Grouped: How small groups of friends are the key to influence on the social web [Format Kindle]

Grouped is a well-written, concise, and relevant summary of the latest thinking in social networking and social influence. It's like the crib notes to a four-year degree in social psychology and sociology. Beautifully laid out and designed to be easily consumable, it quickly covers the fundamental ideas and research about how and why we connect with one another, how ideas spread, how we make decisions, and why this all means that "permission marketing" through social networks is likely to be more relevant and effective than current "interruption marketing" of mass media advertizing.

It does read at times like an advertisment for Facebook (indeed, a cynic might pigeonhole this entire book as a "white paper" for Facebook Ads), but I know Adams better than that (having had the pleasure of working with him at Google on the early stages of Google+), and my take is that Adams sees Facebook as out in front of an important shift in the way advertising will work in general (perhaps this is why he now works there), so Facebook merely provides the best (and in many cases only) example of putting his ideas to work in the real world.

Beyond the explicit goals of developing better marketing campaigns, Adams makes the case (and I firmly agree) that the content of this book is essentially required knowledge for all of us as we move into an increasingly interconnected world in which our social networks (real and digital) and our "predictably irrational" brain help us navigate the endless, swelling seas of information surrounding us. Despite working in this field for years, I learned some new things and found myself nodding in approval at much of the rest. So if you're new to these ideas--or even if you just want an efficient and enjoyable refresher course--this book is well worth your time.

Paul Adams breaks down the complexities of social media by telling us to focus on behavior rather than technology. People behaving exactly as they have for centuries- social media is just an example of technology catching up. He has some really fascinating insights to back this up (ex. the brain can only store 150 relationships...directly proportionate to the average number of friends on Facebook). This book really lowers the barriers to understanding social media and its implications on marketing. Totally worth the 4-5 hours it takes to read this. I suspect this will soon be required reading for anyone in-house or agency-side in marketing today.

This fairly easy to read book discusses how and why social media is growing. The POV is that this is not a fad but an outcome of basic human instincts around socialization. There are well researched and well argued claims that organizing information and the web around people's social networks is the natural and inevitable consequence of how people have always behaved. It remains to be seen whether this is "inevitable" but the author presents persuasive arguments for why this makes sense.

There is good content about how the networks interact; what people like to share, why, and with whom. Some of this may be obvious but I liked the simple yet comprehensive list of insights. For example, the author underplays the value of "influencers" that Malcolm Gladwell touted in Tipping Point and argues that mostly people are influenced by those emotionally closest to them, often without even realizing it.

A concurrent story alongside discussing social networks is what it means for marketers. Several insights have been provided around how marketers can best work with social conversations to help grow their products. For example, seeding several groups with ideas versus targeting a few trendsetters, focusing on emotional arousal, gaining trust through WOM endorsement, preparing content that is "shareworthy", customizing data around people's social connections etc. Examples are Facebook specific (where the author works), yet can be abstracted. I have been to marketing conferences where people brainstormed about how social media affects/will impact marketing, and this book covers it all in a well structured manner.

Lastly, it is worth mentioning that this book is pretty easy to read. The articles are well researched but the author thankfully presented the content simply instead of using MBA/PhD language. You can read this sipping coffee on a plane and still absorb the content.