One of the people outside of my family I love most on the planet is C.C. Chapman.  I first got acquainted with C.C. through listening to his podcasts, and then meeting him in person at the first Podcamp Boston.  Over the years, C.C. has become  a dear friend, and someone I have always respected.  I was really excited when I found out that he and Ann Handley were writing a book as part of David Meerman Scott’s New Rules of Social Media series, and even more excited when I got a chance to read Content Rules.

A bunch of the folks I know in social media are writing books these days, and as someone who both consults and speaks on social media to businesses, I wasn’t sure how useful a book on creating content would be for me personally.  Content Rules surprised me by its fantastic “let’s just talk about what’s important” tone- I felt like CC and Ann and I were having a really great lunch, talking about what matters to us all.  Content Rules lays out not only the important methods to help create great and compelling content, but answers all the background questions as to why, and what to expect, as well as how to set goals for measuring your success with a content-based strategy- whether you are in business, in education, or just looking to develop your own corner of the world.

Between the How To’s and “Ideas You Can Steal”, Content Rules brings home the scaffolding people need to understand how to create great content, much like Made To Stick gives a framework for creating memorable messages regardless of your end goals.  Content Rules will be one of the books I can eagerly recommend to audiences, clients and friends who are trying to grasp the ever-changing scope of what’s happening online, by focusing on the threshold issue at hand- Create stuff that people want to read, hear, watch and care about, and do it in a way that fits with who you are and what you want to accomplish.

Don’t miss this book.