5 thoughts on “The Age of Engage: Reinventing Marketing for Today’s Connected, Collaborative, and Hyperinteractive Culture”

1. Review by J. T. Klepp for The Age of Engage: Reinventing Marketing for Today’s Connected, Collaborative, and Hyperinteractive Culture
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   If you have not had any (or very little) exposure to digital marketing, by all means buy the book and read it. However, for anyone who has had some experience with digital marketing the last 5 years, this book offers very little new thinking (unless you are really bad at your job).

   While the book is full of examples, if flows poorly. The author’s points seem to get lost in a somewhat poor structure, and too many points thrown at the user without a proper flow to it. The author should definitely look into pyramid consulting techniques in order to present better. And given the author’s savvy in online marketing, it does make me wonder whether the other reviews are legitimate.

   But again, if you are a CEO, or non-marketing exec, or an “old school” marketer, this books seems like a useful intro to you. But you should be out reading Techcrunch, Marketing 2.0, Mobilemarketer, Mashable etc etc on a daily basis, and you would not only learn just as quick, you’d stay more current.

2. Review by Rich Schefren for The Age of Engage: Reinventing Marketing for Today’s Connected, Collaborative, and Hyperinteractive Culture
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   I just finished reading The Age of Engage, and all I can say is WOW! As a thought leader in Internet marketing I read 4-5 books a week. And this book stands out in the questions it surfaces, and then (more importantly) the answers it provides.

   I literally went through three highlighters trying to extract every golden nugget of information this book delivers. Plus, I bought copies for my entire staff – with the directive to read this ASAP!

   If you are looking for a book that does more than just lay a bunch of theory on you… a book that really explains what must change, why it must change, and then most importantly HOW TO CHANGE – then look no further, you have just found THE book that delivers on all three aspects.

   Lastly, the final seven pages of the book are filled with marketing exercises/questions that do an excellent job of helping readers take what they’ve learned and now apply it to their businesses. I hope more books begin to follow this format beacause it makes the takeaway value so much easier to dimensionalize and act upon.

3. Review by Kevin J. Dean for The Age of Engage: Reinventing Marketing for Today’s Connected, Collaborative, and Hyperinteractive Culture
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   I picked this book up and could not put it down. This is a total paradigm shift for the marketing world. This book replaces the principles of 4Ps (Product, Price, Place, and Promotion) with the 6Vs (Venture, Value, Voice, Verifiable, Vicinity, and Vehicle).

   With 15 years experience in technology and having lead major technology initiative for two Fortune 500 companies I recommend that IT professional read this book to gain an understanding of how to use their knowledge of technology to help transform their companies to be able to compete in the new marketing age that we have entered into.

   Whether you are a small, medium or large business you have to read this book. This book is a must read for every single person in every organization.

   Kevin Dean

4. Review by Jeff Lippincott for The Age of Engage: Reinventing Marketing for Today’s Connected, Collaborative, and Hyperinteractive Culture
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   This book was a good read. It did not set my world on fire because over the past year or so I’ve been reading quite a few marketing books on how to incorporate blogs, comment sites, and social networks into the marketing plan of a business plan. In a way, it’s just another of the many books that are flooding the book market regarding Internet marketing.

   The book is sweet, though. It’s pretty to look at. It’s well outlined and well written. And, oh, the pictures of the author I have spotted on her Amazon profile, LinkedIn profile, and her book’s own Web site and blog indicate she is a knockout appearance-wise. The best parts of this book in my humble opinion are the real-world examples about how to open meaningful interactions with potential customers.

   The book points out well that traditional marketing involved the following approach: static, publish, inform, link, sell, and control. And now the marketing or Internet marketing approach involves live, interact, engage, tag, socialize, and collaborate. The new approach seems to take much more time from the marketer’s perspective than the old approach. But the new approach costs so much less than the old approach. And the new approach is proving to be so much more effective.

   The target audience for this book supposedly is marketers, communications experts, CEOs, and business owners. I highly recommend each of these people get a copy of this book to either learn something about Internet marketing done the right way, or to reinformce what they already know (or think they know) about Internet marketing. 5 stars!

5. Review by Joel Warady for The Age of Engage: Reinventing Marketing for Today’s Connected, Collaborative, and Hyperinteractive Culture
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   Keeping in mind that this book was published in March 2008, this is a great primer for people who are still just dipping their tow into social media and Web 2.0. While many of us live in this world on a daily basis, there are still a lot of people working in business today who have absolutely no idea as to the different between a static website, and a “Live Web” presence as Shiffman likes to refer to it.

   No, she is not the best writer in the world, but she gets her point across, and she does provide numerous examples to help the reader better understand the concepts that she desires to emphasize. The book is an easy read, and it keeps you engaged throughout, and upon completion, it provides a great beginner’s look at the way the digital world is changing the way we operate our businesses.

   If I were reviewing this book in April 2008, it probably would get five stars. Today it is a bit outdated, but still rates four stars as a primer. Well worth reading, but do so quickly before it is all a bit old.

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