connected

Connected, or What It Means to Live in the Network Society
$58.50
Connected features a well thought out and presented vision of the world as it may become if we don't give thought to the consequences of becoming a network.

To this end, Shiviro quotes Warren Ellis, Nietzsche, Phillip K. Dick and J.W. Jeter , the author of Noir, the backbone of his argument.

Many have dismissed this text, stating that when one uses fiction, as Shiviro has to explain theory, then any point can be proven.

That is only true to a point and is in essence the point of the text. Creators of speculative fiction have been a set point for many of the technologies we benefit from today. With the ideas they introduce, they also warn us what may happen if we aren't careful. Many, however, have bought into the technology in the attempt to be 'cutting edge' without thinking about the consequences. And to an ever growing number of us, it has become an addiction.

This is the warning that Shiviro provides us. There are many ways the future can end up and it may never be as he sees it, but it is worth thinking of the future cost for today's actions.

SuperFreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance
$29.99
The authors were clearly over-leveraging the success of the first Freakanomics to sell this one. I found this one a bit empty-- taking their formula in a bit of a ridiculous direction...(walk drunk--drive drunk?)...is that normally the option?

It's random examples, comparisons and over-hyped stats rarely came full circle to some sort of point the average person could seriously consider....It seemed every time they started getting somewhere they contradicted themselves in the spirit of objectivity ruining the possibility of any valid perspective they could add to this hod-podge of information. Yes it makes you think...but doesn't supply a clear train of thought nor enough information to foster any type of conclusion. I can see where they were going they just never managed to get there.

Linked: How Everything Is Connected to Everything Else and What It Means
$16.00
The book "Linked" is very interesting and it is written so that the average person can follow it. However, the author describes every detail (it seems) of how he and his colleagues discovered the links, hubs, etc., and how they disproved past theories, etc. For some people, that's probably interesting, and even good for people who want to do real research and use this book as a reference. However, for someone who is just curious, there are too many mathmatical formulas and scientific references. I found myself thinking, "Get to the point already." Not recommended for the average joe reading out of curiosity. Too much information that the common reader will not care about, but a lot of information for scientists, mathmeticians, researchers, etc. Overall, though, a good read.

Six Pixels of Separation: Everyone Is Connected. Connect Your Business to Everyone.
$26.99
Six Pixels of Separation by Mitch Joel is an informative look at New Media Marketing (aka Social Media Marketing). Mr. Joel talks about the importance of viewing the new media revolution as new media and not attacking it with the same old tired ideas (which he cleverly likens to Cortez burning the ships to solve the problem of return trip logistics). The book helps to explain how building and embracing a community (without throwing out constant ads) can do more for building your business than a bunch of well written advertisements. The key message is that we should use new media and be sincere with it, the community will tell us what we as business people should do for them (if we listen) and that can be the pressure we need to evolve and avoid extinction in this new revolution.

The book does not offer a Wordpress tutorial (or twitter, flickr etc...) as this is more of a strategy book than a how to, so if you are considering implementing a social media strategy this book will prove invaluable.