My recently read recommended reading

By having a little extra time in my day, I’ve found myself reading a lot. I enjoy learning.  I consider myself a bibliophile.  Moreover, these books are focused on social media and its pervasive influence on society and as a persuasive communication tool. Here’s some recommended reading for my fellow social scientists and marketers:

The social organism – by: Luckett and Casey

What it’s about: Social media’s web of connections and how it connects people to people, people to companies, companies to influencers, and influencers to people.
Why read it: I found it fascinating and eye-opening to see what lines of communication were created due to the wide-spread adoption of social media platforms. It is also interesting to see how this conglomeration of shared ideas and products can be persuasive if communicated the right way.

They know everything about you – by: Scheer

What it’s about: A historical look of how the creation of interconnected information by the US government (ARPANET) has since sprawled into a vast system of surveillance in today’s society. One of the main points discussed was how Facebook and Google, in particular but amongst others, have extracted information on the public from the public. This book primarily focuses on the relationship between government agencies and social media platforms.
Why read it: Putting things blunt and simple: it made me think twice about what I put out on the internet. Content placed on a blog or in a tweet or geolocation to an Instagram photo is first and foremost permanent and secondly, can add a lot of unwanted information. For example, posting vacation photos on Instagram, while totally acceptable, could also indicate that you are not at home. Thus, letting others know that your home is presently easier to invade and steal from or let the government know where you are.

Terms of service: Social media and the price of constant connection – by: Silverman

What it’s about: This book discussed how the very connections through social media platforms and the swath of available information benefit the public and provide an even greater benefit to the companies responsible for the creation those platforms. To summarize, this book is an eerie look into the collection information about average people—if you’re not paying for a service, the information you voluntarily submit to a company is your payment.
Why read it: No going to lie, this book is a dense read—informative but dense.  Just as “They know everything about you” looked at social media platforms’ relationship to government agencies, this book looks at the relationship between social media platforms and the public.  Ultimately, the use of content created by the public is used in benefit and in disadvantage to the public, such as the intrusion of privacy.

Shame nation: The global epidemic of online hate – by: Scheff and Schorr

What it’s about: A thorough observation of how one wrong move on social media can ruin a person’s life and reputation both online and offline. “Shame nation” offers a number of examples of people who were condemned by the online public for making an uncouth remark or had a remark taken out of context.
Why read it: Many of the examples offered followed a similar yet alarming pattern: comment made on social media, perception of wrong-doing by public, public outrage, doxing and/or job loss, and the inescapable connection between the transgression and the person. Good example, which the author has a foreward from, Monica Lewinsky.

Bonus: Social media is bullshit – by: Mendelson

Why read it: It’s a very direct and at times snarky view of social media. One of the main points is the observation that viral content is often times just an accident. That viral content really depends on the right person seeing it at the right time. The only way to ever have content go viral is to continually put out good content and hope someone discovers it.
The book mentions Justin Bieber as an example; Justin Bieber posted videos of his talents on YouTube and a record producer happened to find one of his videos, which resulted in fame and a career.
All in all, this book is just a fun read.  The author holds no punches and is honest about social media as a whole.