Greg was not so flattering in his review.

Quoting Greg:

Written by Dan Schawbel who is more or less Paris Hilton famous. The guy graduated college 2 years ago and has become successful solely because he talks about how successful he is. His Me 2.0 reads like a the notes taken from a couple of marketing classes. With advice like “Don’t get drunk and spill your beer on people you’re trying to impress” and “Don’t ask for a job before you introduce yourself” you have to wonder who the target audience is.

The fact that Schawbel has no professional experience is abundantly clear throughout the book. He  just scratches the surface when anything of substance is brought up, and his story telling is sophomoric at best.

’m all for healthy disagreement, and apparently for Greg and folks like Greg, this book may not be the best choice. If you’re in that camp, you may want to listen to Greg and avoid this book.

But for many others, I think it’s important to set a little context around this book, in hopes that if you need the information in this book, you will buy it. I also hope those who don’t need it, don’t pick this book up and get frustrated with it.

Here’s why I recommended the book, which I shared with Greg as a comment on his article. I’ve fixed the typos in my original comment because my blog editor, unlike comment boxes, has spell check and I am not afraid to use it. :)

Me 2.0 isn’t the deepest book. I would absolutely agree with that. It is helpful for less experienced managers or manager wannabees who aren’t familiar with all that social media has to offer them or where it can trap them. If you don’t believe this is something that is SORELY needed by many people, you haven’t seen the stacks of resumes I get and the folks I talk to on a daily basis. They do dumb stuff like have an email address that includes beer or hot stuff or something stupid like that, is often at an AOL address or worse, something they share with a spouse or roommate. They also don’t realize Google is FOREVER and that if you say something on Twitter, Facebook, and the like that often ANYONE can see it.

Dan also makes some good points that through constant attention, you can build your brand and become known as an expert. He is a great example of this as he was promoted internally because of his brand. That’s a good case study in itself.

Is this book perfect? Nope. None are. It is helpful however, and I do believe for the right audience, this is a VERY necessary book. It’s simple, it’s easy to understand, and while I didn’t have any huge “aha” moments, I did get a lot of great reminders about how to do things right.

Sometimes the obvious advice is the best advice, or put another way, common sense for you may be not so common sense for someone else.

If you’ve read this book, I’m curious what you think about it. Is it useful or useless?

BOOK REVIEW DISCLAIMER: I am not getting compensated in any way for mentioning this book. The links to buy this book (or any book) are not affiliate links, so I don’t even make $.47 from Amazon. There is also no “Hey, I’ll pitch your book because you sent me an early copy” or “Hey, I’ll write about you if you write about me.” I recommend books because I think they can help you in your journey as a manager. I get sent 10 or more books to review each month, some of which do not fit with the theme of this blog (simple management, career, and business tips), or are not good enough to share with you, or just do not hit me in a way I can share them and feel good about it. I tell every person who sends me a copy of their book that there is no promise that it will ever reach this blog (or any other blog I write).

Book cover from Amazon.com’s Me 2.0 page

Post from: EveryJoe

Why Buy Me 2.0

As a manager in today’s challenging economy, you need to build a powerful personal brand…or risk becoming irrelevant. One book I’ve recently read offers you a playbook of proven, practical advice from someone who knows a thing or two about personal branding. Dan Schawbel’s Me 2.0 bridges the gap between the current business climate and the progressive best practices of the future. Covering a variety of topics all crafted to improve one’s success in the job market, Schawbel proves that just being in the game is not enough, and that one’s success lies in being ahead of the game.

Some highlights from Me 2.0 include: 

• A proven  4-step process for building a powerful brand (discover, create, communicate, maintain).
• Tips on using social media tools for personal empowerment, confidence building, and professional networking in order to attract jobs directly to you, without applying!
• Tested advice on how to create an online and offline presence for career protection and self-promotion.
• Over 40 expert quotes from leaders including Don Tapscott, Guy Kawasaki, Penelope Trunk, and David Kirkpatrick of Fortune Magazine, among others.
• More than 70 research reports, three personal case studies and examples to give you a broader perspective on the topic.

Bottom line: This is GREAT handbook for surviving and thriving in the digital age.

Check out the book website at  http://personalbrandingbook.com or buy Me 2.0 on Amazon. You’ll thank me now if you buy and read the book, or you’ll thank me later, if you wait, but BUY THIS BOOK!

Post from: EveryJoe

Buy Me 2.0