Grouped: How small groups of friends are the key to influence on the social web (Voices That Matter) [Paperback]

Paul Adams (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2011 | Series: Voices That Matter

The web is undergoing a fundamental change. It is moving away from its current structure of documents and pages linked together, and towards a new structure that is built around people. This is a profound change that will affect how we create business strategy, design, marketing, and advertising. The reason for this shift is simple. For tens of thousands of years we’ve been social animals. The web, which is only 20 years old, is simply catching up with offline life.

From travel to news to commerce, smart businesses are reorienting their efforts around people–around the social behavior of their customers and potential customers. In order to be successful, businesses will need to understand how people are connected, how their social network influences them, how the people closest to them influence them the most, and how it’s more important for marketers to focus on small, connected groups of friends rather than looking for overly influential individuals.

This book pulls together the latest research from leading universities and technology companies to describe how people are connected, and how ideas and brand messages spread through social networks. It shows readers how to rebuild their business around social behavior, and create products that people tell their friends about.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Paul Adams is widely recognized as one of the leading thinkers on the social web. He is a researcher and designer, currently working as the Global Brand Experience Manager at Facebook. Prior to Facebook, Paul led Google’s social research team, where his work influenced the direction of Google+, and where he also worked on Gmail, YouTube, and Mobile. He has worked in the user experience field for the last 11 years, as a product designer with Dyson, a consultant for clients including Vodafone, the BBC, and the Guardian, and as a researcher in the fields of social behavior and technology across Europe, the U.S., and Asia.

For more information on Paul’s work, visit his site ThinkOutsideIn.com

Product Details

• Paperback: 168 pages
• Publisher: New Riders; 1 edition (December 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321804112
• ISBN-13: 978-0321804112
• Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 0.4 x 7.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #125,593 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Paul currently works in the product team at Facebook. Prior to that he led social research at Google.

In Nov 2011, Fortune magazine described Paul as "one of Silicon Valley's most wanted." He is broadly recognized as one of the leading thinkers on the emerging social web, and his work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, AdWeek and many more leading publications. His work on describing the next evolution of social networks, "The Real Life Social Network" is one of the most viewed and downloaded presentations on the web.

At Facebook, Paul works on developing new products for advertisers and marketers. He works on research, design and product strategy. He often works directly with the worlds biggest marketers and ad agencies, helping them understand the foundational changes taking place in their industry.

At Google, Paul's work formed the foundation for Circles, the primary feature in Google+. He also worked on Gmail, YouTube and Mobile.

Prior to Google, Paul worked as a User Experience Consultant at Flow, leading research and design projects for clients including the BBC, The Guardian, Vodafone, UK Government and Betfair. Before Flow, he worked as an Industrial Designer, designing electronic appliances at Dyson, including Japan's best selling vacuum cleaner, and also worked designing car interiors at Faurecia.

Paul holds a Master of Science in Interactive Media and a Bachelor of Design in Industrial Design.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Required knowledge for everyone, not just marketers December 18, 2011

By Joseph Smarr

Format:Paperback

Grouped is a well-written, concise, and relevant summary of the latest thinking in social networking and social influence. It's like the crib notes to a four-year degree in social psychology and sociology. Beautifully laid out and designed to be easily consumable, it quickly covers the fundamental ideas and research about how and why we connect with one another, how ideas spread, how we make decisions, and why this all means that "permission marketing" through social networks is likely to be more relevant and effective than current "interruption marketing" of mass media advertizing.

It does read at times like an advertisment for Facebook (indeed, a cynic might pigeonhole this entire book as a "white paper" for Facebook Ads), but I know Adams better than that (having had the pleasure of working with him at Google on the early stages of Google+), and my take is that Adams sees Facebook as out in front of an important shift in the way advertising will work in general (perhaps this is why he now works there), so Facebook merely provides the best (and in many cases only) example of putting his ideas to work in the real world.

Beyond the explicit goals of developing better marketing campaigns, Adams makes the case (and I firmly agree) that the content of this book is essentially required knowledge for all of us as we move into an increasingly interconnected world in which our social networks (real and digital) and our "predictably irrational" brain help us navigate the endless, swelling seas of information surrounding us. Despite working in this field for years, I learned some new things and found myself nodding in approval at much of the rest. So if you're new to these ideas--or even if you just want an efficient and enjoyable refresher course--this book is well worth your time.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The key to social media? Focus on behaviors! December 1, 2011

By Giselle M Schmitz

Format:Paperback

Paul Adams breaks down the complexities of social media by telling us to focus on behavior rather than technology. People behaving exactly as they have for centuries- social media is just an example of technology catching up. He has some really fascinating insights to back this up (ex. the brain can only store 150 relationships...directly proportionate to the average number of friends on Facebook). This book really lowers the barriers to understanding social media and its implications on marketing. Totally worth the 4-5 hours it takes to read this. I suspect this will soon be required reading for anyone in-house or agency-side in marketing today.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Well researched, succint examination of how and why social media is growing and what it means for marketers December 1, 2011

By D. Verma

Format:Paperback

This fairly easy to read book discusses how and why social media is growing. The POV is that this is not a fad but an outcome of basic human instincts around socialization. There are well researched and well argued claims that organizing information and the web around people's social networks is the natural and inevitable consequence of how people have always behaved. It remains to be seen whether this is "inevitable" but the author presents persuasive arguments for why this makes sense.

There is good content about how the networks interact; what people like to share, why, and with whom. Some of this may be obvious but I liked the simple yet comprehensive list of insights. For example, the author underplays the value of "influencers" that Malcolm Gladwell touted in Tipping Point and argues that mostly people are influenced by those emotionally closest to them, often without even realizing it.

A concurrent story alongside discussing social networks is what it means for marketers. Several insights have been provided around how marketers can best work with social conversations to help grow their products. For example, seeding several groups with ideas versus targeting a few trendsetters, focusing on emotional arousal, gaining trust through WOM endorsement, preparing content that is "shareworthy", customizing data around people's social connections etc. Examples are Facebook specific (where the author works), yet can be abstracted. I have been to marketing conferences where people brainstormed about how social media affects/will impact marketing, and this book covers it all in a well structured manner.

Lastly, it is worth mentioning that this book is pretty easy to read. The articles are well researched but the author thankfully presented the content simply instead of using MBA/PhD language. You can read this sipping coffee on a plane and still absorb the content.