Customer Reviews

Share This!: How You Will Change the World with Social Networking

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You know when you read something that is so great you want to just run down the street and tell everyone that they need to read it, like right now? Yeah, well that's happened to me this weekend when I started (and finished) reading Share This!: How You Will Change the World with Social Networking, by Deanna Zandt.

Zandt is a media technologist as well as a consultant to key progressive media organizations including AlterNet and Jim Hightower's Hightower Lowdown, and hosts TechGrrl Tips on GRITtv with Laura Flanders. She specializes in social media, and is a leading expert in women and technology, which clearly gives her a unique background to write this book.

Some of the key ideas that Zandt explores in the book is looking at how social networks are places where we share stories and connect with others. I love that she recognizes that these are not necessarily new phenomena, but that she takes the time to help readers understand how the technology changes the spaces in which we do this as a society. She does this by discussing in depth the issues of trust, authenticity and privacy. At the heart of the book is examining how building empathetic relations really can change the world and she provides clear-cut examples of how this is possible.

This book is funny, engaging, and true to life. You'll find yourself agreeing with Zandt at so many turns and understanding yourself in relationship to social media infinitely better after reading the book. And no matter what you background level in social media is I guarantee that you will find this book entertaining and useful. Also, I rarely ever read the "Resources" section of a book, but I think that this section may be one of the book's greatest strengths. It answers the "so what do I do know" questions you may have, and has really great questions/answers related to some of the key themes, tips for individuals, and insights on how to manage information overload.

True to the practical approach it teaches, ShareThis! is fun, accessible and richly informative about how to participate in the new online conversation that offers regular folks a nearly equal place alongside brands and institutions.

The fundamental value of authenticity online couldn't ask for a better promoter than Deanna Zandt, who writes like she's talking (or tweeting), employs her own biography and quirks effectively, and shares the spotlight with friends, followers and mentors whenever she can to make her points.

The book is a how-to manual for curious newcomers and notorious curators in the social media world. My favorite thing about it is that along with a glossary of savvy recommendations for network-building and digital influence, Deanna has included a manifesto for citizenship online and off, inviting us to use the new age of people-driven media as a time to think not only about our power, but our responsibility.

Share This! is incredibly entertaining -- a great read. If you love social media, you will love this book. But if you don't, you will love it just as much, if not more. Zandt does an incredible job analyzing social media technology as tools for social change, demystifying what might cause anxiety for the techno-phobes among us and challenging the cynics who think it's all about sharing what you had for breakfast (sometimes it is, but that's not a bad thing).

The arguments in this book turn social networking inside out to reveal that it is in fact all about relationships, and building social capital being your authentic self. That although at first glance tweeting about your life might seem narcissistic, you are actually participating in a gift economy.

There are suggestions, tips, and tactics for individuals and organizations, though it is not the main focus. It's the philosophy behind it that made an impact on my life. I was inspired me to write my first Wikipedia post after taking one of Zandt's seminars, realizing that our history was being written - again - by white men.

Share This! is about moving towards a culture of sharing -- and the potential for a much more engaging, less hierarchical flow of information. This shift is changing the world, one "share" at a time.

I've been making a study of social media for the past 2 years or so and have become very interested in the ability of the social media to help people gain a voice and change the world for the better. I looked at a lot of books on Amazon and tried to find the ones with the most favorable reviews. One of the books I bought based on this limited research was this book, "Share This!" by Deanna Zandt.

However, I was very surprised to find that the book was of very little use to me. Its biggest problem is that almost all of the information in it is very general and consists of things I've heard several other places before. I found nothing groundbreaking or inspiring in the book. I'm sorry to say this because I was really hoping for a book that would energize me and give me not only a vision but also practical advice about how to use the social media for greater good.

Another problem with the book is that Zandt assumes that new ideas are inherently good ones and seems naïve in other ways. For example, she believes that just sharing information with other people will make us more empathetic, regardless of the level of the interaction involved. To the contrary, often social media can give us the illusion of empathy without the cost of really getting to know someone. She makes the social media appear almost as if they are an unmitigated good and gives little account of how they have inherent limits and problems.

Finally, it's annoying that for all of her talk about empathy and looking at other people's perspectives and being wary of bias, all of her examples are from the liberal side of the political spectrum. One gets the impression that liberal = good and that anyone who isn't politically liberal is part of the problem and not the solution.

In spite of all of the favorable reviews out there, I found "Share This!" very lacking. For someone who has not read much about social media, it will provide a good introduction in many ways, but there are better, more informative, more practical books out there.

