Category Archives: Book Reviews

Book Review – Unmarketing: Stop Marketing. Start Engaging.

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The more you read UnMarketing, the more curious you become about its author, Scott Stratten.  Truth be told, Stratten does not leave much to the imagination as he writes very candidly (and, at times, casually), about his successes and failures along the way from becoming an unknown consultant to an internationally-recognized expert.  You can learn more about Scott by watching his Amazon.com book intro video, watching him speak on YouTube or by following him on Twitter.

UnMarketing Book Cover

UnMarketing seems to focus on Internet tools, but it’s really about using Internet tools as a means of thriving in the actual physical marketplace.  If you read about Scott or watch him interviewed, you might often hear him suggest that although he’s a perpetual Twitter user (he once Tweeted non-stop for 24 hours for charity), he really preaches in-person engagement.  A few of the real-life or “bricks and mortar” examples he talks through are:

  • A janitor at a Las Vegas casino who went out of his way to engage him as a customer
  • A frame shop that had plenty of browsers but no buyers
  • A local restaurant that fumbled an opportunity to reach residents in a nearby condominium complex

Along the way, Stratten walks the reader through the process of engaging customers through relationships, not shouting at them blindly as typical or traditional “marketers” have a way of doing (hence the “un” in front of marketing, we presume).  He makes his point using his concept of the “Hierarchy of Buying,” the notion that cold-calling and shotgun advertising are easy and ineffective while building trust and relationships are harder yet more promising.  Shooting low on the hierarchy will be frustrating and expensive in the long run.

The concept itself evokes memories of Permission Marketing, a book written by Seth Godin in 1999 to argue that television and print advertising that “interrupted” us would ultimately be usurped by marketing relationships that were based on “permission” granted to the marketer by the customer.  A decade later, this couldn’t be more true.  So while Stratten’s ideas aren’t altogether revolutionary, his synthesis of the concepts, practical examples, and contemporary spin on social media is spot on.

At its core, Unmarketing helps the reader understand how things really happen in the promotional marketplace.  Most practically for Internet marketers, it embraces the reality that simply launching a website will not magically bring traffic.  It helps the reader what to do about that challenge.  One step further, traffic, followers, and fans don’t necessarily result in tangible results and revenue (the real goal for most marketers) without a healthy dose of creativity and a pervasive culture of engagement (by the way, you have to watch the Wal-Mart video he created that emphasizes this point).

The book is comprised of 56 brief chapters which contain some practical anecdotes and advice, most of which is very helpful to marketers and small business owners who want to think “full circle” about online and offline (un)marketing.  We highly recommend the book from that perspective although a handful of the chapters are a bit “101-ish” for even the casual social media participant.  You can find it on Amazon.com (non affiliate link).

Book Review: Rework

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One of the more prominent Internet success stories from the past decade has been 37 Signals, the Web site design firm turned software company.  Their Web-based software products like Basecamp, Highrise, and others have been well-received and heavily-adopted.

Along the way, the group has earned a great deal of acclaim from the mainstream media and online community for their approach to software and business.  They have developed (and seem to freely share) their recipe for success.  Some of their musings can be read on their blog, Signal vs. Noise.  While they are fairly blunt (and perhaps even brash), it’s hard to argue with their success.  Prominent reviewers who have heaped praise on the book include Seth Godin, Tom Peters, and Mark Cuban.

The founders (Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson) have recently released a book called Rework which shares some interesting concepts and details regarding their approach.  The book’s layout and tone, like their approach to business, are both creative and unconventional.  The format is choppy (more a collection of ideas than flowing narrative), but in a good way.  The accompanying imagery is edgy and creative.

While much of the book focuses on entrepreneurship, there are many insights and lessons for those involved in Web projects.  A few of the takeaways for Internet marketers include the following:

  • Make something that you yourself would want to use.
  • Don’t be afraid to narrow the scope of projects; when it comes to building something great, eliminate the parts that are merely good.
  • Don’t worry too much about details at the beginning; when doing your planning, stick to the broad strokes (they even advocate using Sharpie markers instead of ballpoint pens when planning).
  • Look for by-products of your products that you can sell.  As the authors put it, “when you make something, you always make something else.”
  • Launch (or Ship, as Seth Godin advocates) your product even if you have other ideas and enhancements to add.
  • Decommodotize your offerings by inserting yourself into the equation; if you do that, you can’t ever be truly duplicated.
  • Out-teach your competition instead of trying to outspend, outsell or outsponsor them.

The book is a fun read from a successful group.  You’ll undoubtedly find some really surprising assertions and arguments (a whole chapter on emulating drug dealers, for example) from a proven company.  And those that manage Web projects will find some particularly interesting insights about online success from a team that knows more than most about that topic.

Googled: The End of the World as We Know It

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It’s not uncommon to hear Google’s company name discussed in the vein of superlatives.  Google’s products have become so ingrained in our society and culture that the company is often referred to as “the most revolutionary in the history of commerce” or “taking over the world.”  In his new book entitled Googled:  The End of The World as We Know It, author Ken Auletta explains how Google arrived at this place.

