Progressions

Semester Reading

By now, most of us have started classes and with it, purchased hundreds of dollars of books. As you stare at the thousands of pages you will be assigned to read this semester, why not mix in a few picks of your own?

Below are three books I highly recommend you read if you haven’t yet:

Groundswell
Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff
How many times have you read about social media in the past month? How many of those articles and posts give you analytics, case studies and fresh ideas? “Groundswell” is written by two analysts who study the online space and how it is turning marketing upside-down. This is a great read for anyone looking to understand how social media is implemented and the return-on-investment from these programs.

Tribes
Seth Godin
The depth of this 150-page book, formatted as a bunch of blog posts, blew me away. Whether you read this book through the eyes of a marketer or as a leader in general, “Tribes” teaches you how to motivate your own “tribe” online and keep them coming back. Like “Groundswell,” this book is full of real world examples showing how leaders and tribes are thriving. Godin also writes a highly popular blog here.

What Would Google Do?
Jeff Jarvis
WWGD is a thought-provoking work that describes the changes in society occurring because of the principles Google has set forth. It also gives an inside look at how the world’s fastest-growing company is so successful. Though Jarvis is occasionally critical of traditional public relations, he makes you think about how you, as a public relations counselor, can go above the rest and be a business counselor. Jarvis also blogs at BuzzMachine.

What other good public relations and marketing books have you come across lately? Any must-reads other members should check out?