Saturday, December 19, 2009

Six Pixels of Separation Everyone Is Connected Connect Your Business by Mitch Joel President of Twist Image

Six Pixels of Separation Everyone Is Connected Connect Your Business by Mitch Joel President of Twist Image



Mitch Joel writes about social media in this book. Many of the concepts he covers are very new; unconferences, meetups, and mobile technology. His book covers many ideas that I have not seen written about in other books.



At the same time, he reminds you that social media is about connecting with people. The reader should answer emails sent to them from social networks. It is hard to know who you will make contact with. If you are using social networks, it is very likely that you will meet the people who you are connecting with online. This is quite true. I am meeting a colleague from Linked In who I have not seen in a while. I also went a librarians meetup that was the result of social networking.



He also describes how people are becoming digital nomads. With wifi, a laptop, and a cell phone it is possible to work in many different places. We have many people who come into our library to use the wireless connection for work. It has become necessary to have a cell phone to function in the current economy.



Some of the concepts he is describing are new to me. For example, he explains viral expansion loops, or self replicating groups of people that pull more people into social networks. This is what powers Google, Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks. It is viral marketing targeted to pull people in.



In one chapter, Mitch Joel is sitting in the car with Chris Brogan and describing how Chris uses his cell phone to tap into social networks to get directions to a conference. It is an explanation of how social networking taps into the real world with maps, information, and help.



The book flows quite well. It appears to be very innovative. The author describes how he met his agent through his blog. His blog is called "Six Pixels of Separation-- The Twist Image Blog." The title of his blog is very similar to this book. Right now, I am following Mitch Joel on Facebook. The message he is giving on Facebook is very similar to his book. He has a consistent message across multiple platforms. It is an excellent example of how to integrate many different services under a single message. This includes a podcast.



Mitch Joel is not writing a how to book for using facebook, linked in, blogger, or other social media sites. This is a strategy book for people who need tips on improving their existing social media connections. It is also an encouragement to use the internet. He is being a technology evangelist for social marketing.



This book is entertaining and informative. If you want to learn how to give a consistent message and slowly build a social media platform this book will be useful. There is a lot of spin in this book. It is not an academic book. There are no notes. There is an index. Occassionally he puts some website links in the text and mentions the author and title of a book.








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