A Weekly Series by Teresa Morrow of Key Business Partners, LLC

I’m Teresa Morrow, Founder of Key Business Partners, LLC and I work with authors & writers to help them with their book promotion and social media marketing. As part of my job I read a lot of books (I love to read anyway!).

This week I will be highlighting two books; one author I am currently working with ‘The Ten Commandments for Effective Standards’ by Karen Bartleson and one book on the business Amazon list ’30 Days to Social Media Success’ by Gail Martin.

The books I cover in the Social Media Book List Series will cover a range of topics such as social media, marketing, blogging, business, organization, career building, finance, networking, writing, self development, and inspiration.

‘Ten Commandments for Effective Standards: Practical Insights for creating Technical Standards’

by Karen Bartleson

“Karen does an excellent job in illuminating the sometimes murky workings of standards groups. In espousing her ‘commandments,’ she identifies the often innocuous situations that have caused major
issues in the standards world and how to avoid those types of issues in the first place. This book should be required reading for anyone who will be participating in a standards organization, both inside and
outside the EDA world.”
Stan Krolikoski, Group Director, Cadence Design Systems; and Chair, IEEE Design Automation Standards Committee

“‘The Ten Commandments for Effective Standards’ is a great companion to the standards developer and for standards committee leadership. It is an even better companion to those who wait for and use standards, as it serves to remind adopters that there are many facets to standards development that need to be addressed to get to a completed standard. This helps explain why it often takes so much
time for some standards and why it is fast for others. If you follow the commandments you may have a smoother and quicker path to standards success. I expect standards developer conversations to begin to use more of the terms ‘The Ten Commandments for Effective Standards’ defines to usher further rapid development of business-relevant standards. As all good standards evolve, I look to Karen to be on the lookout for additional commandments that might be worthy to join the ten she has detailed here.”
Dennis B. Brophy, Director of Strategic Business Development, Mentor Graphics Corporation

A few points about technical standards Karen discusses in the book:

Standards can make markets grow. When a common interface is made available for use, competitors can develop new products around it. A standard can prevent a monopoly by giving more than one company the opportunity to create compatible products.

Tasks are simpler and less error prone when standards are used. Designing a computer chip is an enormous undertaking. Writing the description of the design in standard formats instead of rewriting it in a variety of them not only saves time but also prevents errors from being introduced during rewrites.

Standards can fuel innovation by providing a common starting point. Shared protocols for communicating data make the Internet phenomenal. Universal audio and video formats give rise to a myriad of music, games, and movies—and products that play them.

About the Book*:

Technical standards play an important role in business as well as everyday life. They provide opportunities for market growth and competition. They enable interoperability. They make customers happier. They bring order out of chaos. Existing technical standards are being updated constantly, and new ones are being produced in increasingly greater numbers.

But do you know what it takes to create an “effective” standard?

‘The Ten Commandments for Effective Standards,’ written by computer chip industry veteran Karen Bartleson and illustrated by corporate cartoonist Rick Jamison, will not only provide you with ideas for creating better standards, it will also provide you with a newfound understanding of standards and their importance, respect for the standardization process, and ways you can leverage others’ industry expertise to help you succeed in creating more effective technical standards.

Based upon twenty years of experience in the area of standards for electronic design automation and ideas drawn from other industry experts, ‘The Ten Commandments for Effective Standards’ provides you with a list of procedural imperatives about what works and what doesn’t work when developing effective technical standards.

This book will teach you how applying Bartleson’s commandments to day-to-day standards activities can help make your resulting standards more effective and easier to adopt. From the Golden Rule of effective standards — “cooperate on standards, compete on products” — which points to the essence of standardization, to the tenth commandment — “know that standards have technical and business aspects” — which declares the importance of a standard’s commercial implications, this book will provide you with a foundation for preparing for and performing in the technical standards arena.

Whether you are already involved in the process of creating technical standards or are interested in learning more about it, Bartleson’s ‘The Ten Commandments for Effective Standards’ is standard reading for anyone pursuing knowledge, excellence, and success in the field of technical standards.

About Karen*:
Karen Bartleson has three decades’ experience in the computer chip industry. She is known for her work in the area of standards for electronic design automation. Bartleson is also one the pioneers into social media in her industry, including Twitter. She is the author of The Standards Game, a blog focused on the standards arena.

Karen holds a BSEE from California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo, CA, and was the recipient of the Marie R. Pistilli Women in Design Automation Achievement Award in 2002. Her Twitter handle is @karenbartleson.

You can purchase a copy of ‘The Ten Commandments for Effective Standards’ online from the publisher site, Synopsis Press or on Amazon. *I did receive a digital copy of this book from the publisher to help in the promotion of the book.

Next, I would like to introduce you to a book on the business book list on Amazon and on my reading list: ’30 Days to Social Media Success’.

30 Days to Social Media Success

by Gail Martin

“Just about everywhere you turn these days, someone has a Facebook page, Twitter account, or LinkedIn profile – and they’re dying to use them to promote something to you; however, no matter how hard they try, not everyone is a skilled student of these invaluable tools of social media, and their lack of applied insight could actually end up working against them…

Throughout the pages of 30 Days To Social Media Success, bestselling author and marketing expert Gail Martin outlines a comprehensive strategy for the optimal use of social media. Highlighting the various similarities and differences between the online communities, Martin does a standout job of apprising the reader of the most effective ways to make social media work for their purposes. Chief among them: identifying from the outset precisely what your goals are for using the applications. By doing so, you provide yourself with the added advantage of knowing exactly how to use the tools to get just what you need out of them.

For the savvy business professional seeking to get a leg up in the increasingly competitive global marketplace, 30 Days To Social Media Success is an essential guide to considerably boosting your ongoing sales & marketing efforts. A must read.”
Dawn Jefferson
Apex Reviews

About the Book*
Small business owners and solo professionals know they’re supposed to use social media to increase sales, but how should they start?

Using a unique Rule of 30 approach, 30 Days to Social Media Success is the perfect resource for busy people who want quick results. Thirty short chapters (one for each day of the month) are packed with real-world tips and proven techniques you can use right away.

This book makes it easy to tap into the power of today’s hottest social media sites to:

# Get global impact out of press releases, articles, blog posts, and book reviews.

# Increase your personal and corporate visibility as the go-to expert in your industry.

# Build relationships with clients and connect with ideal prospects.

# Network around the world and around the clock with people who need what you have to offer.

Wondering how to use social media? Looking for a way to attract new clients without spending a fortune? 30 Days to Social Media Success is for you.

About Gail*:

Best-selling author Gail Martin is a marketing expert and international speaker, and the owner of DreamSpinner Communications. She’s the “Get Results Resource” for marketing that works, helping small and start-up businesses, consultants, coaches, authors, and solo professionals succeed through affordable publicity. Martin is also the author of The Thrifty Author’s Guide to Launching Your Book. Gail lives in Charlotte, North Carolina and can be visited online at www.GailMartinMarketing.com.

*courtesy of book website and Amazon

You can purchase a copy of ’30 Days to Social Media Success’ on Amazon.

I truly hope you will check out these books and please comment and let me know your thoughts on them.