Here's how to apply the marketing savvy you already have to the social media your prospects are using, helping you get and keep more customers, make more sales, and boost your bottom line.Find the business side -- explore the variety of social media options and research where your target audience hangs outCollect your tools -- discover ways to simplify posting in multiple locations and how to monitor activityEstablish your presence -- start a blog or podcast to build a followingFollow and be followed -- find the right people to follow on Twitter and get them to follow youFan out -- showcase your company with a customized Facebook business pageFollow up -- use analytics to assess the success of your social media campaignOpen the book and find:Tips for finding your target marketImportant legal considerationsStep-by-step guidance for setting up a campaignLots of helpful technology toolsBlogging and podcasting adviceHow to make Twitter pay off for your businessTools for analyzing your success in each mediumWhen to move forward and when to pull back

    For the most part the book is a discussion of good writing style and effective research strategies. Some of the material is accepted wisdom, some is controversial, and some is my opinions. Although the book is brief, it is designed to be comprehensive: some readers may be interested in exploring topics further, but for most readers this book should be suf?cient. The ?rst edition of this book was almost entirely about writing. This e- tion, partly in response to reader feedback and partly in response to issues that arose in my ownexperiences as an advisor, researcher, and referee, is also about research methods. Indeed, the two topics writing about and doing research are not clearly separated. It is a small step from asking how do I write? to askingwhatisitthatIwriteabout? As previously, the guidance on writing focuses on research, but much of the material is applicable to general technical and professional communication. Likewise, the guidance on the practice of research has broader lessons. A pr- titioner trying a new algorithm or explaining to colleagues why one solution is preferable to another should be con?dent that the arguments are built on robust foundations. And, while this edition has a stronger emphasis on research than did the ?rst, nothing has been deleted; there is additional material on research, but the guidance on writing has not been taken away."

    Employee #55's story of the first five years of Amazon.com, which "brims with fascinating Amazoniana." (The Los Angeles Times)In a book that Ian Frazier has called, "a fascinating and sometimes hair-raising morality tale from deep inside the Internet boom," James Marcus, hired by Amazon.com in 1996, when the company was so small his e-mail address could be james@amazon.com, looks back a decade later at the ecstatic rise, dramatic fall, and remarkable comeback of the consummate symbol of late 1990s America.Observing "how it was to be in the right place (Seattle) at the right time (the 90s)" (Chicago Reader), Marcus offers a ringside seat on everything from his first interview with Jeff Bezos to the company's bizarre, Nordic-style retreats, creating what Jonathan Raban calls "an utterly beguiling book." For this first paperback edition, Marcus has added a new afterword with further reflections on his Amazon experience.In the tradition of the most noteworthy and entertaining memoirs of recent years, Marcus offers us a modern-day fable, "a clear-eyed, first-person account, rife with digressions on the larger cultural meaning throughout" (Henry Alford, Newsday).

    

     Now Burg is back with a new book, offering deeper insight about what it means to be truly influential and providing powerful strategies for mastering the art of persuasion.   Faced with the task of persuading someone to do what we want, most of us expect, and often encounter, resistance. We see the other person as an adversary and often resort to coercion or manipulation in order to get our way. But while this approach might at times bring us short-term results, it leaves people with a bad feeling about themselves and about us. At that point, our relationship with the person is weakened and our influence dramatically decreased.   There is a better way.   Drawing on his own experiences and the stories of other influential people, Burg offers five simple principles of what he calls “ultimate influence”—the ability to win people to your side in a way that leaves everyone feeling great about the outcome…and about themselves!: ·Control your own emotions: Responding calmly rather than allowing your emotions to get the better of you will ensure not putting the other person on the defensive but rather help them remain open to your ideas. ·Understand the clash of belief systems: Every individual operates based on an unconscious set of beliefs, experiences, and ideas, which are most likely very different from yours. Understand this and you can avoid confusion and numerous misunderstandings that stand in the way of most people’s ability to influence. ·Acknowledge their ego: People want to feel good about themselves; if you make someone genuinely feel good, you’re one step closer to making an ally. ·Set the proper frame: People react and respond to other people. Approach potential conflicts from a position of benevolence, resolution, and helpfulness and they will follow suit. ·Communicate with tact and empathy: While the first four principles are vital, this is what brings it all home. Saying the right thing at the right time makes all the difference in terms of moving people to your side of the issue and taking the appropriate action that benefits all concerned.   In the tradition of Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People and Robert Cialdini's Influence, Burg offers a tried-and-true framework for building alliances at work, at home, and anywhere else you seek to win people over.

