I like lists. Lists with eye-catching images, easy to scroll through, easy to save and consult later. Essentially, lists that are simple to quickly consume, then drop and move on to something else. Ça tombe bien. Snackable content is the mot du jour in digital marketing #wink.
So, I have made a list for you. It reveals some very key items in my strategist’s toolbox. At first, I was highly tempted to prepare something more along the lines of “top 10 digital marketing tools of 2014” or “must-have digital strategy toolkit”, in which I would enumerate all the wonderful day-to-day tools that are absolutely essential. But you already have that list, or a similar one, don’t you?
(If you don’t, my apologies. Please email me and it would be my pleasure to discuss such a list)
I therefore decided to get a little more personal, and share with you the tools that underlie my strategies as a digital strategist and that are at the root of my thought processes.
The following is a list of books I have taken great pleasure in reading over the past year. They are 5 sociocultural anthropology and social psychology books that, IMHO, are absolutely essential to developing human-centric strategies:
|
Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives -- How Your Friends' Friends' Friends Affect Everything You Feel, Think, and DoDiscover Buy |
|
Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human RelationshipsDiscover Buy |
|
Beyond CultureDiscover Buy |
|
Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We BuyDiscover Buy |
|
Spreadable Media: Creating Value and Meaning in a Networked CultureDiscover Buy |
You’re right, they aren’t exactly marketing or usability how-to books (which have their important place in my heart and soul…), but rather books that have allowed me a deeper understanding of who we are as humans, how we interact with one another, how we respond to audio-visual cues, how we make choices and decisions, how we move through time and space, etc. Because, in the end, that’s what it’s all about.
Happy reading!