Auletta, author of several “insider” business titles, was given unprecedented access to Google’s highly private and reclusive founders and top-tier executives.  While the book is a compelling look at the founding and evolution of Google itself, much of what is in the book is already widely known.  Nonetheless, Auletta does a nice job of synthesizing a story that has rapidly evolved over a number of years.

Since Google is so important to those looking to thrive online, greater understanding of the company can’t hurt.  The following are a few interesting points, take-aways, and thoughts for those intrigued by one of the most revolutionary companies in the world:

  • Google’s motto is:  Don’t be evil.  It may sound trite or overly-simple, but the author shows that this distinguishable concept genuinely guides the decision-making at the company in an umbrella fashion.
  • In 2003 Mel Karmazin, former CEO of Viacom and current CEO of Sirius Satellite Radio, initially chided the Google founders for “messing with the magic”–the magic being the vague veil behind more traditional media where advertisers paid for exposure without much detailed reporting on impressions, responses, and ROI.  Google’s pay-per-click model has essentially destroyed that way of thinking and the “old” advertising business model.
  • Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page initially created and used “the airplane test” as a litmus test for hiring.  This simple test challenged the team to think about whether or not they would want to sit next to a potential hire on an airplane for several hours.  If you would, chances are that this would be a good hire.
  • Google’s guiding principle for its search engine and tools is to “do right by users.”
  • Google was the first to use a derivative of the Vickrey auction style to sell advertising space.
  • The sharp rise in Google’s stock has provoked the following question:  Is Google’s culture great because its stock is doing well or is the stock doing well because the culture is great?
  • Google has fallen under strong criticism from a number of privacy advocates because of the amount of personal data that it collects and stores.  The company’s founders respond that trust in the company is essential to its success and that all of its use of personal information allows them to create better user experiences.  In turn, people with the right information will make better decisions for themselves–essential absorbing value.
  • Al Gore, a board member of Apple and senior advisor to Google, interestingly compared the Google founders with Steve Jobs in this way:  “Steve [Jobs] has the great if painful experience of failing and coming back.”  The wisdom that comes from failure has not yet punched Page and Brin.
  • Google’s ultimate vision is to become not just the leader in interactive advertising, but the leader in all advertising.

It could be argued that Auletta’s book could move a bit more rapidly.  However, on the whole, his book delivers a thorough understanding of the company’s culture, evolution, and future direction.  For those seeking to learn more about how Google grows and functions, this book does not disappoint.

The Linchpin in Web Projects

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Seth Godin’s new book, Linchpin, challenges and encourages readers to be indispensable.  Failing to do so, he states, is to risk having a job that is sent to a cheaper source of labor–either to other people, a machine, or a combination of the two:

“If we can put it in a manual, we can outsource it.  If we can outsource it, we can get it cheaper.”

This isn’t necessarily a revolutionary idea, but Seth’s way of explaining is both engaging and encouraging.  As one reads the book and absorbs the ideas, some traditional management concepts jump out at the reader.  Here are a few that many might recognize:

  • Be Different – Harvard Business School Professor Michael Porter taught us that in his 1996 HBR article in which he boiled the volumes and volumes on the topic of competitive strategy to the very notion of being different.
  • Technology Will Equalize – New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman led us through this in his book The World Is Flat.  As the technology and connectivity proliferates, the more level the playing field becomes for competition.  The winners will be those that are the most innovative.
  • Keep Teams Small to Minimize Relational Complexity – V.A. Graicunas established the concept of Span of Control in 1933 and developed a formula for quantifying it.  Adding an additional member to a team only increases headcount incrementally but increases the number of relationships (handshakes, as Godin calls them) exponentially.
  • Challenge and Responsibility Motivate Louder Than Dollars – Frederick Herzberg developed the two-factor theory in 1968, now immortalized in a HBR Classic article.  Linchpin employees are motivated more by responsibility than dollars.

While Linchpin does seem to rely on some management concepts that are not-so-new, his packaging of the content is particularly relevant given today’s economic shifts.  If you listen to his interview with Lee Stranahan about Linchpin, Godin warns us that “we all live in Detroit now.”  This is meant to be a rallying cry to either adapt to the demands of the new economic environment or risk commoditization.

Much of Seth Godin’s work over the years has had some association with Internet projects.  His work is engaging and inspiring, making him notable and quotable among anyone and everyone who has either launched a Web site or Twitter account  for money.  This has attained him a certain celebrity among both strategists and MLMers alike.

But there is something deeper underneath the surface that all strategists and Internet professionals can use to launch successful Web projects…a set of take-aways that are both revolutionary and sensible all at once:

  • Your site should be a gift to its users – Why are so many Web sites self-serving?  They should give meaningful content, opportunities, or experiences without an expectation of reciprocation.
  • Put someone in charge – Web committees need a clear leader who is actually on the committee.  Too much confusion here leads to a muddled sense of who is in charge and diluted end-product.
  • Set a launch date and stick to it – A failure to do so could mean a year of unnecessary delay and a lack of of project urgency.  Seth calls this the ability to ‘ship’ the product, which refers to a site launch.
  • Make it authentic – Your site should truly speak to and connect with users.  Authenticity creates a bond with your site’s guests.
  • There is no Map – There is no cookie-cutter system for creating a successful Web venture–no map.  If you feel like you’re internalizing, struggling, and aspiring your way toward a positive end result, you’re probably doing it right.