I’ve just finished reading “Getting to First Base; A Social Media Marketing Playbook” by Darren Barefoot and Julie Szabo. In spite of the fact that I was given a free copy and I know the authors (transparency is a lesson you’ll learn in the book, btw) I think I can truthfully say that it it is the most comprehensive, up-to-date and well-written ebook on the subject of social media marketing that you’ll find anywhere.

That might come across as a little gushy, but consider the fact that it was completed less than two weeks ago and includes some examples, strategies and tools that didn’t even exist before November of this year. With the way the web changes, this is the only way to go of course, staying abreast of changes like the addition of Facebook Pages and Beacon, just to name a few. Plus, the authors have committed to keeping it up to date, with supplementary downloads for purchasers as the ways of the web inevitably change.

Darren and Julie are great (and funny!) writers and have a wealth of experience in the social media space, as co-founders of Capulet Communications, a Vancouver-based PR and marketing firm. What they do well is exactly what they teach in the book; connecting and engaging individuals, using the tools of the web to spread the word on behalf of businesses. Please note the operative term the preceding sentence: individuals. The ebook is intended to teach people how to connect with individuals that will help spread the word on your behalf, a topic that I’m obviously pretty passionate about, if you’ve been following along. If the names sound familiar, yes it is the same Darren that pitched me recently with the unique idea of using a quickly composed comic strip with some of my own photos in it. They cite that campaign in the book of course, and even show another example of one of the funny and (and very successful) comic “pitches.”

If you want to learn the do’s and dont’s of online marketing in the current web space, then this ebook is for you. As they point out in the introduction, most of the strategies and tips will cost you little more than time, as most are cheap or free. You won’t learn how to burn through a massive marketing budget, and for that matter you won’t exactly break the bank to afford the book either, as it’s priced at $29 USD. I think that’s a bit pricey for an ebook, but not for the wealth of knowledge contained within.

In my opinion, the best feature of this book is the fact that no tall claims are made and no advice is given without specific and detailed examples, attributed to real people and accompanied by external links (galore). It features some prominent web thinkers of the day, mixed with anecdotes from Darren and Julie’s own experiences, some of which are meant to help the reader learn by their mistakes. They practice what they preach, and aren’t afraid to tell you about the times when they had to falter just to learn some valuable lessons.

If there’s a weakness in the virtual pages of this handy reference guide, it’s that it leaves the reader wanting more. I have read it just once, scanning through the text while chuckling to myself and nodding approvingly, and it seems that a second read is in order, this time following all of the many links they include to support their advice.

If you’re not ready to take my word for it, read some of the other online chatter about it, or even read a few sample chapters to get a feel for it. Better still, check out this word from the authors themselves, from their working vacation on the small island of Gozo in Malta:

Now that you’re sufficiently convinced, get on over to the site and order yourself a copy. Do it. Do it.

Alternate Post title: Why I LOVE Worpress, Reason #101

A few weeks back, my whole site suddenly disappeared off my live server, causing me to panic, but there wasn’t much I could do (with my limited knowledge of these things) except make it worse.

So I left it to smarter people than myself to take care of it for me. As I mentioned in a post last week, My good friends Rob and Gwyn each stepped in to help with various fixes, and most of my site was back online without too much interruption. Except that my SEO-friendly post slugs weren’t working. Gwyn managed to find a way to get the posts live using the truncated numerical post slugs, which was for me a suitable fix for the meantime. I was just waiting until a reader came along and expressed frustration over following one of my dead links, and that would be enough to motivate me to find a fix for it.

Well, today I got that email. It came from a reader, but not just any reader. It was Lloyd Budd, who is an acquaintance of mine (he ferries over to Vancouver from Victoria for all of the best tech events), a Facebook friend (of course!) and an employee of Wordpress. Lloyd expressed concern over my predicament and offered to help. “You are talking to WordPress…if you want me to go in fix it just let me know.” Reading that back, it makes me laugh to myself a bit, but that the time I was just thinking “Please, please let it work!”

So here we are, just minutes after that email exchange, and everything is fixed. “How’s that?” read Lloyd’s email just minutes after his offer. Needless to say, I was “chuffed,” as Rob would say.

Admittedly, not everyone can get that kind of personal service from the Wordpress community, but it’s a reminder to me of just how great Wordpress is; for usability, functionality and in the case of the Wordpress Forums, for support too. Incidentally, that’s the link you should follow to get help for your own issues in WP. Terrific people like Lloyd are standing by waiting to answer your questions, or already have. Search and ye shall find.

At the risk of offending all of my friends in the Drupal community (yes, this means you, Lyal), I’ll say once again what I’ve been saying all along: Wordpress is my favorite blogging platform. Download the code now and start building your building your blog from scratch, or jump on over to Wordpress.com to launch a free site in minutes.

Yes, the great people of Common Craft (accept no substitute, especially misspelled knockoffs) have come out with another great video in their “In Plain English” series. This time blogs are the topic, and the info is perfect for anyone who is new to the game:

Click To Play

Another excellent job, Lee and Sachi.