What Good Are Social Media Books if You Know Social Media?

There seems to be a lot of social media-themed books out lately written by people I know- with more to come. The fact that I know many of these authors is a salient point- I buy the books to support my friends, but as a rule I don’t get much out of them.

Here’s the thing- I hang with these people, talk with them, and to an extent know what they know. These books are not written for me.

So why even buy them? Two reasons I can see:

1- Friends support each other. That should need no further explanation.
2- Give your copy to someone who will benefit from it (if it’s signed, lend it or buy a second ;)).

Ok, now that I’ve said that, I had better do it too, right?

By the way- a good example of the same kind of thinking is Christopher Penn’s review of Trust Agents by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith, both of whom he knows well. Have a look: http://bit.ly/HEcC6