I have written several books about technology and globalisation. And though I feel that books about technology and business are becoming increasingly less relevant, I do think that there is sometimes a topic large enough for a book to be justified.
Blogs and social networks are where current information resides today, but even a fairly slim book is a lot more than most bloggers are used to. Sometimes the format of a slim book – say 100 pages – can be ideal for exploring a topic in more detail, but not so much detail that nobody ever picks it up. People in technology today are busy, the world changes everyday – nobody reads 700-page technology books. They just sit on shelves gathering dust.
So I’m starting 2012 with two long-form writing projects:
- An examination of how Twitter is being used by companies, artists, celebrities, and any person or organisation with a brand to promote. The focus of this book is on real examples, mainly interview-led, and with the focus being on the genuine outcomes from using Twitter – not the number of followers, or the cool factor…
- A practical guide to the use of social media for small companies in developing countries. This is a UN project and will be published in several languages aimed at helping small companies to promote themselves using social media at almost no cost – so they can reach foreign markets without the need to fly around the world.
The UN project (manuscript has already been delivered) features interviews from small companies I have met whilst doing work with them – including SMEs in Brazil, Kenya, the Philippines, Cambodia, South Africa, India, and Egypt.
The Twitter book already has contributions from some great organisations such as BT, Capgemini, Xerox, Teleperformance, The BibleCode Sundays, IBM, Dell, and even Number 10 Downing Street… I’m looking for more people to interview before the end of February 2012.
My focus will be on companies, artists, organisations, or individuals using Twitter as a business tool to raise their profile or interact with an audience. I want to broadly ask these questions:
- Why did you start using Twitter?
- What do you find it useful for?
- Has it met your expectations?
- How do you measure the outcomes of being active on Twitter?
- Has it changed the way you interact with your customers/fans/electorate/audience?
Each interview will be slightly different based on the interviewee, but this is the general aim – to determine why people use Twitter and how they measure the result of doing it.
You can expect the book to appear during Q2 2012 – globally distributed in both paperback and eBook versions. If you are interested in contributing to the project then please email me on mail@markhillary.com
