Twitter Revolution by D. Micek and W. Whitlock

Social Media & Mobile Marketing is Changing the Way Business is Done

Jun 30, 2009

The authors claim the book was written on twitter. It certainly doesn't read like a book that had a lot of thought or editing put into it. It's slightly useful.

The twiterverse is an exciting and interesting place. In Twitter Revolution, @CoachDeb and @WarrenWhitlock (one gets the impression it's mostly @CoachDeb) give a tour of twitter, the most popular microblogging site on the web.

BTW, the @ signs prefix a twitter user name. So, if you want to send a tweet to xyz you begin your message with @xyz. That is one of the many tips on using twitter that can be gleaned from this book. It's not a very good book, but for the uninitiated, it does provide a window into all things twitter. Hopefully it won't actually have the reverse effect and actually prevent someone from trying twitter.

About Twitter

The authors argue that the coolness and amazing power of twitter should not be ignored. True. Unfortunately, they don't really make it seem that cool. Twitter can get you out of jail in Egypt and that would be cool. Twitter really is cool, but that can only be discovered by signing up with twitter and seeing what happens.

Twitter is so easy to use, one hardly needs a book to explain it. But, that is not the point of the book. The authors aim to give the goods on how to be an effective tweeter and develop a following. With a following comes a network of people that can solve problems, provide advice, and offer tips on just about anything. Every once in awhile, slip in a plug for yourself, your new book (written on twitter!), or the latest update to your blog. Makes sense. Above all, don't annoy people.

The Annoying Book About Twitter

Twitter Revolution is an excellent example of how to take twenty-five pages of useful information and "cram" it into a two hundred and fifty page book. Case in point—six full pages at the beginning consisting solely of "Rave Review" tweets about how great the book is. That is annoying. Uhg.

CoachDeb seems to have a rather high opinion of herself and that is also annoying. Another thing that is really annoying is the numerous timelines of tweets used as examples of what goes on among smart people who know how to use twitter. Oh, and there's one more annoying thing—the constant suggestions to visit the twitter handbook website for the most up to date information.

The book includes a helpful glossary of twitter terms, and a good list of apps that extend the usefulness of twitter. Overall it's a barely tolerable introduction to twitter and how it can be used in business, marketing, and branding. Skim it (don't actually read it), find the information you need, and get out. Then start tweeting.

References

Twitter Revolution, How Social Media and Mobile Marketing is Changing the Way We Do Business and Market Online, 2008, Deborah Micek and Warren Whitlock, Xeno Press, Las Vegas, NV, ISBN 978-1-934275-07

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