Customer Reviews

Marketing in the Moment: The Practical Guide to Using Web 3.0 Marketing to Reach Your Customers First

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I found reading this book like sipping a frothy latte, enjoyable but light and when it's gone, it's gone. I picked up some tips, but I found this book much more oriented towards speculative strategic thinking than practical tactics.

The book's core argument, that we're moving away from "open" web platforms that don't have much privacy or filtering, towards "closed" ones, was a useful insight for me. I don't disagree with his core premise about user behavior. But I roll my eyes when social media marketing is presented as other than labor-intensive and thus costly. The argument that just because you can use Facebook to market your business for free does not make marketing on Facebook free. The author, like many social media writers, kind of ignores the time-intensity of using guerilla tactics in social media.

Some web users barely use a search engine at all, which is the "open" web. They may spend all their time on closed platforms such as virtual reality games, Facebook, and especially platforms that work well with little mobile devices. It's a shift in user habits that is very real and it means that your future customers are going to find you inside those closed platforms, not by using the search engines. I was really impressed by the thinking on this and I think he's right about it.

That said, in the chapters of the book that cover specific types of platforms the author enthuses too much about what's great about the platform but doesn't adequately (in my opinion) address the costs of entering these new advertising and engagement media. Like many social media enthusiasts he seems to feel we should just jump into all of it with both feet. The problem is the labor-intensity of learning to adapt and the grunt work of building presences within these new platforms. Obviously we're going to have to choose a few and ignore the rest, but the author's enthusiasm for all the new platforms means that if you follow his advice you'll be buried up to your neck in new websites to join and explore.

The author addresses our concerns at the start: that social media marketing can be a big time and resource waster. He promises that he'll show us ways to always come out ahead and get maximum bang for our buck. I didn't feel he made good on the promise though.

While the book offers a lot of practical tips, the author is most interested in internet trends towards what he calls Web 3.0. He's speculating as to which media channels may get big and important. In his enthusiasm for all the new toys, I found his arguments for using these new tools became ungrounded. While the book does contain some practical advice for using things like Twitter and texting, it also ventures into areas of marketing in the new media, such as virtual reality worlds, where you would have to have staff investing tremendous amounts of time learning the platforms and networking within them.

The author's inspirations are billion-dollar companies like Zappos. These businesses have the resources to put full-time staff on projects like building a presence in "Second Life" and the 20-odd other virtual reality sites he reals off as worth investigating. I'm happy for the author that he gets to mastermind massive campaigns in these new media and direct his scores of virtual employees, but as a practical matter I found many of the tactics suggested in the book pretty impractical for a business without deep pockets.

I found a few tips I could use. The book is nicely designed and the author has a breezy prose voice. While reading I was excited about some of the methods described so I signed-up for a SecondLife account to check it out. I encountered an environment that clearly has a massive learning curve. If you had an employee or two on staff who already enjoyed virtual reality worlds, they'd learn faster I suppose - but as a solo-preneur and marketing consultant, I'm just too busy with everything I'm already doing to invest my time learning platforms that basically amount to playing with virtual paper dolls

Marketing in the Moment: The Practical Guide to Using Web 3.0 Marketing to Reach Your Customers First I just want to thank the Internet Marketer who's email linked me to Michael Tasner's landing page for this Clockwork-Orange-eye-opening read (yes, like toothpicks in the eye--you just have to keep reading...it's that good. No Beethoven, though).

I turned down more pages than not in this quick, well-laid-out-and-organized book that can honestly and absolutely claim to be a Web 3.0 book. So many others are advertised as such but it's the same ol' technology they're talking about. Not here.

I subscribe to and skim through more than 500 daily RSS feeds and thought I knew everything on it's way down the tech pipeline. Difference is, Tasner is a bit of a visionary, but one who uses sound evidence and personal examples to back up his claims.

I definitely recommend reading this book at least twice. The first time through, it's a bit breathtaking (i.e., exciting, not overwhelming) when the author starts discussing hot topics quickly emerging today like microblogging over blogging and his highly informative chapter on the booming mobile industry and how to take advantage of it.

