Articles

Back to School Reading for the Social Set

darren August 19th, 2011

Seth Godin’s recent blog post “From Asimov to Zelazny” sparked a lively discussion on a digital marketing and web advocate listserve we subscribe to through Web of Change.
In his post, Godin talks about his love for science fiction. He tells of the hours he spent in his high school library reading the sci-fi collection (a telling detail into his awkward teenage years!) and how that reading would impact his future work:

“What I discovered … was that domain knowledge, edge to edge knowledge of a field, was incredibly valuable. It helped me understand where the edges were, and it gave me the confidence to be selective, to develop a taxonomy, to see what was going on.”

The post was shared on our listserv and a reading list sprung forth that we’re pretty sure even Godin would approve of. This reading list is a mix of recommendations that cover everything from organizing to digital advocacy, traditional marketing and inspiration.

We consider it our back-to-school reading as we prepare for September and the Web of Change conference.

Reading List

Beyond the Echo Chamber: How a Networked Progressive Media Can Reshape American Politics
By Jessica Clark & Tracy Van Slyke

Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Movement in the World Came into Being and Why No One Saw It Coming
By Paul Hawken

Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion and Purpose
By Tony Hsieh

Engage: The Complete Guide for Brands and Businesses to Build, Cultivate, and Measure Success in the New Web
By Brian Solis

Friends with Benefits: A Social Media Marketing Handbook
By Darren Barefoot and Julie Szabo (yeah, we snuck our book in)

Getting to Maybe: How the World is Changed
By Frances Westley, Brenda Zimmerman and Michael Patton

Green Collar Economy: How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems
By Van Jones

Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies
By Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff

Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing with Organizations
By Clay Shirky

Leadership and the New Science: Discovering Order in a Chaotic World
By Margaret J Wheatley