So, you’ve seen all the buzz about Twitter, WordPress, and all of these other new and exciting things happening on the Internet, but you don’t have a a clue where to start?  Never fear: we’ve all been there, and it took the knowledge of some great minds to get us there.  Here are some great books to get you caught up to speed with what’s going on in today’s tech, PR, and marketing areas:

1. Seth Godin – “Tribes”

Aside from me being on the back inside cover (look in the crook of the E – there I am!), this is a fantastic book explaining how we as consumers are defining the brands we use every day.  As business owners, we can take the buzz generated from these “loyal tribesmen” and fuel our sales and marketing by appealing to the tribal leaders, who will then share this with their circles of influence.  Highly recommended.

2. Garr Reynolds – “Presentation Zen”

I had the opportunity to see Garr present at the Voices That Matter conference here in Nashville last year, and he’s the master for good reason!  His style focuses on “visual” presenting (using as few words as possible with great imagery and super-minimal typography design) and it’s spot on.  If you hate PowerPoint, this is the book you want to pick up!

3. Robert Hoekman, Jr – "Designing the Obvious" and “Designing the Moment”

This book deals mostly with UI design, but it can be adapted to any medium (the tangible arts included!). Robert is the master of clutter elimination, and if you’re looking for a way to clean up your designs, this is the man to look to. I also had an opportunity to meet him at the Voices That Matter conference – and he’s just as smart in person as he is in his books! (I kid, I kid)… He also has a new book out called "Designing the Moment!" which I haven’t gotten a chance to check out, but it’s on my list!

4. Jason Cranford Teague – "Speaking in Styles"

Jason is an amazing mind when it comes to utilizing stylesheets in new and exciting ways. He taught me how to degrade fonts properly, how to utilize download fonts, and how to accept the fact that comps will look different on different computers; it’s just a fact. But his book is an easy read, but one that will benefit any designer looking to leap into code!

5. Brad King – "Dungeons and Dreamers"

OK, so this one’s a bonus, but it’s a great read into how fantasy games made it to the big screen and into our everyday culture. It’s hard to believe that Dungeons and Dragons started as a social game, but that’s what it is in its purest form. The idea of social gaming has been around for a while, but we now have the technology to make those social circles just a little bit smaller.