“Now Is Gone” is a finished project. It is done, and we set out to do what we wanted to do.

We’re locking closing the door, but this site will remain available (see comments). It’s important to know exactly what this site was about, and how it stands as a testament to the strengths and weaknesses of Social Media. Now Is Gone started as a way for Geoff Livingston to share the epiphanies he had with regards to the changing communications landscape. He went through some fairly distinct phases. I call them:

1. Blissful Ignorance
2. Holy Cow, What Just Happened?
3. Where’s The Map?
4. Who Else Can Benefit?
5. Where Are the Pitfalls?
6. How Do I Use This Stuff?
7. Moving On

Essentially, it’s the same sense of discovery we all experience when faced with something new. Having worked in the marketing and communications arts for years, Geoff knew the questions and fears that those just hearing about blogs and vlogs and YouTube and wikis might have. “Now Is Gone” was the product of his desire to pick up executives and communicators arriving at step 3, and shepherd them on through step 7.

So, why end it at all? Because, quite frankly, there are only so many introductory lessons. Sure, if you want advanced applications with regards to certain communities or specific technologies, then you can plumb the depths of complexity to your curiosity’s content. “Now Is Gone” provided the grounding one needs to take those first steps into the Brave New World, and then decide where to go from there.

Frankly, it was an important project even if it is a product of its time. Too many of the pioneers in the space we call Social Media or Social Marketing have moved beyond this first outpost. They chase the bleeding edge, and are mining the riches in very small niches. They are too far down the rabbit hole to be of any real assistance to the businessman whose company finally gives the green light, and says “Bob, I need you to figure out this blogging stuff. And I need it by the next department meeting.”

This “Now Is Gone” blog was to be a resource providing new case studies, research, anecdotes, and insights that might extend the life of the source material in the book. In that regard, it was a success. Those who come across this site through various links will still find some good - albeit very basic - advice. If you want more meat and more depth, go elsewhere with our blessing.

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So this is the Postscript — and true to the spirit of the evolving conversation, Geoff was wise enough to let someone else have the last word. If that doesn’t capture the essence, I don’t know what does. For all involved from alpha to omega, thanks. Look us up sometime. Thanks to Social Media, we’re not hard to find.

A long overdue round up of recent reviews.  Here are snippets from the  five that have surfaced over the past month: 

MarketMe.com’s Brandi Cummings (February 28, 2008) said, “As I said, most of my reading lately has been about new media so I was not entirely optimistic that Now Is Gone was going to impart knowledge that I had not already gained elsewhere. I was wrong to feel that way. “

Web 2.0 Developer (March 20, 2008): “Perhaps there’s an additional audience for this book that wasn’t originally intended; web-heads who want to learn about PR.”

Engage in PR’s Kyle Flaherty (March 20, 2008) adds, “The book not only takes the reader through the detailed steps of what new media entails and what to be prepared for, but Geoff describes how to properly establish a blogging strategy, interact with social networks and even pitching new media outlets.”

The Corporate Communication Blog’s Chris Turner (March 25, 2008): “But here’s the challenge, while there are brilliant minds like Solis and Livingston (and others in my blog role) leading the charge for change, entrenched traditional cultures don’t change that quickly, even if they wanted to. Some organizations show rays of hope, but the majority - especially in larger organizations - maintain the status quo, showing no signs of changing to embrace social media, and probably more accurately not even knowing it exists.”

Allan Cox, author of Your Inner CEO (March 25, 2008) said, “The book is a quick read, yet it carefully explains a great deal of information from a pro who knows how to build successful PR 2.0 marketing campaigns. Don’t read this book alone. Read it with your colleagues and discuss it together.”

Thanks to everyone who reviewed the book, including our new Amazon reviews, too.

Please excuse a bit of exciting company news…

Now Is Gone won the Silver Medal in the Advertising/Marketing/PR/Event Planning category (#17) of the first annual, 2008 Axiom Business Book Awards! Congratulations to my co-author Brian Solis and Bartleby Press Publisher Jeremy Kay.

The Axiom Awards are run by Inc. and Independent Publisher. More than 400 books were judged for the awards, and a little more than a 100 won medals. The official awards ceremony is in New York on March 10!

Due to ties, our category had the most winners. Beyond Buzz: The Next Generation of Word-of-Mouth Marketing, by Lois Kelly and Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking, by Andy Sernovitz tied for Gold. We tied with Press Releases Are Not a PR Strategy: An Executive’s Guide to Public Relations, by Linda B. VandeVrede for the Silver. The Science of Spiritual Marketing: Initiation Into Magnetism, by Andrea Adler won Bronze. Congratulations to all of the category winners!

