Who is in my conga line? Gavin Heaton and 101 of our friends

Picture_7 As we dance our way to my first blogiversary (Saturday the 15th) I want to spend this week honoring some people who have been in front of the line, leading the dance and keeping us on beat.  Because I sure didn’t get here alone!

Without a doubt, one of the most prolific in my conga line is Gavin Heaton.

I don’t really remember how I first “met” the Servant of Chaos.  I just know that I immediately was drawn to his way with words and ideas.  His blog became one of my must reads.

Then, on fateful day in March, I posted. Gavin commented.  And 2 weeks later, Age of Conversation was born.  A few weeks after that, we had over 100 authors lined up.  Hard part done, right?

Boy, were we clueless!  What followed were 3 and a half months of constant communication, literally thousands of e-mails, a bazillion edits and design tweaks. Working through issues with 100+ authors is a little like herding cats. Wonderful creatures, each and every one.  But not always on the same page.

Oh yeah, and we both had real jobs and families to tend to.  Through it all, Gavin was like the calm after a storm.  Always patient.  Always willing to listen.  Always looking for ways to make the project succeed and everyone involved to feel good about it.

About that time, Gavin’s blog hit 1,000 comments and ironically, the 1,000th commenter was me!  I had the honor of being his guest blogger to commemorate the milestone.

On July 16th, we launched Age of Conversation and less than 2 months later, we have earned $10,000 for Variety the Children’s Charity.  Do you have any idea how huge that is?  How remarkable?

And how impossible it would have been without Gavin?

My way of thanking Gavin and our 101 co-authors?  Doing it all over again next year as we try to top Age of Conversation’s success.  And that is no small task!  But…I’m glad to give it my all, along side my co-publisher and friend!

Special thanks as well to the Age of Conversation authors.  Without them, Age would be an incredibly short book!

Gavin Heaton
Drew McLellan
CK
Valeria Maltoni
Emily Reed
Katie Chatfield
Greg Verdino
Mack Collier
Lewis Green
Sacrum
Ann Handley
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
Kim Klaver
Sandy Renshaw
Susan Bird
Ryan Barrett
Troy Worman
S. Neil Vineberg

Who is in my conga line?

Mike Sansone
CK (Christina Kerley)
Gavin Heaton
The smiling faces
My other blog homes
YOU!

7 comments on “Who is in my conga line? Gavin Heaton and 101 of our friends

  1. Gavin Heaton says:

    Hey Drew … I am so proud to be part of your conga line … I am the one with the sequin pants. Cha cha cha!

  2. Yo, Drew,

    Just got some new marimbas and need an excuse to shake ’em.

  3. Gavin,

    Yes…the sequined pants. I was sort of trying to keep that on the down low for you. But at least you’re wearing pants!

    You’re one of the best “finds” of this past year for me. Looking forward to many years of friendship!

    Drew

  4. Lewis,

    If you like it so far…I think you are going to see something very familiar in the next one!

    I’m grateful for you and your friendship.

    Drew

  5. Steve,

    Always glad to have someone in the line who can help with keeping the beat! Thanks for shaking things up!

    Drew

  6. sherry borzo says:

    Congratulations Drew and all the contributors for a wonderful accomplishment.

  7. Drew, what a cool way to build up to your blog-anniversary! You have added so much to the blogosphere in 1 year, I can only imagine what will happen in year 2 – and I’m looking forward to being a part of it! Age of Conversation, and the Toolbox, and words of wisdom for graduates have been amazing! Congratulations! [PS: I’m still missing from the AoC list of authors. I swear I’m in the book… :)].

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