Fried Logic

Engage by Brian Solis – A Review

I recently finished Brian Solis‘ new book, Engage, after some stop and go reading over the past month. Overall I thought it was a great book with some good examples and case studies to keep in my back pocket.  In the end though, I think it could be broken into two separate books: New Media University and Postgrad.

The first half does a great job of breaking down social media theory and tools via courses in the “New Media University”.  Solis encourages even those who consider themselves social media PhD’s to start from square one and review what makes up the intricacies of social media:

“For those well versed in social media and the tools that connect us to those we wish to reach, enjoy this chance to hit “ctrl-alt=del” and restart with a fresh perspective.  For those new to the socialization of media and influence, please take your time here. This is were everything begins.”

By the time you receive your New Media U. MBA you have covered an extensive library of tools available and have been introduced to a myriad of examples and case studies that prove the value of those tools.  I enjoyed reviewing and reminding myself of the resources that can foster relationships, conversation and reputation both personally and for brands and business.

The second half of the book dives more into theory and implementation of social media strategy.  There are a lot of data visualizations, graphs, models and acronyms to help make sense of the ever changing and evolving social media landscape.

Several chapters nicely coincided with client work I was doing at the time.  The same week we were working on a social media participation policy for a client, I came across several good case studies and templates in the book.  In another instance, the Nestle social media crisis was unfolding in real-time while I read chapter about preparing for and handling crisis situations. It was crazy to think that even though Solis’ book was published just months ago, it is already outdated as far as case studies and tools available.

Is social media literature cut out for traditional paper printing if after a few months of editing and production it may already be irrelevant or outdated? Is it better left in electronic form via short blog posts or e-books that can be updated or added to as quickly as the real-time evolution of social media itself?

It will be interesting to see in the future whether the success of noted social media authors will be found not in novels, but in notes and networks.