Too often I’ve seen this happen - a cutting-edge social media book becomes out of date a year after the publishing date. This 2007 book is no exception.

MySpace is given a lot of pages, while Facebook is barely mentioned in passing. Texting as a social phenomenon is ignored, while Twitter is not named at all. LinkedIn, Wikipedia, YouTube and Flickr get their due discussion, however, as does the possible future of podcasting.

The short chapters are set up as compare/contrast essays, for example, discussing the merits of the Wikipedia vs the Encyclopedia Brittanica, whether blogging hurts or helps journalism and whether or not social networks are doomed to failure.

While these are all fascinating topics, the writing here is pedantic and scholarly. I had forgotten how much I dislike the academic voice. Reading this took me back to the days of college sociology assignments.

It’s not that the information is useless - there are good points made in each chapter. And it’s a quick read - I was able to start and finish this in one afternoon. I just feel that if someone is seeking of-the-moment information on social media, then a “just published” book might be more appropriate. Or better yet, seek current websites blogging about social media on the Internet!