How Customers Think | Book site | Amazon
You can argue that marketing is about influence for commercial benefit and this book, whilst not specifically internet or PR focused goes into the mechanics of how the mind works in relation to your message. For instance, the idea that a memory of an advert is actually in a memory 'soup':
- with influences from your pre conceptions
- the circumstances you saw the ad in,
- the metaphors you use to associate with that product or service

By understanding a little more about how your brain works, you will get your message across more effectively.

Connected Marketing | Book Site | Amazon
A collection of essays from 'savvy' marketers, where they analyze the connections between different media and they ways you can leverage them. It also goes into 'word of mouth marketing' and how this is so often neglected, yet is the commercial driver for so many businesses. If you're not familiar with the new frontiers of marketing, then this is well worth reading.


Cluetrain Manifesto | Book Site | Complete book (free)
Before there was web 2.0, there was Cluetrain. This book sets out a manifesto for how business should conduct its marketing in this new internet age. It's simple message: "markets are conversations". The idea of markets and conversations is played out is 1000's of blogs and forums, chat groups, review sites, where like minded people do something they have done for 1000's of years... give opinions.

And those opinions are listened to, hence the awesome commercial power of managing these conversations as well as possible. This piece of internet philosophy is a must read to all those who think has not really disrupted the old 'broadcast model' of marketing.

Unleashing the Ideavirus | Book Site | Amazon
A simple idea. Ideas are like viruses. The more easily they spread and the more momentum they have, the further they will travel and influence people. Its a lovely idea in principle, but in practice it takes a lot of skill and understanding to get this right. My view: Help people buy, don't sell, so customer is your king. Then you will come up with ideas which customers love, then ideas spead. Another term for an ideavirus is a 'meme' coined my Richard Dawkins.

Apart from being a great read, the book goes into how ideas 'memes' or 'ideaviruses' travel. There are several wonderfully crafted stories, but the big 'take away' point is that in life there are 'mavens' 'connectors' and 'salesmen' who behave like hubs or connection points in society. Grasping this idea is critical when you want to understand the power of certain web sites and bloggers online (there's a post on meme tracking here).

Word of Mouth Marketing | Book Site | Amazon
Like the book title says, this about getting the word out and spreading it efficiently. It's a practical 'how to' book, going into the mechanics offline WOM. The relevant part for you is that good news can travel if you help it along. The downside: you have to have something people want... so doing a half hearted viral campaign or not having your customers real interests at heart will not wash. I thoroughly recommend it.

New rules of Marketing and PR | Book Site | Amazon
If you are a corporate and you are putting together a business case, then this book brings together a logical set of 'connections' between the myriad of online and offline places where your message could travel. It also re enforces the idea that if you speak honestly and compellingly, you will have the necessary credentials for this new PR landscape.

Herd | Book Site | Amazon
Humans are herd animals. On a deep level we reference each other and somewhere in our subconscious, we respond in combination with our environment and other humans. Hotmail, texting, Digg, Wikipedia, Facebook, 2nd Life are all examples of the herd mentality in us that follows the 'big idea' at any given time.

This notion does not exclude the importance of mavens, connectors and hubs, but it simply adds another dimension to our understanding of how ideas and activities can spread across the internet.

Naked Conversations | Book site | Amazon
Robert Scoble helped open Microsoft to its most important influencers ( Geeks) by allowing their engineers to share on their insights and progress on Channel9 a video pod casting blog funded by Microsoft.

He subsequently moved on and wrote this insightful book on how blogging can have a massively positive impact on a brand or a corporate entity. The subtext here is that people crave authenticity, finding it builds trust and that leads to stronger relationships between the provider and the customer. It's a close cousin to the Cluetrain Manifesto.