I don’t like reading thick books. They scare me off. But I must admit that when it comes to knowledge and wisdom, you can’t just ignore the experts. Which is why I’ve been a fan of Dale Carnegie all my life, right from the school days. In fact, “How to win friends and influence people” is probably the only book I would’ve read completely without missing a page or a line. When it comes to social media, honestly, we’re all still new and are testing new waters here. We’ve been doing it all day, every hour but nobody taught us in schools about social media, we don’t have chapters or theories or diagrams for that matter.

For most of us, its all about Twitter, Facebook, and wiling away a lot of time. But luckily, we have the gurus, and boy we have plenty of them ! I’m gonna skip the self-proclaimed gurus for now and just give you the best, top of the pyramid, authorities over here. There are only a less than couple of them, but that’s because they share the real stuff, they’re the real deal.

Here we are, the six of the best social media authors who share wisdom – for the rest of us!

1. The New Community Rules – Tamar Weinberg

Tamar is a social media superstar, author, speaker, blogger and all that possibly a social media enthusiast can be. She epitomizes what most of us aspire to be today on the web. And quite predictably, she knows the stuff, I mean the practical-doable-working thing, not the blah-blah kind. Her book, “The New Community Rules” is THE book when it comes to social media ad all that stuff.

2. Trust Agents – Chris Brogan

You might already know about Chris from Twitter, or his blog, or his YouTube videos, or about all the talking on the web about him. And that’s the whole point about the man. He practices what he writes. He pulls it off with panache unlike anyone else in the industry. Oh ! And he has the book too, and you could easily guess what’s he written for us all. Trust Agents – Must read, must buy, must follow.

3. Tribes – Seth Godin

This man needs no introduction. He’s an icon, he’s a wikipedia when it comes to marketing. He’s got an entry too, which you must read. Tribes – We need you to lead us is one of his awesome books and talks about the social media revolution (actually a lot more than that).

4. The New Rules of Marketing & PR – David Meerman Scott

Scott is an extra ordinary speaker, who’s traveled several places sharing knowledge, educating people and helping them with their marketing strategies. His book, The New Rules of Marketing & PR is published in 24 languages and is widely considered an authority in social media. Check out more details about the book here.

5. Socialnomics – Erik Qualman

Qualman is International speaker of the Fortune 500, a widely experienced marketing specialist who’s been working with some really big brands in the industry. Socialnomics is a fascinating, research-based look at the impact of social media on businesses and consumers around the world, and what’s in store for the future.

6. Inbound Marketing – Dharmesh Shah

Dharmesh is an industry pioneer, founder of Hubspot, thought leader in social media, and actually a bunch of awesomeness. Inbound Marketing is written by Dharmesh, Brian Halligan and David Meerman Scott, and is a thought provoking, idea igniting script on social media and its use in today’s web. Here’s an interesting review of the book. Must buy.