Just published: “Age of Conversation 3 – It’s time to get busy!”
In 2007, Gavin Heaton and Drew Mclellan kicked off the idea to tap their network of fellow marketers around the world and write a collaborative book on the challenges and opportunities of marketing in a highly connected world. I contributed a chapter to the first two books, and now we're proud to launch "Age of Conversation 3 - It's time to get busy!"
Here is a little from the Amazon editor's review:
Following the success of the first two editions, Age of Conversation 3: It's Time to Get Busy! again kick-starts the discussion about how the global marketing landscape is changing. With over 170 of the world's leading marketers, writers, thinkers and creative innovators contributing chapters, this collaborative work investigates the roles that community, conversation, experimentation, engagement, and collaboration play in shaping the 21st century's economy of ideas.
As with the first and second edition, what makes this book valuable is that you get a great mix of viewpoints from across the globe on set topics. Some of the contributors are already recognised authors, some may well in the future and some are simply smart people. One thing most if not all have in common is that they are all practitioners; people who are doing stuff.
my chapter is called "Influencing people in B2B Marketing"; buy one copy for yourself, and one for a friend. All the money goes to the Make a Wish foundation.
Here is a list of all the contributors. Check out their blogs; you're certain to find some great ideas and experiences.
Age of Conversation 2 – The Rising Water Level of B2B Marketing
Where we had 100 people collaborating on the first book, "The Age of Conversation", the sequel, "The Age of Conversation - Why don't they get it?" involved 237 people from around the world. My contribution this time around is called: "The rising water level of B2B Marketing", looking at how B2B marketers will have to change to adept to a new environment.
The topics people have written on are broad ranging, so there is a nice mix.
- Manifestos
- Keeping Secrets in the Age of Conversation
- Moving from Conversation to Action?
- The Accidental Marketer
- A New Brand of Creative
- My Marketing Tragedy
- Business Model Evolution
- Life in the Conversation Lane
I've chosen Business Model Evolution; here is a short bit of the intro:
In B2B, there is more often than not a lot of careful evaluation before any purchase decision is made. After all, a bad decision could potentially harm your career, or cost you your job. You look for recommendations through personal networks and word of mouth. Now, through social media, there is a network at your fingertips that is easier to access, and more powerful than anything you’ve ever seen. Suddenly, as a buyer you have more knowledge, more choice, more power and higher expectations.
All the proceeds are going to the Children's charity, Variety. If that alone is not enough reason to buy a book, consider this:
The 237 people who have participated are all passionate about the changing face of marketing. Some of these people are now recognised by the wider business community as experts in the rapidly evolving field of digital marketing/pr, social media, whatever tag you like to use. Some are not, but maybe they should be.
So what do you get for your money?
For $US 12.50 you can buy the e-book here.
For US$ 19.95 you buy the soft cover here, or the pretty hardcover for US$29,95 here.
A great effort again by Drew McLellan and Gavin Heaton for organising this. An enormous effort for charity.
