sunflower, originally uploaded by jude.

One of the ways I helped promote AOC last year was a series of mini-profiles on all 104 authors. This year, the profiles are back and I promise to make them shorter and more interactive J Learn more about your fellow 275 authors with this series. This is going to be one long, but fun journey. So stay glued. On with the first batch of the lot.

Adam Crowe
London, United Kingdom

Adam Crowe is a creative technologist, fascinated by how people extend themselves using technology. He is presently a “Renaissance Man” lending creative research, contextual mapping and ideas development skills to projects in Connected Products, Mobile Experiences and Serious Games. His previous work roles have been Synaptic Tactician at Imagination and Creative Researcher at Sense Worldwide. He also blogs at http://adamcrowe.tumblr.com/.

Adrian Ho
Minneapolis, United States

Adrian Ho is a partner at Partner at Zeus Jones Ltd., a start-up that offers ‘marketing as a service’. (I think their website is one of the best I have ever seen, in terms of simplicity & integrating various web channels in a single location.) With previous stints as Director of Account Planning at Fallon, Planning Director at Goodby Silverstein & Partners & Senior Planner at Anderson & Lembke, Adrian is a true planning guru in our midst. He blogs at the much admired “From The Head Of Zeus Jones”.
http://zeusjones.blogspot.com/

Meet him here…

Aki Spicer
Minneapolis, United States

Aki Spicer is Strategic Planning Director at Fallon Worldwide. His previous work roles include Account Planning Manager, Urban ThinkTank at Vigilante / Leo Burnett / Publicis, Vice-President of Marketing at Rocawear and President / CEO / Brand Strategist at Machine. He is also a founding officer in the Facebook philanthropic network, ‘Planning For Good’. He is also the brain behind the monthly “Brainfood” presentations and blogs at http://fallontrendpoint.blogspot.com/

That’s him here…

Alex Henault
Montreal, Canada

Alex Henault is CEO & Founder at H2H Interactif Inc. providing third party adserving, data analysis/advanced reporting, advanced flash ad creation and publisher adserving platforms for publishers, agencies and advertisers. He blogs at http://alex.h2hinteractif.com/

Amy Jussel
San Francisco Bay Area, USA

Amy Jussel is the Founder & Executive Director of ShapingYouth, a non-profit that uses the power of media for positive change to flip the message toward healthier messaging to kids. Her blog ‘Shaping Youth’ probes media & marketing’s influence on kids. Amy was a contributor in AOC 1.0 and also used to be a copywriter back in the days! Here’s Amy for you:

Happy Sunflower!!, originally uploaded by Melissa_A.

The 2^nd edition of “The Age of Conversation“ is in the works. Editors Drew McLellan and Gavin Heaton are once again spearheading this path-breaking project.

The benefits are aplenty. More conversations. New perspectives. An innate understanding of conversational marketing and social media. Publishing opportunities. More value for readers. Community building. Networking. Supporting charity.

This year, AOC is bigger and better, in terms of authors and content. 275 bloggers from around the world, mostly with media and marketing backgrounds, are writing a 1-page chapter on the theme “Why Don’t People Get It?“.

To lend greater depth to book, the theme has been divided into the following sub-topics:

• 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
  

My chapter “The Smart Beast in the Creative Jungle” focuses on the new brand of creative required in the age of conversation.

“The Age of Conversation: Why People Don’t Get It?” will be on sale on Lulu.com from 21 August. All proceeds sales go to Variety, the children’s charity.

Meanwhile, fellow authors are promoting the book in various ways. Blogger-pal Ryan Barrett is offering a sneak preview of 1-line snippets from various chapters here.

Meet my fellow 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, 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

Join us in the Age of Conversation 2.0.

Today “The Age of Conversation” is on a bum rush blitzkrieg to get on top of the Amazon Best Sellers list.

“The Age of Conversation” is a ground-breaking and unusual marketing book that brings together over 100 of the world’s leading marketers, writers, thinkers and creative innovators.

