Paul Gillin subtitles his recent book on social media, "A Marketer's Guide to the New Social Media." It's an apt title and more informative than his actual title... The New Influencers.

Now that I've finished reading this book all I have to say is: GO AND GET YOUR COPY TODAY!

Move over Debbie Weil, you've got competition. Debbie was one of the very first to tackle this topic with the kind of focus it needs. Her book on corporate blogging offered a user-friendly way to get your head around this new technology - the writing was to the point but she wrote in a welcoming style - nothing didactic or with that "I know it all" attitude you sometimes find with techies.

Well, Paul Gillin has taken the next step. His book doesn't push you into social media, it leads you in. I was impressed with his research - he cites all the right stories and examples - but I was more impressed with his writing style. While reading this book I wanted to be critical and snarky - after all, I'm a blogger, have been for some time, and I'm a bit tired of books on the subject, already...but instead of getting my back up, I found myself nodding my head and reading some of the content out loud - to myself!

Let me offer this, from page 27, where he's talking "The Next Level,"...

"Social media influencers are defining a unique and enduring voice for themselves. This is needed before the medium can move forward to its next level of maturity. Increasingly, only the bloggers, vloggers and podcasters who adhere to these community norms will be taken seriously enough to achieve much inflence in their community. That's an important fact for marketers to understand: the New Influencers take their craft seriously and understand the responsibility they have to their colleagues to uphold community standards. This is one reason that social media will be a force to be recokoned with for a long time to come. These cultural standards are turning an army of enthusiasts into a mover of markets."

Read this book...share it with others... know that Paul Gillin is among the voices of new media who can make things happen. When you read this book, you become part of that community. One of the highest compliments I think I can give him is to say that while reading this book, I actually felt as if I were in a conversation with him.

That's good writing in my book.