Only a few hours after finishing this book, I had already implemented several of Tasner's strategies that, as of today, two weeks later, have ALL paid off for the minimal time and effort with a) more Twitter & other Social Media site followers, b) my email subscription list has increased %175 on average per week.

I also want to say how personable and helpful the author has been to me, answering emails, offering encouragement, giving out bonuses for pre-ordering, etc.

Michael Tasner, I have learned, is an everyday "Nice Guy" who happens to be a marketing prodigy with a lightning-quick mind, years and years of creative and financial success, and author of the best web marketing book of the year, hands down.

If you have even the slightest knowledge of modern communications, then a list of the capability of the latest generations of handheld devices, including the iPhone, iPad and Blackberry will leave you in awe. Unfortunately, if you are a businessperson and you are not leveraging that capability to improve your business, then you should also be experiencing some terror. The rapid advance of what is often (and somewhat inappropriately) referred to as social media has created enormous opportunities for businesses and organizations to dramatically increase the speed and content of their communication with customers.
Web 3.0 is a broad term used to describe a wide spectrum of communication channels that can be considered the latest iteration. Fortunately, it is not necessary to have been an effective user of Web 2.0 in order to begin the process of implementing Web 3.0. This is not to say that it is easy, just possible.
Tasner does an excellent job in making sure the word "Practical" in the subtitle is an accurate description. Some technical expertise is of course necessary to have a complete understanding, but nothing at the level of the techno-nerd is needed. There are many tools available under the Web 3.0 umbrella and Tasner not only describes them, he also explains how they can be applied in an ultra-modern business model. Making it possible for you to use them.
Many of your competitors are most certainly already using at least some of the applications in the Web 3.0 world. Your choice in this matter is simple, either use them or face the increased likelihood that your organization will be brushed aside. Tasner's advice will help you avoid the ultimate in brush-offs.

This book does a great job covering the vast array of Web 3.0 technologies out there and will certainly give the novice many new tools to investigate further to analyze whether or not they make sense in any particular marketing plan.

The problem is, so much is covered without any sense of prioritizing that it reads like a laundry list of all possible tools without really describing which ones are most effective for given types of companies. The author does not really tell us which ones are waning and which ones are rising. Developing open source apps to give away, participating in virtual communities, using Twitter, sending text messages and so on and so on. The author doesn't provide a sense of which tactics are most applicable in a given situation and as such it comes across like a long list of technologies in which no person or company could possibly participate in all. The phrase 'spaghetti being thrown against the wall to see what sticks' comes to mind.

This is a very good book to learn what technologies are out there but it could be stronger in its prioritization of which ones are most effective for any particular target audience profile. If you are already using leading-edge social media technologies then you will already be familiar with (or at least heard of) most ideas covered in this book. I would recommend it to people new to the space or those who are engaging in some Web 3.0 technologies but want to learn what others are out there so they can investigate them on their own.

~~Review by the author of the e-book, "How to Build and Manage Your Brand (in sickness and in health)."

As an owner of a small communications company, and a teacher at a private school, I am aware that technology is not just the future, but the present. I try to keep up with recent tech trends, even if some of my colleagues can barely turn on a computer. I was satisfied that I was finally "getting" Web 2.0, and then Web 3.0 comes along (at least according to Michael Tasner).

What is Web 3.0? Microblogging (Twitter, etc), mobile marketing (phones, blackberries, etc), virtual worlds (Second Life, etc), videos (Youtube, etc), web applications, open source code, and collaboration (Google Apps, Skype, etc). Tasner devotes a chapter to each of these technologies. Other chapters cover the limitations of Web 2.0 and companies successfully embracing Web 3.0. He ends the marketing portion of the book with a section on putting it all together. The book ends with a chapter about giving some of the profits to charity, which is a great way to wrap things up.

Below are my overall impressions of the book.

- While I was familiar the technologies that make up Web 3.0, I realized I only had a surface knowledge of many of them. I hadn't thought of many of the marketing possibilities. Who would have guessed that people actually have concerts and business meetings on Second Life?

- Tasner walks you through the process of utilizing Web 3.0 technologies. He uses a logical approach, providing appropriate websites, resources, tips, and case studies, even if he is sometimes explaining what seems to be painfully obvious material.

