Book Review: The New Influencers

The New Influencers, A Marketers Guide to the New Social Media is anything but yet another blogging or new media book.

Paul Gillin, a former skeptic and long time member of the main stream media, writes about what marketers and business people need to understand about the people who now have influence in the marketplace (and the world), formerly anonymous people blogging, podcasting, and otherwise creating content and having conversations on the Internet.

I particularly found his chapter called "Corporate Conversations," on big companies joining the blogosphere, to be particularly fascinating and right on the mark. Most big companies are simply not ready to start blogging, and most CEOs sure as &$&#^ shouldn't be blogging. Paul doesn't give us any of this "ole time blogging religion" that any company that doesn't start blogging will soon be extinct; instead he gives us an honest and balanced view with new insights. As he was formerly "The Man" (main stream media), he is in the position to have insights most of us would never have ourselves.

The book is full of lots of great examples. Interesting how many books on blogging and new media (mine included) use the same examples; Paul does occasionally where the examples are particularity powerful but adds plenty of examples and case studies that are brand new and really help drive his points home.

It's probably best to just say that Paul Gillin simply "get's it" and since his background in main stream media is much different than the vast majority of us, some of what he gets is new and extremely valuable to the rest of us.

Highly recommended! Read now.