Cross posted on the Buzz Bin.

Poor Bill. He’s going to have to suffer through another review of Now Is Gone, this time from Rich Becker.

Before I highlight Rich’s points, I did want to remind folks one more time that on Saturday, February 16 from 1-5 p.m., I will moderate four consecutive one hour sessions on Now Is Gone for the my ooVoo day project. Participants get an autographed copy of Now Is Gone.

If you can’t catch me on the road, this is the perfect opportunity to have a deep dive on social media and how it can benefit your organization.Here’s how it works, visit the my ooVoo day project site and sign up. You’ll download the software (for Mac or PC - both are still in beta).

Rich’s Criticism

Rich thought the book worked: “Now Is Gone is a book that attempts a daunting task and mostly succeeds. It captures new media conversations by communication leaders as it occurred. It’s something David Meerman Scott did with The New Rules of Marketing and PR. For this reason alone, Now Is Gone is exactly what it says it is: a primer on new media for executives and entrepreneurs, people who are starting to realize they need to catch up on several months or years worth of conversation.”

But did have some strong criticism. First up was the use of an informal poll he ran in Chapter 3:

Sure, poll respondents called the Wal-Mart flog the biggest social media transgression to date (36 percent), but only 23 people voted. Nine opinions is hardly as valid as it seems in print.

What’s also missing is that I followed up on the subject, stating that the poll participants were a bit off: John Mackey and Julie Roehm had much larger lapses in ethical judgments. The Wal-Mart flog merely stands out because it was perpetrated by a number of people who knew better, and could have been avoided by the tiniest of disclosures. This doesn’t really detract from the book; it’s just something to keep in mind.

And then there’s the common criticism of the book’s rough copy (a result of the book being rushed to market), and the fact that it really is new media. Meaning that some elements may be inaccurate or overblown in importance as new developments occur.

These latter two criticisms strike me as true. I finally re-read Now Is Gone for the first time in five months. The writing has numerous grammatical errors as a result of our rush to market.

While I still feel right about rushing to market and providing accurate timely info to the marketplace, its effectiveness reminds me of Patton. A bloody, ugly execution that while effective, lacks delicacy and cleanness. True fans of prose (identified by public proclamations of Eats, Shoots and Leaves) will be annoyed. I know I was when I read the word “brand” three times in the first sentence of page 40. Feel free to add your favorite gripe in the comments.

And yes, the conversation has evolved. Though I was pleasantly surprised by how relevant a good portion of the text is. If written today instead of nine months ago, I would add more on measurement, blogger relations, more industry-specific social network communities, and additional information on the symbiotic relationship between traditional and new media. Brian Solis has also indicated a desire for an updated text.

Of course,we have discussed these specific topics in unrelated follow-up posts on Now Is Gone, PR 2.0 and the Buzz Bin and. If there’s a second edition, the text will be re-edited, and updated with the latest social media marketing strategies and information.

P.S. (added 2/15) In addition, I also agree with Chris Thilk and Chip Griffin’s criticism that book uses too many absolutes in the form of musts. More Patton-esque writing. Strong suggestions would have been more productive.

Also, it should be noted that every single person that has taken the time to review the book  — critical or not — has recommended the book.  The total number of reviews including Amazon readers is well over 50 now.

A few more reviews have emerged over the past week, and these have held the course, all recommending the book.  In addition to new Amazon reviews, it’s great to see people are enjoying the book. I am aware of at least one study group that have evolved, and have been asked to develop a curriculum based on the book by several organizations.

Our first review comes from WOMMA stalwart and Community Guy blogger Jake McKee:

This book is a fast, easy read; something most business books don’t tend to be. I’m generally a slower reader than most, so the idea of reading a business book cover to cover typically makes my brain hurt. When I started reading this book, however, I was surprised how fast I was making it through. For a book meant to help people understand the basics, this is an admirable trait…. If you’re looking to put a book in front of a client/colleague/executive that helps them understand what this social media space is all about and why they need to pay attention to it, this is a fantastic place to start.

Jake did bring up the typo issue, a result of our decision to race the book to market rather than go through the full editing process.

