Jim

I loved the idea of this book, but the author spent most of the time saying that it was important to play with your kids without really elaborating on how to structure one's life to play more with the kids, how to find hobbies in common with your kids, how to find family activities that everyone enjoys, etc.

The book was just 100 different ways of saying how important it is to play with kids. I wanted a "how to" not a "how important." HOWEVER, there were one or two things that I found useful.

The introductory chapter(s) for this book seemed to be introducing me to EXACTLY the kind of book that I was looking for. I didn't want something academic about social media. I wanted practical advice on how to build my social media following. I had high hopes for this book after the first few chapters.

Unfortunately, the book failed to introduce me to new concepts. Here's how the book goes: part 1 is a sweet introduction that will make you think you bought the right book, part 2 is a lengthy explanation of why social media is important which I already know or else I wouldn't have bought the book, the the rest of the book is a painfully complete review of each of the major social networking sites and when you should use them.

That's not what I was looking for. This would be great for an older person who doesn't use social media and doesn't understand it, but if you already know what LinkedIn, Facebook, and other sites are used for.... you'll be bored to tears. Furthermore, almost all of the examples in the book are major corporations and rarely case studies from small businesses. I couldn't force myself to finish the book.

What I really wanted from this book was TIPS for using social media. For example, what kind of status update gets my followers to interact with my page best? What ideas for contests could help people to engage with me? What statistics can you show me for brands that have made changes to their social networking sites and seen positive results? Etc.

If you're searching for a good book to improve your small business, check out "The Lean Startup" "The E-Myth Revisited" and "How to Win Friends and Influence People." Those are the best business books I've read, and I've read a lot of them!

Let me sum up the whole book for you: The first half says "Hey, social media is important!" then the second half is filled with trite corporate expressions discussing how large corporations can "maximize their presence in the global community by utilizing social media tools."

I guess it might be fine for corporate clients and people who are interested in the social media on a grand scale, but as a small business owner who was trying to get practical advice on how I can better engage my audience through social media... this was a complete waste of my money.

I did not learn even one tip that could improve my small business' social media. What a waste!

I have a bit of a different outlook on business than the author, but I definitely learned a lot of new things and have changed my business to apply some of the things I learned. This book was worth the money.

Still, this book was not as good as "The E-Myth Revisited." That was easily the best business book I've ever read, and I've read a lot....

I read this book with great attention and then sat down for three evenings just thinking about how to apply all of the insight into my own business. It completely changed my business for the better. This is a terrific book.

The author is obviously passionate about the topic, but I got tired of the high-school-teenager-style of writing. "Awesome!" "Crush it!" "Totally sick!" It wore on me.

But the reason for my low review isn't because of the author's verbage. It's because, like many business books, it just didn't leave me with any real insight as to how I can change my business to apply the ideas. The actual "how to do it" chapters were pretty old news to me. Get a blog, use this or that technology, what social media sites are best, etc. I'm looking for how to use those technologies better, with specific tips.... not what tools are best.

The one thing in the book that helped me and has stuck with me is the chapter on caring. Changed my perspective.

I don't think I would have bought this book if I could go back in time, but that's just my personal preference. I'm sure there are many thousands who find this book to be useful.

In my opinion, the best small business book ever written is "The E-Myth Revisited." I read that book and it completely changed my business.

The idea of this book is terrific, but it was too abstract for my taste. I read the entire thing and then sat down for a minute to see how I could change my small business to make my ideas stick..... nothing. Not one thing. I wish I could get a refund.

This was more of a psychology book on why people like some ideas, but it isn't great for business people who need to learn how to make ideas stick.