In the Maritimes, there is a tradition. When you go to a bar with a group of friends, instead of saying “Cheers!” or “Salut!”, you say “Sociable!” The term sociable is even sometimes used in reference to a party. This is exactly where the name of Steve Jagger and Shane Gibson’s book came from.

And Sociable is the theme that weaves through the book. This book is not about getting rich quick, or 10 strategies for boosting your Twitter numbers. It’s about creating a conversation and developing relationships, and this is underscored throughout the book.

Another concept Shane and Steve often refer to is what they call Thought Leaders. I love this term, and I’ve already written a blog post about it. Becoming a thought leader is really about rising above the crowd. Yes, there are 469 (at least!) other people out there who are doing what you are doing. How can you rise above? By creatively doing something that no one else is doing.

At the end of the day, it’s not about getting referrals, it’s about becoming referable.–Sociable!

There’s a lot of value in this book. I picked up tips from it, and I’ve been doing this social media thing for while. It also was quite validating to read: I loved that all the things I have come to deeply believe in about social media were confirmed here.

My only real criticism of the book is not with the book itself, but with the publishing industry. By the time the book is written and published, it can’t help but be somewhat out of date. There is no mention in this book of the newer forms of social media technology, like geotracking or QR Codes. This is one reason why I love that I’m able to self-publish my own book, as every time there is something new in the world of social media, I can just update the book, upload it, and feel like I’m keeping my clients up to date.

On a side note: for me, reading this book, and the value I got out of it, is tied up in how I read it. This is the first book I bought through Amazon’s Kindle, and I read the entire thing on my IPhone. Which, turns out, I actually really enjoyed.

I highly recommend this book, and it’s available for a mere $9.99 on Amazon Kindle. You can also purchase hard copies through Amazon, or at Hager’s Books in Kerrisdale.

Follow Stephen Jagger on Twitter
Follow Shane Gibson on Twitter