Check out the list of contributors:
Adrian Ho, Aki Spicer, Alex Henault, Amy Jussel, Andrew Odom, Andy Nulman, Andy Sernovitz, Andy Whitlock, Angela Maiers, Ann Handley, Anna Farmery, Armando Alves, Arun Rajagopal, Asi Sharabi, Becky Carroll, Becky McCray, Bernie Scheffler, Bill Gammell, Bob LeDrew, Brad Shorr, Brandon Murphy, Branislav Peric, Brent Dixon, Brett Macfarlane, Brian Reich, C.C. Chapman, Cam Beck, Casper Willer, Cathleen Rittereiser, Cathryn Hrudicka, Cedric Giorgi, Charles Sipe, Chris Kieff, Chris Cree, Chris Wilson, Christina Kerley (CK), C.B. Whittemore, Chris Brown, Connie Bensen, Connie Reece, Corentin Monot, Craig Wilson, Daniel Honigman, Dan Schawbel, Dan Sitter, Daria Radota Rasmussen, Darren Herman, Dave Davison, David Armano, David Berkowitz, David Koopmans, David Meerman Scott, David Petherick, David Reich, David Weinfeld, David Zinger, Deanna Gernert, Deborah Brown, Dennis Price, Derrick Kwa, Dino Demopoulos, Doug Haslam, Doug Meacham, Doug Mitchell, Douglas Hanna, Douglas Karr, Drew McLellan, Duane Brown, Dustin Jacobsen, Dylan Viner, Ed Brenegar, Ed Cotton, Efrain Mendicuti, Ellen Weber, Eric Peterson, Eric Nehrlich, Ernie Mosteller, Faris Yakob, Fernanda Romano, Francis Anderson, Gareth Kay, Gary Cohen, Gaurav Mishra, Gavin Heaton, Geert Desager, George Jenkins, G. Kofi Annan, G.L. Hoffman, Gianandrea Facchini, Gordon Whitehead, Greg Verdino, Gretel Going & Kathryn Fleming, Hillel Cooperman, Hugh Weber, J. Erik Potter, James Gordon-Macintosh, Jamey Shiels, Jasmin Tragas, Jason Oke, Jay Ehret, Jeanne Dininni, Jeff De Cagna, Jeff Gwynne & Todd Cabral, Jeff Noble, Jeff Wallace, Jennifer Warwick, Jenny Meade, Jeremy Fuksa, Jeremy Heilpern, Jeroen Verkroost, Jessica Hagy, Joanna Young, Joe Pulizzi, John Herrington, John Moore, John Rosen, John Todor, Jon Burg, Jon Swanson, Jonathan Trenn, Jordan Behan, Julie Fleischer, Justin Foster, Karl Turley, Kate Trgovac, Katie Chatfield, Katie Konrath, Kenny Lauer, Keri Willenborg, Kevin Jessop, Kristin Gorski, Lewis Green, Lois Kelly, Lori Magno, Louise Manning, Luc Debaisieux, Mario Vellandi, Mark Blair, Mark Earls, Mark Goren, Mark Hancock, Mark Lewis, Mark McGuinness, Matt Dickman, Matt J. McDonald, Matt Moore, Michael Karnjanaprakorn, Michelle Lamar, Mike Arauz, Mike McAllen, Mike Sansone, Mitch Joel, Neil Perkin, Nettie Hartsock, Nick Rice, Oleksandr Skorokhod, Ozgur Alaz, Paul Chaney, Paul Hebert, Paul Isakson, Paul McEnany, Paul Tedesco, Paul Williams, Pet Campbell, Pete Deutschman, Peter Corbett, Phil Gerbyshak, Phil Lewis, Phil Soden, Piet Wulleman, Rachel Steiner, Sreeraj Menon, Reginald Adkins, Richard Huntington, Rishi Desai, Robert Hruzek, Roberta Rosenberg, Robyn McMaster, Roger von Oech, Rohit Bhargava, Ron Shevlin, Ryan Barrett, Ryan Karpeles, Ryan Rasmussen, Sam Huleatt, Sandy Renshaw and James G. Lindberg, Scott Goodson, Scott Monty, Scott Townsend, Scott White, Sean Howard, Sean Scott, Seni Thomas, Seth Gaffney, Shama Hyder, Sheila Scarborough, Sheryl Steadman, Simon Payn, Sonia Simone, Spike Jones, Stanley Johnson, Stephen Collins, Stephen Landau, Stephen Smith, Steve Bannister, Steve Hardy, Steve Portigal, Steve Roesler, Steven Verbruggen, Steve Woodruff, Sue Edworthy, Susan Bird, Susan Gunelius, Susan Heywood, Tammy Lenski, Terrell Meek, Thomas Clifford, Thomas Knoll, Tim Brunelle, Tim Connor, Tim Jackson, Tim Mannveille, Tim Tyler, Timothy Johnson, Tinu Abayomi-Paul, Toby Bloomberg, Todd Andrlik, Troy Rutter, Troy Worman, Uwe Hook, Valeria Maltoni, Vandana Ahuja, Vanessa DiMauro, Veronique Rabuteau, Wayne Buckhanan, William Azaroff, Yves Van Landeghem
“The Age of Conversation” mark II: Why don’t people get it?
