Blog Post

As a next installment to our reading list, below is information on seven books on Technology and Social Media in business that were submitted by our colleagues.  Please note that we tried to assign ownership to the description/review wherever possible.

Background: As we have deployed more and more 360 assessments, many of our customers have requested that we include a reading list for participants who would like to explore ideas for increased management effectiveness.  I thought it would be interesting to ask clients and colleagues to share what they considered the best articles, books and online resources for the current business marketplace.  What I received was an amazing list of books, articles and websites.  We organized these into specific topic areas, and I will be sharing some of these resources in this blog.

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Eat That Frog
by: Brian Tracy
Product Description: The legendary Eat That Frog! provides the 21 most effective methods for conquering procrastination and accomplishing more. This new edition is revised and updated throughout, and includes brand new information on how to keep technology from dominating our time.
Citation: Tracy, Brian. Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler, 2007. Print.
ISBN: 1576754227

Social Media
by: Chris Brogan
Product Description: In Social Media 101, social media expert and blogger Chris Brogan presents the best practices for growing the value of your social media and social networking marketing efforts. Brogan has spent two years researching what the best businesses are doing with social media and how they’re doing it. Now, he presents his findings in a single, comprehensive business guide to social media. You’ll learn how to cultivate profitable online relationships, develop your brand, and drive meaningful business. Brogan shows you how to build an effective blog or website for your business, monitor your online reputation and what people are saying about your business online, and create new content to share with your customers.
Citation: Brogan, Chris. Social Media 101: Tactics and Tips to Develop Your Business Online. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley, 2010. Print.
ISBN: 470563419

Trust Agents
by: Chris Brogan
Product Description: In Trust Agents, two social media veterans show you how to tap into the power of social networks to build your brand’s influence, reputation, and, of course, profits. Today’s online influencers are web natives who trade in trust, reputation, and relationships, using social media to accrue the influence that builds up or brings down businesses online. The book shows how people use online social tools to build networks of influence and how you can use those networks to positively impact your business.
Citation: Brogan, Chris, and Julien Smith. Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons, 2009. Print.
ISBN: 470743085

Socialnomics
by: Erik Qualman
Product Description: A fascinating, research-based look at the impact of social media on businesses and consumers around the world, and what’s in store for the future. Social Media. You’ve heard the term, even if you don’t use the tools. But just how big has social media become? Social media has officially surpassed pornography as the top activity on the Internet. People would rather give up their e-mail than their social network. It is so powerful that it is causing a macro shift in the way we live and conduct business. Socialnomics charts this shift from the forefront.
Citation: Qualman, Erik. Socialnomics: How Social Media Transforms the Way We Live and Do Business. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley, 2009. Print.
ISBN: 470477237

Blown to Bits
by: James C. Collins, Jerry I. Porras
Product Description: Philip Evans and Thomas S. Wurster think that the Internet can blow away practically any business, and in Blown to Bits, they examine how the new economy is “deconstructing” industries such as newspapers, auto retailing, and banking while creating new opportunities for others. They write that the “glue that holds today’s value chains and supply chains together” is melting, and that even “the most stable of industries, the most focused of business models and the strongest of brands can be blown to bits by new information technology.”
Citation: Abelson, Harold, Ken Ledeen, and Harry R. Lewis. Blown to Bits: Your Life, Liberty, and Happiness after the Digital Explosion. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Addison-Wesley, 2008. Print.
ISBN: 137135599

Content Nation: Surviving and Thriving as Social Media Technology Changes Our Lives and Our Future
by: John Blossom
Product Description: Find out how social media communications is changing the content provider industry in Content Nation: Surviving and Thriving as Social Media Technology Changes Our Lives and Our Future.  Developed through a collaborative wiki, this book is a collection of information from social media experts and serves as an example of how social media impacts the way we provide and receive content.  You will learn how social media changes the way businesses market products and services, influences how people interact with the government, and dictates how we communicate with one another on a personal level.
Citation: Blossom, John. Content Nation: Surviving and Thriving as Social Media Changes Our Work, Our Lives, and Our Future. Indianapolis, IN: Wiley Technology Pub., 2009. Print.
ISBN: 470379219

Cloud Computing
by: John W. Rittinghouse and James F. Ransome
Product Description: Cloud Computing: Implementation, Management, and Security provides an understanding of what cloud computing really means, explores how disruptive it may become in the future, and examines its advantages and disadvantages. It gives business executives the knowledge necessary to make informed, educated decisions regarding cloud initiatives. The authors first discuss the evolution of computing from a historical perspective, focusing primarily on advances that led to the development of cloud computing. They then survey some of the critical components that are necessary to make the cloud computing paradigm feasible. They also present various standards based on the use and implementation issues surrounding cloud computing and describe the infrastructure management that is maintained by cloud computing service providers. After addressing significant legal and philosophical issues, the book concludes with a hard look at successful cloud computing vendors.
Citation: Rittinghouse, John W., and James F. Ransome. Cloud Computing: Implementation, Management, and Security. Boca Raton: CRC, 2010. Print.
ISBN: 1439806802