Spearheaded by Chris Peel, Drew McLellan and Gavin Heaton, the Bum Rush offers a unique way to introduce this must-read tome to many new readers and raise proceeds for Variety, the Children’s Charity.

Click here to read more about the book & learn more about the 103 co-authors.

And most importantly, head here to buy the book on Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/2drj2x

Meanwhile, a sequel to “The Age of Conversation” is in the works. 275 amazing thought leaders from around the world have signed up for this exciting venture! As a contributor from the first edition, I’m all excited to be a part of this happening community.

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

Watch out for more news on “The Age of Conversation 2.0″.

Dear readers,

Lend me your ears for a moment, will you?

I’m going to talk marketing for a minute. (“Let’s talk marketing.“)

I have volunteered to be a part of writing a marketing book. Now, this is kind of weird considering that I am not a marketing consultant, I don’t work in marketing, and I don’t even have a marketing degree. I don’t write about marketing, advertising, or the business world.

So why would I volunteer to write in a marketing book?

Because in our twenty-first century society, marketing is absolutely key!

It doesn’t take a degree from Yale to recognize that our world is constantly changing. People today always have places to go, things to do, people to talk to, and if they don’t they at least pretend like they do. With the technological and political advances that happen minute by minute every single day, you have to be able to capture attention and advertise, promote, and support before the next text message comes in, the channel is flipped, the laptop is closed, or before our rubberband-attention-spans snap.

We live in a society where viral marketing has become an art. The up-and-coming generation has been raised through the MacWorld, YouTube, XBox, and text messaging. Even the people of this country as a whole and other first-world countries around the globe have become accustomed to instant communication, instant gratification, and instant networking. If you as a marketer cannot keep up with the way our technology has shaped our country you very rapidly fall to the sidelines.

This is why I feel that I have something to say about marketing and our world today. I am a product of the Millenial generation, and now being an adult in our country I have seen the failures, successes, and unsung marketing techniques and experiments even just by being a consumer.

I do not have a business blog, I am not a marketing consultant for a living, and I do not have a degree in either arenas, but marketing isn’t only about the business side of marketing. It’s about the consumer, the product, the money, the attention spans of the audience, the technique, the stories, the lessons from others, and the media put in front of our faces. It’s all about this huge process and idea we call marketing; from beginning to the end, from the spark inside someone’s brain, to the product or cause changing the world around them.

Marketing is everywhere. We eat, breathe, sleep, talk and work marketing everyday and so many don’t even recognize it. That is why conversation about marketing, and communication in this arena is so vital.

So why marketing?

Why don’t you tell me? Why don’t you tell them?

We are the cover story of the Dubai-based Khaleej Times ‘Weekend’ magazine today! What an awesome way to celebrate ‘AOC’. KT’s feature writer Pratibha Umashankar pulled out all the stops to write ‘Mind Blogging’, a brilliant story on ‘AOC’ that also explores the following questions:
o What are the advantages of blogging?
o The implications of ‘blooking’ both commercially and from a readership point of view vis-à-vis conventional publishing
o The future of blogging and citizen journalism
o Implications of blogging in terms of news value

‘Mind Blogging’ will expose readers in Middle East not only to ‘The Age of Conversation’ but also to the world of social media and conversational marketing.
Click here to read the feature online.
Click here to download a pdf version.

The feature looks snazzy in hard-copy. AOC blokes Drew McLellan, Gavin Heaton, Cam Beck, CB Whittemore, CK, Greg Verdino, David Berkowitz, Matt Dickman, Steve Roesler, Ryan Barrett, Scott Monty, Lori Magno, Brian Reich, Rob Hruzek, Sandra Renshaw and Steve Woodruff look great in print!

When 103 marketing bloggers from around the world teamed up few months ago to co-author ‘The Age of Conversation’, I’m sure nobody would have imagined the magnitude of its implications. We knew it was exciting but we never anticipated the ‘hugeness’ of its ripple effect.

