My Summer reading list
My current reading list.
#1 Infoglut: How Too Much Information Is Changing the Way We Think and Know by Mark Andrejevic, 2013, £28 (Kindle)
My current read. We have access to data unlike ever before but it isn’t making decision making any smarter. Tools and people all add their own bias.
#2 The Social Leadership Handbook by Julian Stodd, 2016, £20 (Kindle)
Julian Stodd recently presented to the European leadership team at Ketchum. Technology is relatively easy. Human behaviour and legacy structures are the main barriers to organisations realising their potential.
#3 The Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of Mass Unemployment by Martin Ford, 2016 (Kindle)
I attended a superb lecture by Martin Ford in London last year. His analysis of the far reaching impact of technology on the economy and society will make you think.
#4 Show Your Work!: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Getting Discovered Austin Kleon, 2014, £9 (print)
Sharing your thinking and working is the best way to learn. It always takes me to a better place. See also Steal Like an Artist.
#5 The Art of War by Sun Tzu, 512 BC, £11 (print)
The best book about strategy and management ever written. I keep a slim print copy of this book close by at all times.
#6 A Win Without Pitching Manifesto by Blair Enns, 2014, £7 (Kindle)
An inspiring and uplifting book for anyone working in a creative or service business. A book to read and re-read.
#7 The CEO: Chief Engagement Officer: Turning Hierarchy Upside Down to Drive Performance by John Smyth, 2013, 2007 (Kindle)
Social technology offers the greatest potential within an organisation but the adoption of enterprise social networks is only just beginning.
#8 Buzzing Communities: How to Build Bigger, Better, and More Active Online Communities by Richard Millington, 2012, £5 (Kindle)
A well-thumbed book that remains a standout guide to an important area of modern public relations practice. Millington is an expert practitioner.
#9 Viral! The Social Video Handbook by Paul Hurley, 2016, £7 (Kindle)
It’s impossible to predict or plan the viral performance of content but this book is a good primer on some of the key characteristics. Hurley, like Millington, does this day-in day-out.
#10 Public Relations as Activism: Postmodern Approaches to Theory & Practice by Derina R. Holtzhausen, 2011, £35 (Kindle)
An excellent book exploring the sharp end of public relations practice. Hard going but an important read.
#11 Strategic Public Relations Leadership by Anne Gregory, Paul Willis, 2013, £25 (Kindle)
Public relations has a huge opportunity to help progressive organisations discover their purpose and engage with their publics but it is seldom realised. A book to reread post-Brexit.
#12 Public Relations in China by D. Wolf, 2015, £15 (Kindle)
A much misunderstood market but one that’s changing incredibly quickly and offers huge opportunity and lessons in media and innovation.
#13 The Dark Net by Jamie Bartlett, 2015, £7 (Kindle)
Understanding The Dark Web is a personal project for 2016. This book is a useful primer.
#14 Little Rice by Clay Shirky, 2015, £6 (Kindle)
A guide to media and technology in China and the incredible pace of media innovation.
Photo via State Library of Victoria via Flickr.