Full disclosure - I know Deanna Zandt and she is the person who got me started using most of the social media tools I use today. This book raised the bar for me - both as a user of social networking tools and as a global activist and public health nurse. I have recommended Share This! with my colleagues who constantly remark "I just don't get it - why are you so excited about this stuff? It seems like nonsense. (meaning social networking tools)". I have also given it board members of the NGO that I work with, for the same reasons. Why? It's clearly written with a strong argument for where we are with these tools and how to use them for social change, it's fun and the book makes sense.
Share This! can be thought of as a primer on social media for long term activists who are new to the world of social networking as well as younger activists paving new territory to make positive changes to make this world a better place.

Social activist and media guru Deanna Zandt proclaims, "Don't let your fear of social networks keep you from joining in the conversation." She explains that the new ecosystem developing online needs everyone's voice to be healthy. A diverse group, she believes, must engage online, sharing their stories, experiences and opinions. Zandt's easy-to-understand, conversational style helps dispel some of the fear surrounding new technologies, as do the resources, tips and tactics she includes in the closing chapters. Zandt makes a good case for joining in, but leaves the details about how activists should use social media to others. getAbstract recommends this book to anyone looking to understand the online fray as well as to those interested in social change.

While many writers ballyhoo online social networking for business, politics, or activism, most expect us to learn by dumb force. Not Deanna Zandt. Her guided social network jungle tour gives individuals and organizations the heads-up they need for knowing not just how to use social networks, but how to avoid the most common abuses. She even gives readers heads-up on trends to watch as the network world continues to evolve.

Though Zandt assumes that her readers care about progressive politics, nothing she says really limits the range. Conservatives, libertarians, anarchists, and people who really, really want others to read some excellent book will find plenty here to get them thinking and acting. Zandt's mentorship guides you in choosing the most appropriate network, the right mix of content, post composition skills, and even the right friending process to air your views.

Make no mistake, though: in Zandt's world, social networking is no passive venue for funny cat videos and intellectual laziness. She writes for people who care, who want to take an active hand in information dissemination, and who don't mind a little spirited debate. If that's you, and you're ready to take on something meaty in your network, use Zandt's hard-won wisdom as a jumping-off point. She's prepped and ready.

Deanna Zandt has written a book called Share This!: How You Will Change the World with Social Networking and I guarantee that it will make you believe in the possibility of true democracy, the potential for positive interaction, the kindness of strangers, and the power of communication. Ms. Zandt is a passionate revolutionist, advocating for all the right things, and she's also a true techie, able to lead the reader through the Internet jungle of filters and privacy settings like a very well-read Tarzan.

Ms. Zandt starts with the premise that people are naturally drawn to one another. As I interpret her explanation of why we post and tweet, the Internet and social networks are an example of the same desire that once made people borrow cups of sugar from their neighbors. Now, we use Facebook and Twitter as our front porches, and instead of exchanging condiments, we exchange news, opinions, and personal tidbits. According to Share This!, that's a very good thing.

The book details how sharing ourselves on social networks builds our reputations as knowledgeable, caring citizens and how the "ambient awareness" our profiles and status updates provide act as icebreakers when we reach out to others in our Internet circles, asking for advice or offering support.

Ms. Zandt also makes a point that resonates deeply with me: active participants in the social network world (Facebookers, Twitterers, bloggers) are enhancing social interaction as a whole by offering their words free of charge. The world of social networks has not been totally corrupted by capitalism; it's a "gift economy," and that makes it a shining example of the kind of world we can all strive to live in some day.

Share This! provides many, many tips on how to use social networks and how to make them inclusive, as well as information about why social networks matter and what they can accomplish. It's a small book with a big message. It's a book that could never have been written before now, because the prerequisites for it (social networks) did not exist.

So, step into the jungle (it's not scary at all) and swing from the trees with Deanna Zandt. You'll relish the sense of possibility, freedom, and good vibrations that Share This! will bring to your life.

*This review also appears on the blog, My Political Side.

Deanna has a passion for making a difference and technology. In Share This! she combines these two passions and offers both a history lesson on when/how to use technology for social good but also a swiss army guide for do-it-yourself-ers. There may be other books that discuss social networks from an anthropological, technical or historical perspective but none that serves as a "how to" manifesto to really make a difference. By all means, go get it. And, start making a difference.

This is actually a review by Sunshine Mugrabi--signed into my husband Leor's account.

Deanna Zandt has burst onto the book scene with a manifesto to the power of social networking that inspires and teaches. It's also a lot of fun to read--full of humor and warmth. This is one of the few books that gets beyond the nuts and bolts of social media and instead takes a longer view. Zandt guides readers towards a new and more powerful understanding of the immense opportunity the social web offers to marginalized communities. It also challenges all of us to look inside and investigate whether we're still giving too much credence and power to those who have traditionally held it -- that is, white, hetero men. Having said that, this isn't some leftist diatribe--in fact, anyone of any political persuasion can make use of this book to create the kind of change they want to see in the world. In short, this book is well worth the cover price!