- Tasner is thinking ahead. Much of Web 3.0 is untapped. If you follow the instructions in this book, you will embrace the newest trends and technologies, and likely be ahead of the competition (until Web 4.0 comes along!).

- The book highlights ways to electronically meet and share information easily and cheaply. Tasner explains how Web 3.0 allows us to meet over the internet using streaming video, potentially saving businesses thousands in airfare, gasoline, and lodging.

Generally, I liked this book, but there was one major drawback I should note. Maybe I am just familiar enough with technology, but I kept finding myself thinking how obvious a lot of this book is. I am not saying the book is for absolute beginners, but those of us that keep up with technology will already be familiar with much of the content. I especially found the chapter on Twitter to be painfully obvious, but then again, I use Twitter regularly.

Overall, this is a helpful and insightful book that will benefit businesses and non-profits. As we move to Web 3.0, email is out of style, and "tweets" and status updates are where the action is. If your business is barely using email to your advantage, then you may want to consider at least exploring Web 3.0, to increase your profits and communication with customers. This book is a great place to start. I am excited to have the knowledge and tools to embrace Web 3.0.

I'm not completely clueless when it comes to web marketing/social networking/blogging etc. but there was a lot I needed to learn and actually implement.

I LOVE how easy to use this book is! The table of contents is VERY detailed so it's easy to skim over and find exactly what you're looking for. I don't have a lot of extra time to read through fluff and stuff I already know..there is NO fluff in this book, it gets to the point. And as mentioned, the table of contents is super user friendly. You can easily find what you're looking for and skip over what you already know or don't need to.

And, this book shows you EXACTLY how to implement, it's not just a 'what', but really is a 'how'. (so refreshing to see that!) Simple icons are consistent throughout the book including one for "checklist" and "to do".

I was impressed with this very practical, easy to use guide!

This book was assigned reading in my Internet Marketing Master's Degree course at Full Sail University.
The course was New Media Marketing and this book focuses on the mindshift from Web 2.0 to Web 3.0.
Every approach is practical and can be put into use immediately. It even includes a chapter for an Action Plan/Putting it to use!
Most definitely the best book in an ever-changing industry!

You often I read about online marketing and "Web 2.0, 3.0"... and what I read doesn't give me anything new. But this book was different. I did like the take on online marketing and felt that the author offered several new tips that you could take away. I also felt that this book was balanced nicely by conceptual talk, which can be helpful if you are experienced in online marketing. It gives you food for thought so you can use the tips and come up with several of your own.

"Marketing in the Moment" by Michael Tasner is a current guide to establishing and honing a good internet marketing strategy that goes beyond social media utilizing a host of web tools from destination sites like Picasa, tools such as Skype, ooVoo and BlogTalkRadio and even virtual worlds like Second Life, Cybertown and Dotsoul. To his credit, Tasner goes beyond the prototypical Facebook/Twitter protocol advice and digs deeper into both a bigger toolbox and some advanced strategies. He tends to focus a bit on gaming and virtual worlds, yet he also covers worthwhile ground on the analysis of open source coding techniques, mobile techniques and a general overview of effective Web 3.0 strategies (as well as his unique and useful 360-degree strategy review.) In doing so, Tasner actually adds to the discussion instead of merely rehashing the massive amount of published information already out in book form and for that he is to be commended.

Moving from blogging to microblogging. This is an example of what the author calls Web 3.0 marketing. The book touches on tools and ideas, most of them good. It also gives examples of those who are successfully using Web 3.0 in their marketing. It briefly discusses @Tweets, direct messages and retweeting --- all basic to most of us. Newbies would find it all quite useful, however.

It tells you how to tweet successfully. At least it touches on it. It also talks about marketing with iPhone and other new technologies.

The trouble with this book, like so many others, is that it is not in-depth and doesn't offer the serious marketer any real solutions. It gives a very good overview.

"Test a short reminder for an upcoming event, promotion, or special you're offering --- really anything for which you want to give clients a friendly nudge/reminder." This is an example of the tips given in the book. And each chapter or section offers a case study.

To be sure, there's useful information here. For newbies or those new to Web 3.0, this would be a great read. To those already involved in Web 3.0, you may not find enough here to be helpful.

-- Susanna K. Hutcheson