"I Believe in Zero" - Review

by Andrew McDonald

            The opening of Caryl M. Stern’s I Believe in Zero feels like the opening of a TV show you’d find on AMC during their peak Breaking Bad-era. She recounts her experience of meeting Rosa, a new mother in Mozambique, who informs Stern that this child is the “first one that survived.”

            And with that, the book begins.

I Believe in Zero by Caryl M. Stern
Photo Credit: UNICEF

            Stern’s recounting of her time with UNICEF is a powerful, emotional journey that will leave you feeling both cathartic and exhausted by the end of each chapter, which, essentially, function as episodes (going back to my TV show analogy). Stern’s writing is clear and deliberate. She tells her story with relative ease and grace, skimming over details that aren’t as impactful and really drawing the action and emotion when the moment calls for it.

            I keep brining up the similarities between her writing and good TV, because, well, her writing is incredibly cinematic. When she describes a new environment, I not only pictured it in my mind, but I could smell the air, feel the weather and environment. I choked up several times, but none so much as the initial encounter with Rosa, whose story only gets more harrowing the more you read.

"But does she cook meth?...Didn't think so."
Photo Credit: AMC

            Overall, I would definitely recommend I Believe in Zero to anyone who enjoys a cinematic storytelling style of nonfiction. I would never have considered myself a fan of this kind of book before reading it, but, if it’s good, it’s good, and I Believe in Zero has made me a believer.

Will You Catch What's Contagious?

Contagious: Why Things Catch On

Author: Jonah Berger

Book Length: 244 pages

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Price: $26.00 (NEW HARD COVER)

Will You Catch What's Contagious?

By: Christina Wood

           After reading Jonah Berger’s illustration of a “Contagious” world, I never thought I would “catch on” to his insightful message and be able to apply it to my professional life.  Through the numerous examples of pop culture such as Rebecca Black’s “Friday” one hit wonder explanation of how it spread like wild fire, I truly believe that through the understanding of this book, the world of public relations can truly benefit from Berger’s findings.

            Jonah Berger is the James G. Campbell Associate Professor of Marketing at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.  According to Jonah Berger’s official website, “He has published dozens of articles in top-tier academic journals, and popular accounts of his work have appeared in places like The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Science, Harvard Business Review, Wired, BusinessWeek, and Fast Company.”  His research has also been featured in The New York Times Magazine’s annual “Year in Ideas” issue. Berger has been recognized with awards for both scholarship and teaching, including being named Wharton’s “Iron Prof.” 

Berger is especially known for studying social epidemics, or how products, ideas, and behaviors catch on and become popular. He examines how individual decision-making and social dynamics (e.g., social influence) between people generate collective outcomes such as social contagion and trends. Most recently, Professor Berger has examined why certain products get more word-of-mouth than others and why certain online content goes viral.

Berger’s perspective based on the the studies mentioned above, really gave me a visual understanding of why things do catch on in new media.  His insight explains why certain things become popular and why certain brands trend over other brands. He gives examples from pop culture that are specific and easy to understand.  I believe that all practitioners studying public relations should read this book considering new media is rapidly growing every day, and Berger does a phenomenal job of explaining why.

For more information regarding Contagious check out these articles below:

Mapping Out the Path to Viral Fame

Jonah Berger | "Contagious: Why Things Catch On" YouTube

Goodreads.com

Buy Contagious Here

Create an irresistable brand

Create an irresistible brand

Title: Likeable Social Media: How to delight your customers, create an irresistible brand, and be generally amazing on Facebook (and other social networks)

Author: Dave Kerpen

Length: 249 pages

Publisher: McGraw-Hill

Price: $10 USD used on Amazon, $20 USD in stores   

(Photo Source: ethority.com)

 

 

Become a loveable brand!
By: Jozette Massiah

 

 Social media continues to expand greatly in todays world. Traditional ways of marketing, advertising, and public relations have longed change since the rising age of social media. This means that businesses now need to model new strategies in connecting with their consumers. Dave Kerpen, author of NY Times 2011 bestseller Likeable Social Media, and 2012's Likeable Business Media explains how social media can be used to set your brand apart from the rest, making it purely irresistible.
 