Next up TechnoBuzz’s Susan Tatum:

Social media is here to stay and every business technology marketer, executive and entrepreneur needs to get a grip on what that means. Now is Gone, Geoff Livingston’s primer on new media is a great place to start. This book provides a good high-level overview of the so-called New Media and how it affects the way we communicate with traditional PR audiences — such as journalists and analysts – as well as prospects, customers and our extended “communities”.

And finally, Rodger Johnson wrapped up his two part review on a much higher note:

Speaking broadly, without giving away all of Livingston’s book, he addresses how to use your company’s current marketing activity to affect social media communities. To be honest, chapter 4, on it’s own, will set the novice a step ahead of the newbie in just a few short minutes.  

Thanks to Jake, Susan and Rodger for taking the time to write these reviews.

Distribution of the book continues to improve with Barnes & Noble now carrying Now Is Gone online.  Orders can also be taken at individual stores.

TechCocktail Founder Frank Gruber, (also product manager of social media platforms at AOL) interviewed me recently on Now Is Gone.  This video interview discusses some of the genesis of Now Is Gone.

Frank’s blog Somewhat Frank is one of the better social media blogs out there with more than 33K subs. His TechCocktail series has brought online to real life, forging great relationships. 

A very good friend of Now Is Gone compatriot in crime Brian Solis, Frank is one the DC region’s brightest social media minds, and one of our keynotes for BlogPotomac.  I sat on a panel discussing social media with Frank at the New New Internet conference this past November, and have stayed in touch since.

It was a thrill to be interview by him. Thanks, Frank!

Four more reviews came out this week. Here’s a round-up of what people thought:

Rodger Johnsen had some issues with the book. “I think Livingston over-emphasizes the use of marketing as the be-all, end-all of communication for corporations. And his view of public relations is, well, myopic. One of the important points of making a social media strategy successful is knowing the audience, but Livingston thinks public relations counselors are lacking in that regard… But Livingston’s communication nearsightedness doesn’t distract from his understanding of how social media strategies can be successfully built.”

A brief write up was found on Diamond Hell: “When not in the workshop, or trawling the net for petrolhead information I’ve also managed to read a considerable portion of Now Is Gone, which is excellent… I’m going to be annoying those around me by recommending they read it, thrusting it into some of their faces, and telling them to read it!”

Andrew Badera also thought the book was great: “This book is precisely what it claims to be: a practical primer for new media. Moving right to the heart of every topic it covers, Now is Gone is straightforward and on the mark, with a succinct recap of salient points at the end of every chapter… Every executive, entrepreneur AND student ought to read this work, because moving forward, the activities and philosophies covered are going to be heart and core of nearly every company out there.”

Chris Brogan wrote up the book again. “One way to help organizations understand is through finding case studies. Superstar authors Geoff Livingston and Brian Solis provided an entire section of case studies to accompany their excellent Now Is Gone, a primer on new media for executives. It’s a quick read, and inexpensive enough that you can buy a copy without expensing it.”

The Society for New Communications Research has published Chapter Three of Now Is Gone. You can read “Building a New Media Effort” online at New Communications Review.

Additionally, a brief summary of Chapter Two, “Are Blogging and Social Media Right for Your Business?” is available here on Now Is Gone as is a podcast of Chapter Six, “Think Liquid.”

We will not be publishing any additional content from the book electronically. The entire text is available at book stores, and most reliably, on Amazon.

We had three more reviews this week, all very favorable.  First up was Techno//Marketer’s Matt Dickman, a veteran social media marketer.  Matt said:

Geoff Livingston and Brian Solis solidly deliver on the book’s promise and tag line “a primer on new media for executives and entrepreneurs”. Now is Gone, however, provides solid knowledge to bolster even the most veteran maven’s arsenal. It’s a fairly quick read, but the documentation and references help continue the conversations online.

Contagious Solutions’ Tony Steward also reviewed the book.  Tony thought the book was unusually pragmatic:

This however is the first book I have seen that answers all the questions I have heard from CEOs, Executives and Lead Pastors about the Social Media space, its measurement, its value and strategies for being effective. If you are either a person in one of those roles, or the person who needs to communicate the value of Social Media to them - I would recommend this book be your first read and manual.

Since then Tony continues to blog about the book, in particular, Chapter Two, “New Media Ready?”

Finally, Beyond 2.0’s Frederik Johnsen just started reading the book, but already likes it:

I think I learned more from the first ten pages than I have from all the one-day courses I have ever taken since I graduated way back in 2000.

Overall, there have been 38 reviews to date. An overwhelming majority of the reviews have been extremely positive and every single one of them recommended the book. You can find all of the reviews here.