your while. And in full transparency, I purchased this book myself. You can buy your copy here.

I'll be featuring more book reviews this year, so let me know if there is a book you suggest or have an interest in. I'm reading the book MicroTrends next.

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marketing, Matt Dickman, social media, Techno//Marketer, book review, Geoff Livingston, new media