  Book Details
In the first chapter Dave highlights the most basic and important things all businesses should do in social media "listen". Customers enjoy being heard, and when they feel as if their ideas or concerns aren't being addressed they go elsewhere. This word-of-mouth marketing as the author calls it can cause unhappy customers to give poor reviews of businesses via social media veering potential customers away from your business. As the author states a friends recommendation is the most powerful source of marketing. One like, one tweet, one comment can be sent to millions of followers. Instantly a company can gain thousands of dollars of business without having to spend thousands on advertising.

 

 

   My Overview

Social media levels the playing field for small businesses to gain more customers without having to spend huge capita. Listening, engaging, and interacting with your audience is key in social media. No amount of money, no matter how big the organization, can achieve a likeable social media purely on its advertising. In fact, the author suggest businesses not to try to sell their products or services through social media, but instead create a brand that the people can trust. Only then will consumers become loyal customers, and proceed to buy products and services.

  Examples of businesses with likeable social media
A perfect example of a company with an interactive social media was vitamin water. A contest was held via social media for customers to decide which flavor the company should incorporate next. Over 100,000 people participated, and one lady won $5,000 for designing the winning label for vitamin water. All in all everyone ended up happy. The consumers felt as if their opinions and views mattered, and the company gained thousands of new followers.

(Photo Source: insidefacebook.com)

Another company Loft, a clothing brand owned by Ann Taylor, used social media to listen and respond to their audiences. After customers demanded pictures of real women modeling the clothes and not stick models, Loft not only apologized, but posted pictures of various women of all sizes on its Facebook page. Instantly, by one post and an apology word spread throughout social media about this newfound clothing brand called Loft. The clothing brand was publicized, and gained over 43 likes for one post. To date Loft has over 250,000 fans!

This book is a must read for small businesses to become a step above the rest. Big companies and corporations should read this book as well to gain insight on the importance of becoming a likeable brand, and exceeding your customers needs in social media.
 

 

         

How To Use Social Media To Your Advantage

How To Use Social Media To Your Advantage

Title: Likeable Social Media: How to delight your customers, create an irresistible brand, and be generally amazing on Facebook (and other social networks)

Author: Dave Kerpen

Length: 249 pages

Publisher: McGraw-Hill

Price: $15 USD used on Amazon, $30 USD in stores            

(Photo source: www.webgnomes.org)

Social Media Gurus Needed

By: Hayley St. John

Today has been the worst day. Nothing has gone right and now you’re stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic on your way home from work. What do you do? Get on social media and rant. Everyone in this generation does it, no matter his or her age. At first, we worried this social media craze was a bad thing. But companies have since discovered it can be used for many advantages. In this book, author Dave Kerpen takes readers through a number of tips and strategies that companies can use to take the shifting world of marketing and communicating to benefit both brands and consumers.

Dave Kerpen is the CEO of Likeable Local, a social media software startup for small businesses, and chairman of Likeable Media, a social media firm that was named one of the 500 fastest growing private companies in the United States in 2011 and 2012.

The theme of the book is how to take the social media craze and use it as a tool for companies. It contains good tips for companies and brands wanting to expand their reach and listen to consumers. It is important for anyone interested in social media or marketing to read because the world of marketing has completely changed due to social media, and this book talks about how to take this change and use it positively. Readers will realize that too much social media use can be bad negative, but there are certain things you can do to ensure your company is “libeable.”

The author covers the topic very well. He talks about several different forms of social media, some I didn’t even know existed, and the pros and cons as well as how to use them. Kerpen also gives real life anecdotes from companies and social media sites to back up the points he makes. This book is great for anyone learning how to use social media to promote their company. It also gives great tips on how to take both positive and negative public feedback from consumers and use it to the company’s advantage.

One example that Kerpen writes about is Domino’s Pizza. Domino’s took consumer critiques and used them to create a whole new brand. Check out the video discussed in the book here called “Domino’s Pizza Turnaround.”

I highly recommend that anyone, no matter what age, with any interest in current social media or marketing should read this book. It has interesting anecdotes and statistics, as well as great tips on how to use social media to your advantage. The book offers insights both as a company/brand, and also as a consumer. It was interesting and easy to read.

After reading the book, I was interested in seeing how Kerpen himself uses social media to boost his company. Needless to say, he takes his own advice. Likeable Media has over 31 thousand likes on Facebook, nearly 30 thousand followers on Twitter and a Klout score (influence) of 72. Their Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn pages provide excellent examples of how to carry out the tips in this book.