This book has taught me to expect more from the retail stores I deal with. I will now expect exceptional customer service. I am not employed in a field that requires marketing but will definitely be attaching this knowledge to my life.

UnMarketing is a cross between "how best to use Twitter (and why Scott loves it)" and "why good customer services is better than traditional marketing". For Scott, business is about personal connections, and that comes across in both messages. This book has many short chapters, and he uses a lot of personal anecdotes to emphasize his points. In places, there were editing errors or just plain mistakes, but they didn't detract a ton from the overall message.

Points I took away include: Always respond to messages about your company (twitter, linkedin, etc.); aim higher on the hierarchy of buying pyramid; and what your web site should look like (chapter 24).

The thesis is the subtitle: Don't market, engage. If you get that, you get the only thing this book offers. Other than that, it has multiple chapters on how to use social media "correctly." It gets the feeling of a time capsule because the advice is certainly out of date and many of the examples he gives as businesses doing it right have since gone out of business. A book worth getting from the library and skimming through in 30 minutes, but that's about it.

It was a quick read. Had some useful information, but nothing that I found revolutionary or new to me. That might simply be I am someone who already believes in his philosophy and there for already do much of what he writes about int he book. If you are new to the idea of social networking and using social media in your marketing plan then this is a book that will help to guide you on a great way to go.

The first half of this book started out solid, with a quirky and humorous style and lots of good advice - not much new for regular SoMe users, but still good info. The second half dragged on and got more detailed with trade shows, telesummits, etc. - not as applicable to the area where I'm doing SoMe, so much less interesting. Overall a quick and decent read.

3.5/5