Recently I had the task fo creating a resource for direct marketers on social media marketing and print books are something many people rely on as a portable source of information. The challenge with print sources on internet marketing related topics of course, is that they can become outdated more quickly than other topics.

As a result, I tried to focus on books that would retain thier usefulness to readers over time. The following list was researched from the stack of books on my desk, from the good Tweeple following @leeodden on Twitter and a few private recommendations. Fortunately, we’ve interviewed almost half of the authors on this list, so I’ve included those links as well.  Enjoy!

• Cluetrain Manifesto - Rick Levine, Chris Locke, Doc Searles, Dave Weinberger
• New Rules of Marketing and PR - David Meerman Scott (video interview)
• Do It Wrong Quickly - Mike Moran (Mike’s guest post)
• Join the Conversation - Joseph Jaffe (interview)
• Groundswell - Charlene Li & Josh Bernoff (interview with Charlene)
• Personality Not Included - Rohit Bhargava  (book review)
• Tribes - Seth Godin
• Here Comes Everybody - Clay Shirky
• Age of Conversation - Gavin Heaton, Drew McLellan (100+ contributors)
• Social Media Marketing An Hour A Day - Dave Evans
• Secrets of Social Media Marketing - Paul Gillin
• Naked Conversations - Shel Israel & Robert Scoble (Video interview with Robert)
• Freakonomics - Stephen Dubner & Steven Levitt
• Buzz Marketing - Mark Hughes
• Radically Transparent - Andy Beal & Judy Strauss (interview with Andy)
• Web 2.0: New Tools, New School - Gwen Solomon & Lynne Schrum
• The Long Tail - Chris Anderson
• The Wisdom of Crowds - James Surowieki
• Marketing to the Social Web: How Digital Customer Communities Build Your Business - Larry Weber
• Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking - Andy Sernovitz, Afterward by Guy Kawasaki (interview with Guy)
• Social Media is a Cocktail Party: Why You Already Know the Rules of Social Media Marketing - Jim Tobin, Lisa Braziel (TopRank is quoted on back cover)
• Web 2.0: A Strategy Guide: Business thinking and strategies behind successful Web 2.0 implementations - Amy Shuen
• Now Is Gone: A Primer on New Media for Executives and Entrepreneurs - Brian Solis, Geoff Livingston (video interview with Brian)

And a book that’s coming out in a few weeks that I’m looking forward to:

• SocialCorp: Social Media Goes Corporate (Voices That Matter) - Joel Postman

What are your book suggestions for learning more about Web 2.0 and social media topics for marketers?

[onlinemarketing]