My name is Rob McGill; I am a PGA Professional residing in Tennessee. In May of 2009, I stumbled across this networking platform called Twitter. How I found it and why I cannot recall, I just know that two years later I have become somewhat obsessed. I have become more informed, made many acquaintances, and started a personal branding that could not have happened without the use of Twitter. One of these acquaintances I spoke of is a gentleman by the name of Ricky Potts; his Twitter handle is @rickyleepotts. I did not know or had not heard of this man that was nicknamed by many as the “Social Media Guru”. I immediately began to research Mr. Potts. The first place I visited to find out more about Ricky Potts was his website, rickyleepotts.com. While exploring here I found a very versatile, talented writer. I also found a free ebook with the title Twitter is not a Chat; Understanding Twitter in 140 Characters or Less. I felt that this was a book that I should to read to improve my knowledge of Twitter and how to properly use this wonderful tool. Now I will take the opportunity to provide a review of this ebook by Ricky Potts.
The first thing I noticed was that Mr. Potts provided the book in a universal PDF format that made downloading a breeze. I am appreciative when others understand that not all of us are privy to expensive or exotic software. Mr. Potts did the correct thing in providing the book in a format that will reach the most readers.
Usually the first thing I do with a new book and even an ebook is scanning through the pages and chapters to see how the information is laid out. This may be odd to some, but it seems to get me acquainted with the book before I dive in. I appreciated the way the book was laid out. The author explains why he wrote the book, provides a history of Twitter, and then takes the reader through a step-by-step journey of Twitter. Mr. Potts gets two thumbs up for the organization of the book.
As I began to read the book my first impression was that the information within might be too basic for even my limited knowledge. As I continued to read through, it became obvious that Mr. Potts had given great thought to whom his audience would be. This became obvious, because as you travel farther through the pages the less basic the information was. Knowing and writing to your audience is a skill that I feel all authors, bloggers, and journalists must learn to master, and Mr. Potts understands that skill.
There are several parts of the book I found very helpful. They contain information everyone should know about Twitter if they want to use Twitter in the proper format. Some of the information many of us may know but is reinforced here in the book. I feel that understanding and retention increases dramatically when the information is confirmed by a credible reference. The information I speak of is proper Twitter etiquette. Mr. Potts explains what to tweet, as well as how and why one should retweet. Items I am sure many micro bloggers would benefit from. In addition, the author also gives helpful guidance to those wanting to use Twitter as a social media tool to aid in developing a brand. He continues to explain how Twitter and Facebook are separate tools and should be treated as such. I appreciated reading this information.
The section that I gained the most benefit from was the section on widgets. The author explains what a widget is, how to use a widget, and most importantly for me, how to install a widget on your personal website. This section provided me with the type of information I was looking for. I appreciate the way Mr. Potts spelled it out in simple form that his audience could understand.
In summary, I would recommend this book to everyone ready to jump into Twitter. If you are experienced in Twitter, you may find the book a little basic but as I said earlier, you will find something new or reinforced. I thoroughly enjoyed the information in the book because I am on a constant journey to improve my social media brand. I just have one recommendation to the author for his next book, 5 Steps to Branding Yourself Through Social Media. I am sure Mr. Potts has a multitude of ideas; I just thought I would throw that out there. Congratulations, Mr. Ricky Potts, on an excellent book. I feel his first book is just a great preview of many to come.
Please note that this review was written by Rob McGill, PGA professional.
