We are all weird by Seth Godin
Whenever I read one of Seth Godin’s books I feel he is preaching to the choir because his thoughts are so much in tune with my own when it comes to New Media, marketing and business. I often that he is describing things in much the same way I do when talking to those people who don’t understand the new world we live in, but want to know more. We are all weird is another of these cases. I found myself nodding in agreement and even saying “yes, yes, yes!” out loud as I read.
The basic, overriding message to this book is, “Mass is dead. Here comes weird.” Godin should have just as easily said “Here comes niche. Here comes small or a variety of other words, but I am sure using weird makes readers stop and take notice.” I agree with him, too. The mass market is shrinking (he provides some charts showing how and why) and smart businesspeople will focus on tribes, niches, small groups to find those people with an affinity for their product.
“The opportunity of our time is to support the weird, to sell to the weird and, if you wish, to become weird.”
Like most “normal” processes of the world, the Internet and the hyper-connectivness it allows, is making weird the new normal. I know, that seems an oxymoronic phrase, but I get where Godin is coming from. As the “mass” decreases the old normal gives way to the new, weird, normal.
As with most of Godin’s books, this one gets me thinking, and making notes and instituting changes in my own marketing policies even as I am reading. You may have to think deeply about how to implement some of the ideas here, but I think there is something for nearly anyone who wants to reach a particular audience with a particular message. This can be anyone from a non-profit out to change the world to a corporate hive worker trying to keep their company relevant in the new weird, normal world.
We are all weird is available from Amazon.com as both a paperback and Kindle book. Use the links above to find out more information, read reviews and buy the book.
Disclaimer: I received an early, e-gallery version of We are all weird directly from the Domino Project. The opinions here are my own and no payment was made for this review.
Find more great New Media-related books in the Careers in New Media section of the WelchWrite Bookstore in association with Amazon.com
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