What’s On Your Nightstand?
By Nicole Millman-Falk
My reading list has just expanded. One of the things I love about going to conferences is learning about new books. I’m always amazed (though I’m not sure why) that most keynoters today also have written books; how else would we know that they are experts in their fields? After attending the digitalNow Conference, held at Walt Disney’s Swan and Dolphin in Orlando, Florida, I have a whole new crop of books on my nightstand. Here are just a few:
What’s Mine is Yours: The Rise of Collaborative Consumption (©2010, Harper Collins), by Rachel Botsman and Roo Rogers, is about a new, emerging economy made possible by online social networks and fueled by increasing cost consciousness and environmental necessity. According to its authors, who coined the phrase, collaborative consumption occurs when people participate in organized sharing, bartering, trading, renting, swapping, and collectives to get the same pleasures of ownership with reduced personal cost and burden, and lower environmental impact. It’s about a new world economy that’s ultimately based on trust.
Location is (Still) Everything: The Surprising Influence of the Real World on How We Shop, Search, and Sell in the Virtual One (©2014, New Harvest), by David Bell, argues that the way we use the Internet is still largely shaped by the physical world that we inhabit. Anyone can go online and buy a pair of jeans—but the likelihood that we would do so depends to a significant degree on where we live. The presence of stores nearby, trendy and friendly neighbors, and local sales taxes, among other factors, play a critical role in our decision-making process when it comes to buying online. So too, our willingness to search for and consume information depends on where we live and who we live next to.
Willfull Blindness: Why We Ignore the Obvious at Our Peril (©2011, Walker & Company ) by Margaret Heffernan, suggests that the biggest threats and dangers we face are the ones we don't see—not because they're secret or invisible—but because we're willfully blind. The book examines the phenomenon and traces its imprint in our private and working lives, and within governments and organizations, and asks: What makes us prefer ignorance? What are we so afraid of? Why do some people see more than others? And how can we change? It outlines some of the mechanisms, structures and strategies that institutions and individuals can use to combat it.
On Innovation: Turning On Innovation in Your Culture, Teams, and Organization (©2012, Essential Ideas), by Terry Jones, draws on the author’s experiences as Founder of travelocity.com, founding Chairman of kayak.com, and Chairman of wayblazer.com, to counters the management-book tradition in which empty slogans too often take the place of actual thinking, Jones returns our attention to hard-won insights learned from creating 10 startups and working for some of corporate America’s best mentors, and he does so with a light hand and a wry sense of humor.
Global Content Marketing (©2014, McGraw Hill), by Pam Didner, addresses the fact that technology has virtually erased national borders, forever transforming the way we reach and engage customers, as well as the way we search for and consume content. The book takes you step-by-step through the process of creating and refining your strategies to meet this new reality. Learn how to:
- Create content that engages people, regardless of their country and culture;
- Identify key actions and strategies to apply to your projects; and
- Connect the dot that others don't see and connect them in ways you never thought of before.
What’s on your nightstand?
Nicole Millman-Falk is President of Millman-Falk Communications, LLC, providing content development and strategic communication services for trade associations, professional societies, and donor-based organizations. In addition to her own company, she serves as Editor for Apogee Publications, which provides turnkey association newsletters, magazines, and membership directories. She is Editor of NYSAE's InView and was Chair of the 2014-15 Awards Committee. She can be reached at 201-652-1687; nicolemillmanfalk@gmail.com; or through her website at www.millmanfalkcommunications.com.