    In many ways this has improved our lives, yet, we as individuals do not benefit from this wealth of data as much as we could. Moreover, whether it is a bank evaluating our credit worthiness, an insurance company determining our risk level, or a potential employer deciding whether we get a job, it is likely that this data will be used against us rather than for us. In Data for the People, Andreas Weigend draws on his years as a consultant for commerce, education, healthcare, travel and finance companies to outline how Big Data can work better for all of us. As of today, how much we benefit from Big Data depends on how closely the interests of big companies align with our own. Too often, outdated standards of control and privacy force us into unfair contracts with data companies, but it doesn't have to be this way. Weigend makes a powerful argument that we need to take control of how our data is used to actually make it work for us. Only then can we the people get back more from Big Data than we give it. Big Data is here to stay. Now is the time to find out how we can be empowered by it.

    Find the best of the magazine's writing in Best of 2600: A Hacker Odyssey, a collection of the strongest, most interesting, and often most controversial articles covering 24 years of changes in technology, all from a hacker's perspective. Included are stories about the creation of the infamous tone dialer "red box" that allowed hackers to make free phone calls from payphones, the founding of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and the insecurity of modern locks.

    Apple's machines have legions of loyal, sometimes demented fans. The Cult of Mac surveys the devoted following that has grown up around Macintosh computers. Like fans of a football team or a rock group, Macintosh fanatics have their own subculture, with clearly defined obsessions, rites, and passages. Famously dedicated to their computers, many Mac fans eat, sleep, and breathe the Macintosh. Fans who get Mac tattoos and haircuts, people who attend Apple Store openings like they are Grateful Dead shows, counterculture icons who love the Mac, people who turn old Macs into aquariums (or bongs), Ellen Fein lookalike contests, erotic fiction featuring Steve Jobs; it's all here. Technology reporter Leander Kahney exposes all sides of Mac fanaticism, from the innocuous to the insane.

    Gershenfeld offers a glimpse at the brave new post-computerized world, where microchips work for us instead of against us. He argues that we waste the potential of the microchip when we confine it to a box on our desk: the real electronic revolution will come when computers have all but disappeared into the walls around us. Imagine a digital book that looks like a traditional book printed on paper and is pleasant to read in bed but has all the mutability of a screen display. How about a personal fabricator that can organize digitized atoms into anything you want, or a musical keyboard that can be woven into a denim jacket? Gershenfeld tells the story of his Things that Think group at MIT's Media Lab, the group of innovative scientists and researchers dedicated to integrating digital technology into the fabric of our lives.

    But they did not act alone. In 1933, during their infamous run from the law, Bonnie and Clyde were joined by Clyde’s brother Buck Barrow and his wife Blanche. Of these four accomplices, only one—Blanche Caldwell Barrow—lived beyond early adulthood and only Blanche left behind a written account of their escapades. Edited by outlaw expert John Neal Phillips, Blanche’s previously unknown memoir is here available for the first time.Blanche wrote her memoir between 1933 and 1939, while serving time at the Missouri State Penitentiary. Following her death, Blanche’s good friend and the executor of her will, Esther L. Weiser, found the memoir wrapped in a large unused Christmas card. Later she entrusted it to Phillips, who had interviewed Blanche several times before her death. Drawing from these interviews, and from extensive research into Depression-era outlaw history, Phillips supplements the memoir with helpful notes and with biographical information about Blanche and her accomplices.

    For years, Joel Spolsky has done exactly this at www.joelonsoftware.com. Now, for the first time, you can own a collection of the most important essays from his site in one book, with exclusive commentary and new insights from joel.

