This book review may not appeal to everyone but for those engaged in marketing at any level (for-profit or non-profit and everything in-between), this is a book you might want to put on your to-read list. The author, Larry Weber, speaks from decades of experience in the advancement of web technologies and how they are used to reach and connect people and companies/products.

The focus of this book, as the title implies, is on the “Social Web” in relation to marketing but the book looks at more than just the obvious things that come to mind such as MySpace for Facebook. When we use the phrase “social web”, the grander idea relates to the use of the web and web technologies to bring people together in a way that creates and enhances a sort of “digital community”. The author covers everything from Facebook to YouTube to blogs and approaches like utilizing something called “viral marketing” (don’t worry, just because it’s called “viral” doesn’t make it a health risk).

The notion that the web has changed our lives is a no-brainer. From a marketer’s perspective, the impact is undeniable and yet there are still some archaic approaches that, although valuable 5 to 10 years ago, the rapidly changing landscape has changed how effective marketing can and should be approached. The shift has been made…the question is whether or not we (anyone involved in “marketing”) have recognized it and are responding accordingly.

Why this topic/book? Both in my church position and also for my freelance work (web/graphics design) – web marketing is a big part of what I am engaged in so this is a natural thing to stay informed about. If you are interested in my services (websites, blogs, SEO, graphics design, etc.) – contact me by clicking here. You can also read my web technologies blog over at www.webshoptalk.com.

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