“It’s all about the economy, stupid. No, it’s all about a
people-driven economy, stupid.” This statement is incredibly powerful and was the opening and closing statement of Eric Qualman’s book,
Socialnomics. In it, Qualman explores how we, the consumers, are finally given the power we deserve to expose the best companies from the worst. No longer can these corporate giants hide behind closed doors as we have to put up with bad service, products, and experiences. Our voice is heard through the crowd, and they know it, as we are now influencers, brand ambassadors and ultimately their bread and butter. Companies now have the responsibility to share ownership of their brands with their consumers, or be left with bad reputations that will ultimately close their business.
Socialnomics is a walkthrough of the last 10 years or so, which is respectively the entire social media age. If
Gary Vaynerchuk’s book,
Crush It is the intro to social, then
Socialnomics is the text book for the advanced social guru. There are so many examples from the copyright infringement episode of the music industry to the adoption of widespread
internet TV. Traditional advertising will be phased out into incentives on social channels. I have experienced this phasing with the news as I no longer look for it, it comes to me. Many of the concepts explained in this book I have been stressing since the start of my own journey through this ever changing, dynamic
social environment.
I highly recommend reading this book as it has been an eye-opener into the complexities of the
Social Media space. It will give you a clearer understanding of how and why we should be embracing the
social space and what’s to come. In chapter 5, Qualman talks about how the
social influence of your friends directly impacts the decisions you make as a consumer. This illustrates that you are more influenced by friends through social mediums than by how
Google ranks brands and products in search results. Word of mouth grows to World of Mouth and creates a collective intelligence that will benefit mankind—and marketers—for years to come.
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