    It turns out that all the buzz is well earned. I think this is the best book currently available for learning Python. I would recommend Chun's book over Learning Python (O'Reilly), Programming Python (O'Reilly), or The Quick Python Book (Manning)." --David Mertz, Ph.D., IBM DeveloperWorks(R) "I have been doing a lot of research [on] Python for the past year and have seen a number of positive reviews of your book. The sentiment expressed confirms the opinion that Core Python Programming is now considered the standard introductory text." --Richard Ozaki, Lockheed Martin "Finally, a book good enough to be both a textbook and a reference on the Python language now exists." --Michael Baxter, Linux Journal "Very well written. It is the clearest, friendliest book I have come across yet for explaining Python, and putting it in a wider context. It does not presume a large amount of other experience. It does go into some important Python topics carefully and in depth. Unlike too many beginner books, it never condescends or tortures the reader with childish hide-and-seek prose games. [It] sticks to gaining a solid grasp of Python syntax and structure." --http: //python.org bookstore Web site "[If ] I could only own one Python book, it would be Core Python Programming by Wesley Chun. This book manages to cover more topics in more depth than Learning Python but includes it all in one book that also more than adequately covers the core language. [If] you are in the market for just one book about Python, I recommend this book. You will enjoy reading it, including its wry programmer's wit. More importantly, you will learn Python. Even more importantly, you will find it invaluable in helping you in your day-to-day Python programming life. Well done, Mr. Chun!" --Ron Stephens, Python Learning Foundation "I think the best language for beginners is Python, without a doubt. My favorite book is Core Python Programming." --s003apr, MP3Car.com Forums "Personally, I really like Python. It's simple to learn, completely intuitive, amazingly flexible, and pretty darned fast. Python has only just started to claim mindshare in the Windows world, but look for it to start gaining lots of support as people discover it. To learn Python, I'd start with Core Python Programming by Wesley Chun." --Bill Boswell, MCSE, Microsoft Certified Professional Magazine Online "If you learn well from books, I suggest Core Python Programming. It is by far the best I've found. I'm a Python newbie as well and in three months time I've been able to implement Python in projects at work (automating MSOffice, SQL DB stuff, etc.)." --ptonman, Dev Shed Forums "Python is simply a beautiful language. It's easy to learn, it's cross-platform, and it works. It has achieved many of the technical goals that Java strives for. A one-sentence description of Python would be: 'All other languages appear to have evolved over time--but Python was designed.' And it was designed well. Unfortunately, there aren't a large number of books for Python. The best one I've run across so far is Core Python Programming." --Chris Timmons, C. R. Timmons Consulting "If you like the Prentice Hall Core series, another good full-blown treatment to consider would be Core Python Programming. It addresses in elaborate concrete detail many practical topics that get little, if any, coverage in other books." --Mitchell L Model, MLM Consulting "Core Python Programming is an amazingly easy read! The liberal use of examples helps clarify some of the more subtle points of the language. And the comparisons to languages with which I'm already familiar (C/C++/Java) get you programming in record speed." --Michael Santos, Ph.D., Green Hills Software The Complete Developer's Guide to Python New to Python? The definitive guide to Python development for experienced programmersCovers core language features thoroughly, including those found in the latest Python releases--learn more than just the syntax!Learn advanced topics such as regular expressions, networking, multithreading, GUI, Web/CGI, and Python extensionsIncludes brand-new material on databases, Internet clients, Java/Jython, and Microsoft Office, plus Python 2.6 and 3Presents hundreds of code snippets, interactive examples, and practical exercises to strengthen your Python skills Python is an agile, robust, expressive, fully object-oriented, extensible, and scalable programming language. It combines the power of compiled languages with the simplicity and rapid development of scripting languages. In Core Python Programming, Second Edition , leading Python developer and trainer Wesley Chun helps you learn Python quickly and comprehensively so that you can immediately succeed with any Python project. Using practical code examples, Chun introduces all the fundamentals of Python programming: syntax, objects and memory management, data types, operators, files and I/O, functions, generators, error handling and exceptions, loops, iterators, functional programming, object-oriented programming and more. After you learn the core fundamentals of Python, he shows you what you can do with your new skills, delving into advanced topics, such as regular expressions, networking programming with sockets, multithreading, GUI development, Web/CGI programming and extending Python in C. This edition reflects major enhancements in the Python 2.x series, including 2.6 and tips for migrating to 3. It contains new chapters on database and Internet client programming, plus coverage of many new topics, including new-style classes, Java and Jython, Microsoft Office (Win32 COM Client) programming, and much more. Learn professional Python style, best practices, and good programming habitsGain a deep understanding of Python's objects and memory model as well as its OOP features, including those found in Python's new-style classesBuild more effective Web, CGI, Internet, and network and other client/server applicationsLearn how to develop your own GUI applications using Tkinter and other toolkits available for PythonImprove the performance of your Python applications by writing extensions in C and other languages, or enhance I/O-bound applications by using multithreadingLearn about Python's database API and how to use a variety of database systems with Python, including MySQL, Postgres, and SQLiteFeatures appendices on Python 2.6 & 3, including tips on migrating to the next generation! Core Python Programming delivers Systematic, expert coverage of Python's core featuresPowerful insights for developing complex applicationsEasy-to-use tables and charts detailing Python modules, operators, functions, and methodsDozens of professional-quality code examples, from quick snippets to full-fledged applications

