So I recently bought my very first book from Amazon (yes, I bought a book) entitled The Tao of Twitter by a good buddy of mine, Mark (@MarkWSchaefer) for $8.99.

I’ve been following Mark on Twitter and on his {grow} blog community for a while now and I must say he is in excellent teacher when it comes to anything business using social media. If you’ve been following his blog, you’ll be amazed at what you are about to find in this book – The Tao of Twitter.

What is it all About?

Twitter for both beginners and advanced users. The first page itself captured the essence and the power of Twitter. If you’re one of those that have been skeptical about Twitter, finding it irrelevant or thinking it is just another social ranting zone, this book will change your life.

Mark, very much like myself started Twitter with much skepticism. In the Tao of Twitter, Mark shared his story on how he first got onto Twitter and how that eventually led into a network of networks, opening opportunities that are not only for him, but for his followers.

If you’re new to Twitter, this book is a simple yet powerful guide for you to get started. It contains everything from the language / terms used, the meaning of various symbols (e.g. @ or # or RT) to how you can start building your own followers and make Twitter interesting for you and your business.

If you’re a seasoned / advanced user of Twitter, you’ll be surprised at the amount of ideas you can get – from building targeted followers, maintaining them, the art of listening, how to maximize your tweets, and a whole list of things to use your Twitter lists effectively.

Two Things That Jumped out of The Book for Me

The 20 minute challenge – how to prioritize my time on this highly addictive platform and make the most out of it.

Building influence on Twitter – how to build quality followers through quantity.

My Favorite Quotes

“Nothing says I love you like a retweet now and then.”

“What do I do after inheriting 6000 followers? – Start over.”

“Business Benefits = Targeted Connections + Meaningful Content + Authentic Helpfulness”

My Final Take on The Tao of Twitter

The Tao of Twitter is definitely a great read investment, worth every cent of $8.99 and more! In fact, I paid an additional $9.98 for it to be shipped to me in Malaysia, a total of $18.97 which comes up to about RM60 but it was worth the money. My one and only disappointment with the book that it only has about 90 pages in total and I was expecting to spend more time reading it!