Not only did we create a book that is one of the most authoritative tomes of conversational marketing ever written, but we built a unique community of people from diverse backgrounds supporting common causes. We made new friends; discovered more ways of connecting with each other; explored what the ‘age of conversation’ meant to each of us, made social media and the book popular in our respective countries; generated tons of press coverage and watched the book transform our lives. Our initial commitment was to raise US$ 10,000 through book sales for Variety, the children’s charity. We accomplished that milestone on 9 September 2007.

Kudos to the entire gang of ‘AOC co-authors -

Gavin Heaton, Drew McLellan, CK, Valeria Maltoni, Emily Reed, Katie Chatfield, Greg Verdino, Lewis Green, Sacrum, Ann Handley, Mike Sansone, Paul McEnany, Roger von Oech, Anna Farmery, David Armano, Bob Glaza, Mark Goren, Matt Dickman, Scott Monty, Richard Huntington, Cam Beck, David Reich, Luc Debaisieux, Sean Howard, Tim Jackson, Patrick Schaber, Roberta Rosenberg, Uwe Hook, Tony D. Clark, Todd Andrlik, Toby Bloomberg, Steve Woodruff, Steve Bannister, Steve Roesler, Stanley Johnson, Spike Jones, Nathan Snell, Simon Payn, Ryan Rasmussen, Ron Shevlin, Roger Anderson, Robert Hruzek, Rishi Desai, Phil Gerbyshak, Peter Corbett, Pete Deutschman, Nick Rice, Nick Wright, Michael Morton, Mark Earls, Mark Blair, Mario Vellandi, Lori Magno, Kristin Gorski, Kris Hoet, G.Kofi Annan, Kimberly Dawn Wells, Karl Long, Julie Fleischer, Jordan Behan, John La Grou, Joe Raasch, Jim Kukral, Jessica Hagy, Janet Green, Jamey Shiel, s, Dr. Graham Hill, Gia Facchini, Geert Desager, Gaurav Mishra, Gary Schoeniger, Gareth Kay, Faris Yakob, Emily Clasper, Ed Cotton, Dustin Jacobsen, Tom Clifford, David Polinchock, David Koopmans, David Brazeal, David Berkowitz, Carolyn Manning, Craig Wilson, Cord Silverstein, Connie Reece, Colin McKay, Chris Newlan, Chris Corrigan, Cedric Giorgi, Brian Reich, Becky Carroll, Arun Rajagopal, Amy Jussel, AJ James, Kim Klaver, Sandy Renshaw, Susan Bird, Ryan Barrett, Troy Worman, S. Neil Vineberg, C.B. Whittemore, Mack Collier, Andy Nulman

CK has a timeline of just what took place to get The Age of Conversation going.

The Age of Conversation is a book that launched this morning which was co-authored by 103 other leading marketing thinkers online. I am quite grateful to say that I was also able to be a part of this amazing group of people and book. The book itself is going to be an amazing read, and I can’t wait for my copy to get to here! Best of all, the profits go to Variety, the children’s charity. So the book has two great causes! A proof of collaborative efforts with great information and a medium to donate to charity.

The official website can be found over here.

You can buy your copy over on our Lulu page.
The e-book is: $9.99 ($7.99 going to charity)
The paperback book is: $16.95 ($8.10 to charity)
The hardback book is: $29.99 ($8.55 to charity)

In addition to that, you can see a map of the location of all the authors.

There is also a Facebook group titled Age of Conversation Contributors and Friends.

Ad Age has also written an article on the book.

And last, but certainly not least, great work to Gavin Heaton and Drew McLellan who put this whole thing together!

Here is the list of incredible authors that were involved in The Age of Conversation.

