Booklist 2.0: May 2008

Every month, The Next Web Blog picks three relevant books for you to read. The teasers are short, the pro’s why to read are relevant. This month we’re discussing Me the Media by Jaap Bloem, Menno van Doorn and Sander Duivestein, Google Apps Hacks by Philipp Lenssen and Microsoft 2.0 by Mary Jo Foley.

Me the Media – Past, Present and Future of the Third Media Revolution

Only once in a while a book is released in the Netherlands that has international potential. I think Me the Media, written by Jaap Bloem, Menno van Doorn and Sander Duivestein is such a book. Currently only available in Dutch but the book is being translated to English so put it on your watch list! Me the Media deals with the impact of web media on “hyper-individualization, ICTainment on top of ICTechnology, and of meaningful web conversations between organizations, customers and employees”.

The authors knows how to eat their own dogfood, since they launched a website, a weblog, a wiki and an exciting video channel on youtube about their book. Definitely worth a watch! Oh and if you are curious about the book itself? Feel free to read the outlines of the chapters online. for Dutch readers, entire chapters are available as PDF download.

Google Apps Hacks

It’s no surprise that Google seems to be seriously hammering Microsoft and it’s office suite by offering a less complex, less expensive and easier to use (my opinion :)) office platform. Even I use Google Docs and spreadsheets more and more with my colleagues although my employee provides me with a well-thought, ubiquitous Microsoft platform. Google Apps Hacks, written by Philipp Lenssen (famous guy behind Google Blogoscoped!), describes a whole bunch of clever hacks, workarounds, and other undocumented tips that help you get the most out of Google Docs & Spreadsheets, Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Presentations, and other Google applications. After you read this book you will see how big the Google Universe really is.

Microsoft 2.0: How Microsoft Plans to Stay Relevant in the Post-Gates Era

Google Apps Hacks describes how you can benefit from the entire Google suite and makes you wonder how Microsoft will deal with these kinds of competition. At the same time we all know that Microsoft is working his ass off to stay relevant in the post-desktop, Internet era. Personally I’m extremely curious about how Microsoft will evolve the coming years since they have the appearances against them (Microsoft Bashing anyone?). So Microsoft 2.0, written by Mary Jo Foley (an American journalist, blogger for Zdnet and Microsoft analyst), is a great way to get a sneak peek into Microsoft’s future. For this book Foley interviewed many executives, partners, customers and competitors so she was able to write down a comprehensive picture of the company’s future. Foley offers insights into the people, products and strategies that will be key for the Microsoft in the next decade(s).