Here's the update for The Digital Handshake this week:

First, I've announced a special contest on the book's Facebook Fan Page. It's a video contest where entrants come up with a real life version of the digital handshake. The criteria to enter is: 1) You must be a fan; 2) The video must be no longer than 60 seconds; 3) You must demonstrate your handshake and explain your idea. Pretty simple and should be fun. I hope you'll enter. Details here. 

The official hashtag for use on Twitter is #digishake. Please use it when tweeting about the book.

Though the book was not scheduled to be out this soon, it is. Unfortunately, it came out at the same time as another Wiley book on social media, Socialnomics. This impacted TDH negatively in two ways: First, it threw me off my marketing schedule. I was expecting a launch on September 22nd and was gearing up for that. Second, it pitted TDH against another Wiley title on the same topic, something I'm none too happy about.Why they would have allowed that, I don't know. It seems like a real oversight on their part.

That being said, I'm going to hold to September 22nd as the official launch date. The book's rankings have fallen well down at Amazon and I'm hoping for a big push on the 22nd to boost them. I'm also hopeful you'll help me promote it like crazy on that day. 

Even with that, the book is beginning to garner some good reviews. 

Gregg Morris wrote an extensive review where he said, "If you’re that small business owner or marketing executive that Paul talks about, and if you don’t have the time to read extensively on the subject, which I assume you don’t, I would say that this should be your “go to” book…" 

Gregg also wrote a review on the book page at Amazon, as did Caroline Barry who said, "I found there to be much more information that was relevant to my small business. This book not only gave me specific ideas about how to use social media for marketing my small business, but also taught me more about the nuts and bolts of each medium so that I can better understand how to create content."

I welcome all reviews whether positive, negative or somewhere in between. Once you read it, please consider writing a review on your blog and at Amazon. 

A number of people have videoed or taken photos of themselves with the book:

Ginger Wilcox, co-founder of the Social Media Marketing Institute (where I serve on the board of advisors) introduced at the beginning of her SMMI update.

Realtor Susie Blackmon posted this to 12seconds.tv:

Looking at The Digital Handshake and eating Hummingbird Cake. on 12seconds.tv

Another Realtor, Ines Hegedus-Garcia, poste this photo:

To say the real estate community has embraced this book would be an understatement. In fact, I suspect most of the sales thus far have come from that industry. (And I'm extremely grateful.)

Lastly, I have a number of interviews coming up. Denise Wakeman is crowdsourcing questions from her blog readers for one. Beckly Cortino of Red River Writers has a live interview on Blog Talk Radio Wednesday, Sept. 16. I'm also trying to garner a number of interviews on the 22nd, either live or blogged. I'd really like to fill the day with one after the other and would appreciate any help with that effort. Thanks.

That wraps it up for this week. Look for another next Monday.