Tag: Web Developer

David Meerman Scott – The New Rules of Marketing & PR | Review

Title: The New Rules of Marketing & PR

Author: David Meerman Scott

Type: Non-Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 368

Rating: 8/10

 

David Meerman Scott - The New Rules of Marketing & PR

David Meerman Scott – The New Rules of Marketing & PR

 

If you’re working in contemporary marketing then you need to read this book – it’s as simple as that. True, not all of it was necessarily directly related to what I do in my day job, but the concepts that are covered here are important across the board, whether you’re a marketeer or whether you’re a specialist, such as a web developer, within a marketing team. Let me tell you why.

The way that people communicate has changed, and brands are struggling to keep up. In The New Rules of Marketing & PR, Scott starts out with a basis in traditional marketing theory, and then expands upon it to cover the competitive landscape in the modern age. Essentially, this is your bible, and it’ll explain to you how all of the different channels that are now available, due to the rise of the internet, the web and social media, can be worked to their maximum potential to generate revenue and profit for your business.

Sure, it’s been a few years since the book came out, but Scott keeps it regularly updated, and so make sure you snag the latest edition. The reason that it has to be regularly updated is that it was one of the first serious books to hit the market when this new phase of marketing emerged, and Scott has continued to write on the subject at length since its publication. He’s one of the de facto thought leaders in modern marketing, which is what makes this book so remarkable.

Incidentally, if you’re wondering why he publishes with his middle name, it’s because there was an astronaut called David Scott. Being known as David Meerman Scott helps people to find him on search engines. Isn’t that an awesome way of practicing what you preach? Oh, and one other thing to note – this book is praised by Brian Halligan, co-founder of HubSpot, who also penned a book with him called Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead. I recommend that book, too – combined, they make a force to be reckoned with.

 

David Meerman Scott

David Meerman Scott

 

Click here to buy The New Rules of Marketing & PR.


Richard Wagner – Building Facebook Applications for Dummies | Review

Title: Building Facebook Applications for Dummies

Author: Richard Wagner

Type: Non-Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 342

Rating: 7/10

 

Richard Wagner - Building Facebook Applications for Dummies

Richard Wagner – Building Facebook Applications for Dummies

 

Okay, let me get this straight – I’m not a web developer, although I work with some. Yeah, I run two websites – that makes me an admin, not a developer. I’m comfortable with HTML, and I worked with PHP and MySQL as a teenager earning a bit of cash by modding phpBB forums, but that doesn’t mean I have the technical knowledge that’s required to code an application.

I do, however, work in social media, and so I considered it to be research in to the options available, but I must admit I wasn’t looking forward to reading the book. I was pleasantly surprised, though – it turns out that I basically qualify as a dummy developer.

Wagner uses PHP code, although you can also use Java, ASP.NET, ASP, ColdFusion, C++, C#, Python, Ruby On Rails and more, and many of Facebook’s technologies (FBML, FQL and FBJS) are language neutral. Surprisingly, I found that I could understand the language, and in places I even found mistakes – basic ones, where he’d copied and pasted the code, then changed the opening tag but not the closing one.

 

Dummies Man

Dummies Man

 

The author’s sense of humour shows at times, too – better still, you sometimes see it in the code. It keeps you on your toes, and it makes you pay more attention and take the lessons in. I’m not sure how much I’d get on with him as a person, though – it’s interesting, with books about social media, you tend to get a good idea of what the author is like in real life. You notice the films that they like, spy on their example statuses and always, for some reason, scan the names of their friends in case you know them.

It’s a good book, though a little dated as it was first published in 2008. Still, would-be developers can learn a lesson or two, but check the latest documentation first. I’m guessing lots has changed.

 

A Dumnmy for Dummies Cover

A Dumnmy for Dummies Cover

 

Click here to buy Building Facebook Applications for Dummies.