The associated website of ‘Socialnomics’ is http://www.socialnomics.net/.
This book surrounds a huge mystery surrounding social value. The easiest question to ask is what is the cost of social media? Apart from the investment in the necessary computer hardware, the answer is ‘virtually nothing’. Erik Qualman devotes the entire book to discovering the value of social media for both individuals and businesses, and is a very engaging and impressively researched contribution to the field.
Whilst there is a relatively short formal section on ‘return on investment’, the book has its focus why people could possibly benefit from an involvement with social media. Like the nature of these innovative technologies themselves, this book is more than a simple invention. Like the importance of this book, the value of social media, according to Qualman’s thesis, ultimately arises from the quality of the interaction of the user with the product.
The book is surprisingly flexible in the possibilities that the reader might wish to adopt after reading this book, although there is one useful ‘socialnomics’ diagram which could be used as a basic framework. The actual business models of social media such as Facebook and Twitter have been evasive, even for the management of these companies in real life, so it would be unfair to expect Qualman to produce a definitive answer about this. There are some real ‘unexpected gems’, such as the possible ‘unique selling proposition’ of people who are experts in particular areas getting their 15 minutes (or beyond) on Twitter. I was particularly intrigued about the use of Twitter in easing communication between different generations of Twitter. I find this ‘democratisation’ of society through the social media extremely attractive, where every person’s opinion is highly valued, irrespective of social rank. This could be a potent theme in thinking how businesses interact in a dialogue with their clients, for example in law and business.
Qualman’s question is fundamentally a problematic one – what is the value of ‘socialnomics’? How or why might it go further than face-to-face real-life interactions. It is impossible to argue that the book lacks structure. The book in a very systematic way segments the discussion into relevant areas, but certain chapters (such as the use of social media in Obama’s electoral campaign) may not be that interesting to all readers in the UK. The book is founded on a plethora of interesting facts and opinions, and the case examples are relevant and interesting. For example, Qualman visits the notion of the ‘expert blogger’, and provides a very elegant and compelling argument why the “expert” blogger might be more impressive than the “expert” journalist in a prestigious newspaper. Qualman also reviews in a meaningful way the complicated world of Twitter, considering what might be of value in a 140 character tweet, and considers the advantages of real-time interaction in platforms such as Twitter and 4square, say, for example, compared to Facebook.
A possible limitation of this book is the answer to the question, “Can you show me the money?” This is where I feel that Qualman does not go into ‘hard sell’ of his undoubtedly considerable expertise in how to ‘make’ the customer benefit from the social media. Qualman sticks to a very interesting story about the possible impact of social media on society and its economy, instead of immersing himself in a turgid analysis based on international marketing principles which might have added little to the reader’s understanding. Instead, he allows in a very pleasant way the reader to make his or her own mind up, about what might work for him or her. Anyone who says otherwise, I feel, is exhibiting some sort of ‘book envy’.
I am not aware of any book like it, which provides a comprehensive understandable overview of the world of social media, for both personal and business user. It’s available in a number of formats, including audiobook, hard copy book, and of course a form which you can read on your #ipad2. Like is true for the whole social media industry, and corporate entities such as law firms, the ultimate goal is to find those new customers.