Writing a book with 103 people from all over the world is a pretty interesting thing to do. That was "The Age of Conversation" and I enjoyed participating last year with my contributing chapter, "The voice of the CEO".
Drew and Gavin (who had the idea, edited and co-authored the book) put an enormous amount of work into that project but that clearly didn't scare them off; they are now coordinating the next edition, "The Age of Conversation: Why don't people get it?"
Again, the book is created online, from start to finish. Again, all the proceeds go to charity. Again, the authors come from all corners of the world, but this time there are not 103, but 276, including me.
Some of the authors are people who have already gained a lot recognition for their work, some are lesser known online authors. The fact is, with that many different voices, it is bound to be worth the investment.
One area of improvement in this edition is that the book is now structured into topic-specific sections:
- Manifestos - Declarations, up front, on the Age of Conversation and why don’t people ‘get it’
- Keeping Secrets in the Age of Conversation - With everyone talking so much, why do we need secrets and what is the role of privacy?
- Moving from Conversation to Action - The practical steps that businesses and brands can take to move from conversation to something more valuable to their business
- The Accidental Marketer - What is the attraction of marketing and are there company’s or brands that happen into marketing success?
- A New Brand of Creative - With the changes in the way that people communicate and collaborate online, marketing and advertising companies are needing to reach out and work with a new type of creative team. What do these “creatives” look like and what are the challenges that they face?
- My Marketing Tragedy - covering projects that have failed and what was learnt from the failure?
- Business Model Evolution - Just as the markets and people are changing, so too are the business models around both clients and agencies - this chapter will explore the implications of the new business model
- Life in the Conversation Lane - Bringing it all back to the individual and how is life in a digitally connected, social world impacting us all?
Get to know the authors!
Adam Crowe, Adrian Ho, Aki Spicer, Alex Henault, Amy Jussel, Andrew Odom, Andy Nulman, Andy Sernovitz, Andy Whitlock, Angela Maiers, Ann Handley, Anna Farmery, Armando Alves, Arun Rajagopal, Asi Sharabi, Becky Carroll, Becky McCray, Bernie Scheffler, Bill Gammell, Bob Carlton, Bob LeDrew, Brad Shorr, Bradley Spitzer, Brandon Murphy, Branislav Peric, Brent Dixon, Brett Macfarlane, Brian Reich, C.C. Chapman, Cam Beck, Casper Willer, Cathleen Rittereiser, Cathryn Hrudicka, Cedric Giorgi, Charles Sipe, Chris Kieff, Chris Cree, Chris Wilson, Christina Kerley (CK), C.B. Whittemore, Clay Parker Jones, Chris Brown, Colin McKay, Connie Bensen, Connie Reece, Cord Silverstein, Corentin Monot, Craig Wilson, Daniel Honigman, Dan Goldstein, Dan Schawbel, Dana VanDen Heuvel, Dan Sitter, Daria Radota Rasmussen, Darren Herman, Darryl Patterson, Dave Davison, Dave Origano, David Armano, David Bausola, David Berkowitz, David Brazeal, David Koopmans, David Meerman Scott, David Petherick, David Reich, David Weinfeld, David Zinger, Deanna Gernert, Deborah Brown, Dennis Price, Derrick Kwa, Dino