    In this startling, eye-opening book, you'll learn how powerful corporations are planning a future where:Strangers will be able to scan the contents of your purse or briefcase from across a room.Stores will change prices as you approach-squeezing extra profits out of bargain shoppers and the poor.The contents of your refrigerator and medicine cabinet will be remotely monitored.Floors, doorways, ceiling tiles, and even picture frames will spy on you?leaving virtually no place to hide.microchip implants will track your every move?and even broadcast your conversations remotely or electroshock you if you step out of line.This is no conspiracy theory. Hundreds of millions of dollars have already been invested in what global corporations and the government are calling "the hottest new technology since the bar code." Unless we stop it now, RFID could strip away our last shreds of privacy and usher in a nightmare world of total surveillance?to keep us all on Big Brother's very short leash.What critics are saying about Spychips, the book:Spychips "make[s] a stunningly powerful argument against plans for RFID being mapped out by government agencies, retail and manufacturing companies." ?Evan Schuman, CIO Insight"The privacy movement needs a book.  I nominate Spychips." ?Marc Rotenberg, EPIC"Brilliantly written; so scary and depressing I want to put it down, so full of fascinating vignettes and facts that I can't put it down." ?Author Claire WolfeSpychips "makes a very persuasive case that some of America's biggest companies want to embed tracking technology into virtually everything we own, and then study our usage patterns 24 hours a day. It's a truly creepy book and well worth reading." ?Hiawatha Bray, Boston Globe"You REALLY want to read this book." ?Laissez Faire

    1 ASSET comes a guide to making profits by understanding intellectual property.

    Christopher Van Wyk and Sedgewick have developed new C++ implementations that both express the methods in a concise and direct manner, and also provide programmers with the practical means to test them on real applications. Many new algorithms are presented, and the explanations of each algorithm are much more detailed than in previous editions. A new text design and detailed, innovative figures, with accompanying commentary, greatly enhance the presentation. The third edition retains the successful blend of theory and practice that has made Sedgewick's work an invaluable resource for more than 250,000 programmers! This particular book, Parts 1n4, represents the essential first half of Sedgewick's complete work. It provides extensive coverage of fundamental data structures and algorithms for sorting, searching, and related applications. Although the substance of the book applies to programming in any language, the implementations by Van Wyk and Sedgewick also exploit the natural match between C++ classes and ADT implementations. Highlights Expanded coverage of arrays, linked lists, strings, trees, and other basic data structures Greater emphasis on abstract data types (ADTs), modular programming, object-oriented programming, and C++ classes than in previous editions Over 100 algorithms for sorting, selection, priority queue ADT implementations, and symbol table ADT (searching) implementations New implementations of binomial queues, multiway radix sorting, randomized BSTs, splay trees, skip lists, multiway tries, B trees, extendible hashing, and much more Increased quantitative information about the algorithms, giving you a basis for comparing them Over 1000 new exercises to help you learn the properties of algorithms Whether you are learning the algorithms for the first time or wish to have up-to-date reference material that incorporates new programming styles with classic and new algorithms, you will find a wealth of useful information in this book.