Gavin Heaton
Drew McLellan
CK
Valeria Maltoni
Emily Reed
Katie Chatfield
Greg Verdino
Mack Collier
Lewis Green
Sacrum
Ann Handley
Mike Sansone
Paul McEnany
Roger von Oech
Anna Farmery
David Armano
Bob Glaza
Mark Goren
Matt Dickman
Scott Monty
Richard Huntington
Cam Beck
David Reich
Luc Debaisieux
Sean Howard
Tim Jackson
Patrick Schaber
Roberta Rosenberg
Uwe Hook
Tony D. Clark
Todd Andrlik
Toby Bloomberg
Steve Woodruff
Steve Bannister
Steve Roesler
Stanley Johnson
Spike Jones
Nathan Snell
Simon Payn
Ryan Rasmussen
Ron Shevlin
Roger Anderson
Robert Hruzek
Rishi Desai
Phil Gerbyshak
Peter Corbett
Pete Deutschman
Nick Rice
Nick Wright
Michael Morton
Mark Earls
Mark Blair
Mario Vellandi
Lori Magno
Kristin Gorski
Kris Hoet
G.Kofi Annan
Kimberly Dawn Wells
Karl Long
Julie Fleischer
Jordan Behan
John La Grou
Joe Raasch
Jim Kukral
Jessica Hagy
Janet Green
Jamey Shiels
Dr. Graham Hill
Gia Facchini
Geert Desager
Gaurav Mishra
Gary Schoeniger
Gareth Kay
Faris Yakob
Emily Clasper
Ed Cotton
Dustin Jacobsen
Tom Clifford
David Polinchock
David Koopmans
David Brazeal
David Berkowitz
Carolyn Manning
Craig Wilson
Cord Silverstein
Connie Reece
Colin McKay
Chris Newlan
Chris Corrigan
Cedric Giorgi
Brian Reich
Becky Carroll
Arun Rajagopal
Andy Nulman
Amy Jussel
AJ James (not blogging yet)
Kim Klaver
Sandy Renshaw
Susan Bird
Ryan Barrett
Troy Worman
S. Neil Vineberg

I have been out for a week but for good reasons; we hosted a big EMEA / America’s sales Kick off in Lisbon. Educating and stimulating 500 sales guys and celebrating our successes. I think it was a great success – amazing too see how much energy you can create in a room with 500 digital marketing people… As always we included some ‘outside in’ view in the agenda and let the floor to Fernanda Romana, the Executive Creative Director for Lowe NY and moving to Madrid soon – she is a piece of character with very nice provocative thoughts on creativity in digital and the role of agencies – and ours… Certainly more on that soon…!

Which leads me neatly into the observation that there are hardly any females in the creative department of most digital ad agencies. She Says wants to do something about it – hold events and provide a mentorship programme, where top females in the industry would share their thoughts and help people to either get started or work their way up. Thought i’d share you some of the viral they produced while attending Cannes.

At least it is the starts of a conversation. And hee – while i am on that topic: the interesting project/book/blog is out today:‘The Age of Conversation’‘… All info on David Armano’s blog.

The idea came to marketing professionals and bloggers McLellann and Heaton after McLellan, founder of the consultancy McLellan Marketing Group, posted about an experiment he just discovered. The ‘We are smarter than me’ purpose was to have a bunch of people co-authoring a book on the power of communities and the leverage of social networks. Heaton was the first to comment it and the rest is… euh ..conversation really. This ‘ quick ebook’ – no more than a 400 words page by author-, is a conversation from the community on communities. The conversation involves more than 100 influential marketers and innovators from around the world. The majority of them never met physically nor spoke but via IM and the like.

Active professional participants who not only observe, advice, preach about the new media but who also engage with it in their everyday life. This book yet is not about tools but about – as Armano put it- “discovering our purpose through finding each other”. About collective stimulation, organic networks, the power of sharing. About how we- on personal level and corporate levels- are being influenced by our participation in the conversation. And how we influence it by taking part*.

Speaking of corporate participation, our two Belgian local heroes & Microsoft guys Kris Hoet and Geert Desager took part in the project.

Reading the book will engage us in two ways: 1) reading – read listening- is the first step to participate in the conversation 2) and 100% of the proceeds will be donated to a kids’ charity.