Demopoulos, Doug Haslam, Doug Meacham, Doug Mitchell, Douglas Hanna, Douglas Karr, Drew McLellan, Duane Brown, Dustin Jacobsen, Dylan Viner, Ed Brenegar, Ed Cotton, Efrain Mendicuti, Ellen Weber, Emily Reed, Eric Peterson, Eric Nehrlich, Ernie Mosteller, Faris Yakob, Fernanda Romano, Francis Anderson, G. Kofi Annan, Gareth Kay, Gary Cohen, Gaurav Mishra, Gavin Heaton, Geert Desager, George Jenkins, G.L. Hoffman, Gianandrea Facchini, Gordon Whitehead, Graham Hill, Greg Verdino, Gretel Going & Kathryn Fleming, Hillel Cooperman, Hugh Weber, J. Erik Potter, J.C. Hutchins, James Gordon-Macintosh, Jamey Shiels, Jasmin Tragas, Jason Oke, Jay Ehret, Jeanne Dininni, Jeff De Cagna, Jeff Gwynne, Jeff Noble, Jeff Wallace, Jennifer Warwick, Jenny Meade, Jeremy Fuksa, Jeremy Heilpern, Jeremy Middleton, Jeroen Verkroost, Jessica Hagy, Joanna Young, Joe Pulizzi, Joe Talbott, John Herrington, John Jantsch, John Moore, John Rosen, John Todor, Jon Burg, Jon Swanson, Jonathan Trenn, Jordan Behan, Julie Fleischer, Justin Flowers, Justin Foster, Karl Turley, Kate Trgovac, Katie Chatfield, Katie Konrath, Kenny Lauer, Keri Willenborg, Kevin Jessop, Kris Hoet, Krishna De, Kristin Gorski, Laura Fitton, Laurence Helene Borei, Lewis Green, Lois Kelly, Lori Magno, Louise Barnes-Johnston, Louise Mangan, Louise Manning, Luc Debaisieux, Marcus Brown, Mario Vellandi, Mark Blair, Mark Earls, Mark Goren, Mark Hancock, Mark Lewis, Mark McGuinness, Mark McSpadden, Matt Dickman, Matt J. McDonald, Matt Moore, Michael Hawkins, Michael Karnjanaprakorn, Michelle Lamar, Mike Arauz, Mike McAllen, Mike Sansone, Mitch Joel, Monica Wright, Nathan Gilliatt, Nathan Snell, Neil Perkin, Nettie Hartsock, Nick Rice, Oleksandr Skorokhod, Ozgur Alaz, Paul Chaney, Paul Hebert, Paul Isakson, Paul Marobella, Paul McEnany, Paul Tedesco, Paul Williams, Pet Campbell, Pete Deutschman, Peter Corbett, Phil Gerbyshak, Phil Lewis, Phil Soden, Piet Wulleman, Rachel Steiner, Sreeraj Menon, Reginald Adkins, Richard Huntington, Rishi Desai, Beeker Northam, Rob Mortimer, Robert Hruzek, Roberta Rosenberg, Robyn McMaster, Roger von Oech, Rohit Bhargava, Ron Shevlin, Ryan Barrett, Ryan Karpeles, Ryan Rasmussen, Sam Huleatt, Sandy Renshaw, Scott Goodson, Scott Monty, Scott Townsend, Scott White, Sean Howard, Sean Scott, Seni Thomas, Seth Gaffney, Shama Hyder, Sheila Scarborough, Sheryl Steadman, Simon Payn, Sonia Simone, Spike Jones, Stanley Johnson, Stephen Collins, Stephen Cribbett, Stephen Landau, Stephen Smith, Steve Bannister, Steve Hardy, Steve Portigal, Steve Roesler, Steven Verbruggen, Steve Woodruff, Sue Edworthy, Susan Bird, Susan Gunelius, Susan Heywood, Tammy Lenski, Terrell Meek, Thomas Clifford, Thomas Knoll, Tiffany Kenyon, Tim Brunelle, Tim Buesing, Tim Connor, Tim Jackson, Tim Longhurst, Tim Mannveille, Tim Tyler, Timothy Johnson, Tinu Abayomi-Paul, Toby Bloomberg, Todd Andrlik, Troy Rutter, Troy Worman, Uwe Hook, Valeria Maltoni, Vandana Ahuja, Vanessa DiMauro, Veronique Rabuteau, Wayne Buckhanan, William Azaroff, Yves Van Landeghem
Friends? Don’t expect them online
Connecting online with like-minded people (both professionally and personally) has changed peoples' business and private lives and I don't think we've seen anything yet. Whether it is through online collaborations (such as "The Age of Conversation") or through applications like LinkedIn and Facebook. But are they friendships?
