Digital tools of social media have lowered the barrier of entry in the publishing world and we are seeing more books being published as eBooks, many for free. EBooks are typically released as a PDF and available to download or print. Many bloggers see a short, free eBook as a great tool for establishing thought leadership. It allows people more space than a typical blog post, but has speed that traditional publishing lacks.
Here are five eBooks to check out:
1. In March 2008, Canadian podcaster Julien Smith and Boston blogger Chris Brogan co-wrote and released Trust Economies: Investigation into the New ROI of the Web. The free eBook is hosted on Change This, home to dozens of free manifestos and eBooks.
2. On July 1, 2008, Philip Sheldrake released The Social Web Analytics eBook (opens a PDF). The eBook includes an overview of free tools available for research and monitoring and a number of vendors doing work in this space.
3. Antony Mayfield and iCrossings, based in the UK, released the short eBook What Is Social Media (opens a PDF) in November 2007. Flip to the end and you’ll find a glossary of social media terminology and an excellent collection of links to visit.
4. Scott Ginsberg, that guy with the nametag, released the eBook 66 Priceless Pieces of Business Advice I Couldn’t Live Without (opens a PDF). While not an eBook about social media, Scott has done an exceptional job of branding himself and using many forms of social media to grow his personal brand and business.
5. I So Wish is a simple, new website for recording wishes. Created by Andrew Dubber and Stef Lewandowski the site quickly inspired an eBook, that is not free, called How To Make Wishes Come True. It was less than two weeks from site launch to inspiration to eBook, which illustrates the ease of the eBook for sharing thoughts.
What eBooks have you read lately?
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Comments (2)
Thanks for the shout out, Leah. I'm excited that we're mentioned. Further, I should tell you that the ebook we wrote got us a book deal with Wiley, so sometime between now and maybe the end of the year, we'll have a larger book out on some of what we covered there, but more focused on how business people can use the web to build relationships and trust.
Glad to be part of the list. : )
Posted by Chris Brogan... | July 12, 2008 12:54 AM
Posted on July 12, 2008 00:54
Leah, to parrot Chris, thanks for the shout. The Social Web Analytics eBook 2008 is my first ebook and it's definitely proved a worthwhile venture with more than 2000 downloads from the main site in ten working days. Not quite Micro Persuasion traffic I know, but not bad for such a niche topic! Maybe Steve will link too? :-)
It's also been mirrored on other sites including some of the SWA vendors featured in the ebook and scribd.com.
I'll be looking for more case studies and perspectives for the 2009 ebook if you guys are interested?
Best regards, Philip.
Posted by Philip Sheldrake | July 14, 2008 9:04 AM
Posted on July 14, 2008 09:04