Books that have influenced me

Posted on February 20, 2010 by Bill Wren

I’ve just quickly created a page of books that have influenced me. In fact, while it’s page name is “Books” the secondary headline is Books that have influenced me.

It’s a short list — just five. I think of all of them as related to writing though only one is specifically about writing. Most are web/social media related. But I see their messages as applicable to writing.

And a couple may strike you as peculiar. You may ask, “What the hell has that to do with social media?” or something similar. You may think they are old and no longer relevant.

As mentioned, I threw it together quickly and I hope to explain soon what it is about each of them that I think is important. If the stars are properly aligned and I can write well, you’ll understand what it is about each I find of value and why I’ve picked them.

You can see the list here.

About Bill Wren

Writer, editor, social media practitioner and observer of how and where people connect and engage online.
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  • http://broadcasting-brain.com Mark Dykeman

    Permission Marketing is one of Seth's books that I haven't read yet. Would you say it's his best book?

  • http://writelife.net/ Bill Wren – Writelife

    It has been quite a while since I read it and since I still have it I should give it another read. I'm not sure it's his best (I don't know which one would be) but it's definitely up there with his best.

    I picked it mainly for what I consider its importance. I think that one sets the stage for all the books etc. that follow. For me, that's the one where he starts to talk about what I think is the fundamental concept behind everything he writes: customers aren't numbers in a spreadsheet. They're people. You're a people. How would you like to be treated? How would you respond?

    As soon as you start thinking that way, you understand your customers and your product/service better. You start moving away from an interruptive approach to advertising to a collaborative one with your customers. Godin may not have been the first to see this but he was one of the first to popularize (with this book) and I believe every idea he has since then has been rooted in this.

  • http://broadcasting-brain.com Mark Dykeman

    Permission Marketing is one of Seth's books that I haven't read yet. Would you say it's his best book?

  • http://writelife.net/ Bill Wren – Writelife

    It has been quite a while since I read it and since I still have it I should give it another read. I'm not sure it's his best (I don't know which one would be) but it's definitely up there with his best.

    I picked it mainly for what I consider its importance. I think that one sets the stage for all the books etc. that follow. For me, that's the one where he starts to talk about what I think is the fundamental concept behind everything he writes: customers aren't numbers in a spreadsheet. They're people. You're a people. How would you like to be treated? How would you respond?

    As soon as you start thinking that way, you understand your customers and your product/service better. You start moving away from an interruptive approach to advertising to a collaborative one with your customers. Godin may not have been the first to see this but he was one of the first to popularize (with this book) and I believe every idea he has since then has been rooted in this.