Book Review: Twitter Revolution

May 19, 2009

When I was both in Las Vegas and here in Tampa recently, I had an opportunity to meet and talk to Warren Whitlock. Warren is an author and speaker. He is also a player in the social media space. He and Deborah Micek (also known as CoachDeb) cowrote Twitter Revolution. Warren sent me a copy to check out.

Picture 3 This book is a great read for anybody looking to get more out of Twitter (or learn why Twitter matters in the real world).

The book starts with Twitter basics like what Twitter is all about, how to get followers, what to tweet, etc. Nothing groundbreaking and if you are already even a casual Twitter user, you probably won’t learn anything too earth-shattering here.

In Part 2 of the book, you get into some deeper things. Chapter 7 talks about “Top 10 Reasons Companies Need To Tweet”, for example. They discuss Twitter apps, terminology and different ways of spelling to fit into the 140 characters.

Part 3 is probably the part most relevant to more “veteran” tweeters. It talks about the art of persuasion and how to market your business on Twitter. It talks about when it is appropriate to talk business on Twitter, how to use Twitter to spot trends, even how Twitter is like sex!

The entire book is very conversational (which is fitting given the subject) and parts of it were written on Twitter itself.

I find it really funny how a service as simple as Twitter, one which promotes being pithy in 140 characters, could justify a 250 page book. Some of the book reads like a promotional piece for Twitter, and parts of it are a tad redundant. But, of course, I didn’t go into this book with much of a lack of understanding about Twitter. Perhaps I’m not the book’s target audience. :)

There is some good information in this book, however I still hold that people who are already heavy users of Twitter will probably not find too much value in this book. If, however, you are new to Twitter or have not yet come to realize why the service has any value to you, then Twitter Revolution is a great book to introduce you to why this thing matters at all.

Pick up your copy at Amazon.com. (No affiliate link here).

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  • It looks like it is a good book for the new twitter people out there. Thanks for sharing the book with us. Greg Ellison
  • Have you read Twitter Power by Joel Comm?

    I'd be curious to know the differences and which one you believe is better.
  • David - well said. This is a great book. I reviewed the book a few months ago when I was first learning about twitter and it really helped. I tell all my friends and business contacts to read the book if they want to learn more about twitter and how to succeed at it. Great review on the book.
  • BobHereYo
    Dave, love your blogs and all of your resources and I follow the mainstream marketing bloggers as well and I totally employ Web 2.0 technologies such as podcasting, webinars, eNewsletters, Linkedin and blogs but I fail to see the purpose of this Twitter thing for any business to business sales.

    I see potential for the Business to Consumer but fail to see the business to business with this glorified bulletin board (limited), instant messenger, etc. I am as tech savvy as the next person and pride myself on being a geek but with this one I just don't get it.

    Case in point, I sell software to the healthcare C-Suite a true B2B transaction. Do you think anyone in healthcare administration is Twittering? Let alone following a Tweet by me? NO! There peers are not Twittering either so they will not be able to call on anyone to send them a tweet about me or my company as well, let alone a 140 character note as well.

    My thought is that this is being hyped by Internet Marketing people in a way to build the Tribe, Herd, etc. If you want to be known as a savvy marketer then you keep to the mainstream edge with that being Twitter.

    So why don't you answer this question in some future posts if you don't mind and a few more below.

    1)How does 140 characters translate into more B2B or B2C business?

    2)What has Twitter Done for B2B for your other readers who are NOT Internet Marketers or Internet Educators?

    3)How much time does Twittering Really consume? Daily, Weekly? Monthly? as opposed to other important activities that may yield better outcomes for businesses and B2B Transactions.

    Best regards
  • So far Twitter seems to be best used to find interesting things (mostly to read, not to buy) around the web, as tweeted by trustworthy or compelling users. This might be a local event, or an interesting review somewhere.
  • prasanna
    Nice article.Great information.I just try out.Twitter is a great tool for social marketing.

    To get more twitter followers check out http://bit.ly/qtTOg

    For great twitter tips,tricks to make money from twitter check out http://bit.ly/IUBiH
  • BobHereYo has inspired me.
    Im working on a post or a series of tweets titled.
    "Twitter is for everyone, except YOU"

    by now the stories of twiter business success measure in the thousands, from accountants, writers, radio personalities, coffeeshops, home depot, finding customers.

    twitter is concise, if it takes you a 2 page letter to say " im clueless but I'm here to argue" then twitter is for everyone, except you.

    If you are looking to monetize instantly before developing rapport or relationship then twitter is for everyone, except you.

    If you dont know the difference between their, their, and they're, then twitter is for everyone, except you.
  • Maybe a bit OT, but following on from that, since we're on the subject of books: -

    Have you read Tara Hunt (@missrogue)'s book "The Whuffie Factor - Using the power of social networks to build your business." yet? I encourage people to read it.

    Perhaps you might like to do a book review on that book in the future if you like it Dave?

    As I say it's just a thought. What I've read in it so far has a lot of substance. It's a very web 2.0 oriented publication. Printed by Crown Publishing, NY, it's available for $25.00 US in hardback. ISBN 978-0-307-40950-8

    - Definitely worth reading.
  • I agree with @Bryan about @BobHereYo's comment. Unfortunately "Bob" didn't leave a way to be contacted, because I'd be happy to tell him that not only do healthcare companies use twitter as a customer support vehicle (@bcbsil, @bcbstx as examples) but wI see 278,000 twitter users who have tagged themselves with the "healthcare" keyword on wefollow.com

    Unfortunately people like "Bob" likely haven't given a little time to investigating Twitter (and likely other similar tools) before judging its merits. If anything, I've used Twitter more for its business applications than for personal ones and I get plenty out of it (new contacts, interesting discussion, healthy debate).

    @Bryan is right. Twitter is definitely not for some people, and that's ok with me.

    Thanks,
    @jbc95a
  • BobHereYo
    Let's face it, Twitter is not for everyone and even Twitter is having a hard time monitizing their own tribe/herd.
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