book Archives - TheWayoftheWeb

When it comes to insight and analysis of the mobile industry, one of the essential people to pay attention to is Tomi Ahonen.

And his 10th (!) book on the mobile industry is not only forthcoming in print and mobile formats, but he’s also made it available as a free PDF download. I’m currently reading through it (It runs to 340 pages, with another 100 pages of excerpts from his previous books), and it’s a typically good read, in addition to being packed with valuable information.

It’s hard to imagine anyone involved in mobile in any capacity not getting a huge amount out of the book.

(While you’re on Lulu and freeloading, I’ve also spotted My Tiny Life by Julian Dibbell is also a free download, and is well worth a Christmas read if you’re interested in online communities and some of the issues and intrigue that can come from them)

For every criticism of the presumed mindless nature of Twitter conversation, it’s just as easy to find it being used in an interesting and useful way.

For instance, published author Jeff Kirvin wasn’t sure of the way to kill a character in his current work, so he put the question out on Twitter. (HT Steve Rubel). And out of the suggestions he received he found some that might work, and enough to get him thinking more (Read more interesting details on brainstorming with the hive mind).

Not only is this an example of Twitter aiding creativity, which is a counterpoint to the idea that microblogging kills writing and full-length blogging, but it also shows an example of someone who isn’t hiding his work away until it’s complete – because, after all, the people tweeting suggestions aren’t likely to suddenlly find the drive to crank out 50,000+ words. So why worry about sharing some details and asking for some suggestions?

Essential free book on the mobile industry

Crowdsourcing creative writing on Twitter