Here are the draft chapters for my forthcoming book, Secrets of Social Media Marketing, which is due to be published by Quill Driver Books in the fall of 2008. I'm posting the entire draft online as I finish each chapter and you're invited to comment or even make changes and corrections right here in the wiki. You can also download the latest manuscript draft in MS-Word format.

About the book
This book is intended for marketers and business owners who are trying to understand and leverage the power of new media for business benefit. While there are some very skilled and savvy social media practitioners in the market already, the vast majority of business people are still just trying to figure out what it all means to them. This book is intended to explain all of the major social media concepts in a how-to format that is easily readable and that doesn't talk down to people.

Where it's at
This manuscript is due to the publisher, Quill Driver Books, on May 1, 2008. Until then, it's a work-in-progress. I'm still looking for one or two good case studies to include as mini-chapters. I need mainstream corporate users, not vendors or tech companies. If you can help, you'll be credited for your contribution.

About me
I'm a writer and content marketing consultant who specializes in technology and new media. I also do a lot of public speaking and corporate seminars about social media, a topic that has fascinated me since late 2005.

For more than 20 years, I was a technology journalist and editor at a variety of industry publications. I was founding editor-in-chief of TechTarget, which survived the tech crash in 2001-2002 to hold a successful IPO in 2007 and which now employs 600 people. I was also editor-in-chief and executive editor of Computerworld. For the last three years, I've worked independently.

My first book wasThe New Influencers, an account of the changes in markets being driven by the new breed of bloggers and podcasters. It was in the top 35 marketing titles on Amazon in 2007 and got a positive review in The Wall Street Journal.

Other professional affiliations: I'm a Research Fellow at the Society for New Communications Research and also chair the Social Media cluster for the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council. I blog at PaulGillin.com, podcast with David Strom and have a labor-of-love blog about a topic that interests me called Newspaper Death Watch.

Personal: I'm 50, which I still can't quite believe. I'm married to a wonderful woman named Dana. I have two kids: Ryan, 20 and Alice, 16. I have season tickets to the Boston Red Sox. I golf badly and ski worse. I'm a sudoku nut. I was born in Hong Kong but grew up in Poughkeepsie, NY and went to college in Boston. What more do you need ;-)?

The legal stuff
I'm not a lawyer, so I'll just write this in plain English. This work is copyright 2008 by Paul Gillin. It's posted here for you to read, correct and comment upon. Any changes you make will be considered but won't necessarily be implemented. I will make every effort to credit the author of any substantial contribution but I own whatever you contribute unless we make other arrangements. If you want credit, be sure to leave contact information with your edits. If you want to contribute a sidebar or case study, please e-mail me.

Now, please enjoy the book and tell me what you think!


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