A close friend recently encouraged me to join the Twitter community and, I'll admit, I have been reluctant to do so. I thought this book might shed some light on the Twitter phenomenon and maybe - just maybe - motivate me to sign up. Long story short, it didn't.
Looking back, the book is just one of the many titles that pop up to cash in on a trend. As such, it was written and released in a hurry; the resultant guidebook proves as much. While it DOES provide some useful and interesting (albeit time-sensitive) information about the specifics of the website, there are some definite issues.
The book was aesthetically pleasing, with found the preliminary history interesting...at first. Twenty-something pages later, I had tired of the lack of cohesion among the provided facts - as well as the complete lack of citations.
While the editing is better than many other books I've reviewed recently, I found spelling and grammar mistakes scattered throughout. I also objected to the overly-casual style: it seems to me that those people (teens, young adults) who identify with the slang in the book have less need for the information than another - dare I say, older? - crowd that might not fully comprehend the expressions.
I will admit, this book has an abundance of helpful information for new and experienced Tweeters alike. It provides useful websites, vocabulary, and Twitter how-tos. Bottom line: if you need help navigating Twitter, this book will give you a map. (Skip the first few chapters and dive in.) But do not - I repeat, DO NOT - read through this book from cover to cover.