A few rotten apples.
Inch-high curbs
All that said, "Influencers" frustrates at times since it occasionally commits to the printed page some of the most common bits of fallacious reasoning that are characteristic of relatively unexamined Web 2.0 experiences. These fallacies result in a series of inch-high curbs that too often cripple the book's momentum and damage its ability to serve as a savvy marketer's operational field-guide to social media.
I'm willing to write off Mr. Gillin's advice for readers to vote for favorable stories about their own companies on Digg.Com ("to raise their visibility") as either a terribly unfortunate lapse or a gross editorial oversight. Any technology marketer caught doing so would deservedly face a hanging from the digital yard arm.
Site-traffic data from Alexa.Com occasionally is presented as evidence without acknowledging that service's limitations: that it relies on data retrieved via users of the Alexa browser toolbar. Better than nothing, sure, but I never show Alexa data to anyone without outlining the necessary caveats. Such caveats are absent here.
Mr. Gillin is more careful to acknowledge the limitations of the Technorati social media search engine, although he is a little too consistent in highlighting various blogs' high levels of "authority" or "ranking" as measures of "success." This goes on for the first 60 or so pages before acknowledging that the true power of social media is thinking past "elites." Not long after this point, though, the gushing over Technorati rankings continues, diluting the message of the power of the technology-amplified individual's voice. My fear is that this might inspire marketers to create programs that rise to pandering to the so-called A-list, telling their bosses "Look! We're hip to this Web 2.0 thing!" From a tactical standpoint, however, such plans are simply an instance of what punk icon Henry Rollins once referred to as the same ol' mouthwash swishing to the other cheek.
There's also the social media newcomer's tendency to equate visibility with leadership. In a profile, Mr. Gillin incorrectly identifies my Edelman colleague Steve Rubel -- the most prominent PR/marketing blogger by a great many measures -- as the head of our firm's new-media consultancy. (The position is actually held by the group's president, Rick Murray.) A couple errors of attribution spill out from there.
Finally, my brief time in Los Angeles left me with a distasteful level of expertise in entertainment, gossip and otherwise celebrity-focused blogs. So, when Mr. Gillan claims that such sites "don't generate much cross-linking activity" to other blogs, I have to wonder how well this and other claims in the book were researched and vetted. In fact, such sites are quite prone (maybe even uniquely so) to end their blogging days with roundup posts to other blogs.
For instance, here are some recent examples from IDontLikeYouInThatWay, Hollywood Tuna and CityRag. I theorize that perhaps these sites don't have the Technorati rankings that would impress the author (#405, #836 and #1,867, respectively, as of this writing), especially since the infamous Perez Hilton's (#20 *gasp*) recent link behavior only shows him tipping the hat to entertainment uber-site TMZ.com and controversy magnet Rosie O'Donnell. (This at least according to the blog's BlogPulse Profile. Again, this is as of this writing, recognizing that this BlogPulse tool is occasionally taken down.)
As such, an otherwise highly capable survey of the thin, shaded, con{cave,vex} middle of the Venn diagram between social media and marketing is marred by what I consider to be sloppy errors. One almost expects the book's cover to display the word "beta," like so many of the Web 2.0 applications that have made great global conversations possible. Instead, the book's cover art curiously depicts a disconnected series of homogenous paper dolls. This image is completely at odds with what "Influencers" seeks to celebrate: that empowered individuals are forming gigantic connected communities online.
Harvest season
In conclusion, "Influencers" is a decent barrel of apples enriched with modern marketing wisdom. The few sour apples haven't necessarily spoiled Mr. Gillin's harvest of social media advice, anecdotes and admonitions. In fact, I'd be more than happy to read "Influencers" again…
…once it's finished.
Phil Gomes is a senior communications professional with more than a decade of experience in technology and business-to-business public relations. He is a vice president within the Edelman PR firm's new media consultancy, me2revolution. Read full bio.