Lewis Green doesn't think so. He writes: "Virtual is good. Reality is better" and I agree. Friendship between people requires meeting in the flesh and not once, but many times. I don't have more than a handful of friends and they are people I know very, very well. However I have many acquaintances, colleagues and business contacts.
There is nothing wrong with that. Relationships need a starting point and a path to grow into friendships. The hardest part for most people is precisely that; a starting point.
If you are building a business, if you are a marketer, a significant part of your life is focused on creating those first steps on that path; an opportunity to start a conversation, to gain a foothold of someone's attention and interest.
The problem with Australian media
Thanks to Gavin Heaton of ServantofChaos (a top 25 global marketing blog) for the inspiration to this post.
We're a small country when it comes to media; traditional Australian media is owned by (less than) a handful of companies, and as a result, a relatively small group of people influence opinion and provide the "expert opinion" the public relies on. So you would expect that editors would have access to the best talent, all fighting for one of only a few opportunities to write for them.
Fairfax is one of these companies and they recently offered up a piece by Graeme Philipson "The lost art of blogging", an article so devoid of "expert" opinion, it makes you scratch you head in wonder. (also read Gavin's post on the topic).
Here is what is wrong. The man writes an article about blogging, but confesses that he neither reads, nor writes them. His field of expertise is IT. publishing thoughts online is about media, and essentially has nothing to do with IT.
The reason people participate in online communication at the rate they are doing is because the web is now a place where you don't need an understanding of technology to participate. Only your ideas count, and if they are no good, nobody reads them. Imagine that kind of accountability in the printed press.
Graeme's writes:
I don't blog. Can't see the point, when I write this column and others. I also rarely read them - the letters page of this newspaper and the many emails I receive is for me more than enough exposure to the unfiltered opinion of the common man.
I can write a list of 50 people who are certified experts in their field, who write online. Let's call them blogs. However, they are not "bloggers"; they are experts, who share their expert thoughts via the internet. I wonder if Graeme would consider the Sun Microsystems CEO, Jonathan Schwartz's writing "the unfiltered opinion of the common man".
On top of that, this is from Chris Newlan's post , discussing the promotion of "The Age of Conversation"
"a Fairfax journalist told a fellow contributor that they could not promote the work of bloggers because management saw them as competitors."
So what does it mean?
Nobody will argue that there is a tremendous amount of rubbish being published in the world. I think we all agree that this is not contained to self publishing (or blogging, if you want to call it that). Graeme's article is a good case in point.
The Age of Conversation – 103 collaborators write one book
Today is the big day; the launch of "The Age of Conversation", tonight at 9pm.
It's a book I have contributed to as one of 103 marketers around the world, with an article named “The Voice of the CEO”, focusing on the CEO blog, the opportunities and the challenges.
I'm curious to see where it will go. The first review is written up in Ad Age, there is a Google map showing where all contributors are from.
Check out the map. Nice to see that there are seven eight Australian contributors, which is pretty amazing if you consider we have a population of 21 million.
The Australians are:
Gavin Heaton - Servant of Chaos (who is also the co-publisher, and driving force behind this initiative)
Katie Chatfield - Get Shouty (just check it out!)
Stanley Johnson - Brand Dna - The weird and wonderful world of brands and communication
Emily Reed - Conformists Unite! Celebrating the unique and personal in business
AJ James (Who is AJ? Drop me a line AJ!)
Chris Newlan - Talking Point - Sharing ideas and encouraging debate on media and public relations trends
Craig Wilson - Media Hunter, Media & Marketing in the Hunter Region
and me, although I now appear to have a country retreat just outside of Bendigo, instead of living in Melbourne...
For more information on the book and it's author check out the website. All proceeds go to charity, so buy a copy, enjoy the read and feel good about your contribution to a good cause at the same time.
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