chrisbrogan.com» chrisbrogan

Universal Guide to Business Networking – Video Book Review

ceb — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 03:56:55 +0000

My friend, Terry Bean, sent me a copy of his new book, The Universal Guide To Business Networking (amazon affiliate link). I was eagerly awaiting this one, as Terry is renowned for his ideas on networking. It’s a slender volume packed full of information, and if business networking is important to you, I find this book particularly useful. (Quick note: I wrote the foreword, so if that biases me, you can take four points off for grace.)

It’s written with execution in mind, and thus, earns my respect. Here’s the video I shot of it:

Can’t see the video? Click here, or watch it on YouTube here.

People always ask which camera I used to shoot my video. I use the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 (that’s a review of the camera).

Rework – Video Book Review

ceb — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 08:30:01 +0000

As a kind of pep talk meets recipe book, Rework (amazon affiliate link) by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson is a pretty decent read. It’s a bunch of advice from their experience running 37Signals, a small software shop based in Chicago (I believe). I found a few ideas that will help my business, and I have a few notes from it that will keep me thinking in the right direction. That said, here’s a video of my thoughts:

Direct link to the video

The book’s worth a read, though you’ll likely pass it on to a friend when you’re done (that’s not a bad thing, but some books are keepers and others are interesting and share-worthy). Here’s more:

People always ask which camera I used to shoot my video. I use the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 (that’s a review of the camera).

Business Cards And Little Programs – Kitchen Table Talks

ceb — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 09:30:28 +0000

For this, our next in the Kitchen Table Talks series, I’m going to emphasize a point I was trying to make about business cards: namely, we shouldn’t just hand them out willy nilly. We do it because we’re not sure what else to do. But we don’t always need to end a face to face interaction with trading business cards. Here’s more:

Can’t see the video? click here.

Direct link to the video

People always ask which camera I used to shoot my video. I use the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 (that’s a review of the camera).

Little BIG Things – Tom Peters – Video Book Review

ceb — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 09:30:43 +0000

I love Tom Peters. He’s gotten me in trouble for years. Well, his books have. I finally got to have lunch with him, and then see him keynote. The affair just grows and grows. And now, Tom’s done the whole “compile some good blog posts into a better book” thing. It’s awesome. His new book, The Little Big Things: 163 Ways to Pursue EXCELLENCE (amazon affiliate link), is just outright wonderfully STUFFED full of Tom Peters-ish things about pursuing excellence. Some of it is so simple you’ll kick yourself for not doing it already. The rest of it is thought-provoking and heart-felt. You’ll get something out of this book. And it’s HUGE. Almost 400 pages. Just a big giant helping of the man himself. Thanks, Tom.

Direct link to the video

People always ask which camera I used to shoot my video. I use the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 (that’s a review of the camera).

Social Media 101

ceb — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 13:45:18 +0000

Should your company be blogging? What’s Twitter going to do for you? Why is Facebook all the rage? I’m happy to report that Social Media 101 (amazon aff link) is available for purchase.

Here are a few places where you can buy it, should you want it:

Social Media 101 – 800CEORead

Social Media 101 -Amazon

Social Media 101 – Amazon KINDLE edition

Social Media 101 – Audible.com edition

Social Media 101 – Barnes & Noble

Social Media 101 – Books-a-Million

Social Media 101 – Borders

(I’ll add more as they come about)

**Audiobook coming soon, but not for a bit. Kindle coming soon, but not for a bit.

Who Should Want This Book?

First off, the book is a collection of information that you might have read about here on [chrisbrogan.com]. Most of it comes from blog posts, tidied up to be useful to you. But that’s the point.

This book is for people who are less likely to read my blog. It’s also a way to have my information distilled in a static form so you can refer to bits as you need them. That’s one benefit to it.

Another benefit? You can share this with folks who might not normally read the blog who might need to get what we’re doing here in social media.

Make sense?

It’s Not the NEW Stuff

It’s the basics. It’s the little tricks and ideas. It’s suggestions of what to do next. Is it new and mind-blowing? No, not really. It’s important. Yes, it’s important.

Special Thanks

This book wouldn’t exist without my mom and dad. Steve Brogan and Diane Brogan did tons and tons of work on this book. My wife, Katrina, helped out, as well. Imagine that: a book brought to life by family. Hands-on by people who are NOT social media experts, but who get it. They all use these tools in their own ways, very differently from me. And yet, they use them.

Will you?

Give Your Speech Change the World – Video Book Review

ceb — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 09:30:22 +0000

My friend, Tim Sanders sent me this book by Nick Morgan, Give Your Speech, Change the World: How to Move Your Audience to Action (amazon affiliate link). I admit that as a pro speaker, I wasn’t sure what I’d take from it. Well, I took tons from it, and you might, too, either as a beginner or someone with some speeches under your belt. Here’s a quick video review:

Direct link to the video

Anyhow, it’s a keeper. Thanks Nick, and thanks Tim.

People always ask which camera I used to shoot my video. I use the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 (that’s a review of the camera).

Our Perception of Others – Kitchen Table Talks

ceb — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 09:30:30 +0000

In this edition of Kitchen Table Talks, I wanted to talk about how we perceive others, and how that relates to us. This stems from a conversation I had recently where someone said, “Oh, but YOU never are nervous before a speech,” and when I confessed that I was, she said, “then how come you never talk about that?” So, here I am:

If you can’t see the video, click here.

Direct link to the video

What do you think?

People always ask which camera I used to shoot my video. I use the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 (that’s a review of the camera).

Linchpin by Seth Godin – Video Book Review

ceb — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 18:30:34 +0000

Are you indispensible? That’s what Seth Godin asks in Linchpin, his new book about the future of work, the break with our industrial past, and what we need to do, individually, to measure up. It’s a Seth Godin book, so of course it delivers. It’s much more meaty than Tribes and more actionable than Meatball Sundae, and every bit as eye opening as his other books.

Here’s a quick video:

Direct link to the video

Drive – Video Book Review

ceb — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 09:30:48 +0000

I really enjoyed Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us (amazon affiliate link), by Daniel Pink. Dan’s got a great style about him, and this book really shows off his storytelling-meets-research style very well. As you’ll see in the video, I took lots of notes while reading the book. It’s interesting that I wrote equally as many notes about the book’s points as I did ideas for New Marketing Labs. Anyhow, check out the video:

Direct link to the video

Cubicle Farming

ceb — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 09:30:47 +0000

What’s your take on cubicles? Are you in one? Are you happy there? In this episode of Kitchen Table Talks, I ask you where you are in the spectrum of cubicle farmers. It’s just an opening for some further conversations down the road. Call this a pulse-taking:

Direct link to the video

What’s your take?