Words just don’t cut it

April 8, 2008

2397118281_54aecdecc0 I believe words are incredibly powerful.  They can push past someone’s fear.  They can inspire someone to act.  They can humble the proudest of men. They can bring someone to their knees. They can also touch a heart and change it forever.

But for the past two days I have been trying to get them to do the impossible. 

Describe Blogger Social weekend.

I simply cannot do it justice.  Maybe that’s because the weekend wasn’t about words.  It wasn’t cerebral or of the mind. 

It was all about the soul.

Magnockme It was hearing a laugh you’d imagined many times. It was about sipping sour only to discover that in the UK it’s called bitters.

It was scooting close to pose for yet another photo. It was cramming into cabs in search of an open diner at 3 am, simply because you weren’t ready to say good-bye.

Welcome It was watching two old friends hug for the first time.  It was the sizzle of bacon as you share breakfast with buddies who are like brothers to you, even though they live half way across the world.

It was about goofy corsages, a shared cookie, and being friends 4ever.

It was about laughter.  And tears. 

It was about soaking each other in, knowing it would be a while before we’d be together again.

Gavdrew It was the discovery that everyone was just as you expected them to be.  And reveling in how wonderful that is.

It was about everything that truly matters.  And I simply don’t have the words to describe it.

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Help us take Age of Conversation to the top of Amazon’s charts

March 28, 2008

…and raise money for the children of Variety.

Aoc_banner_2 Here’s what we need you to do:

Today, Friday the 28th:

1. Go to Fresh Peel and Digg the post about the Bum Rush we’re doing tomorrow.  We are trying to get pushed up the list as high as we can.  It will take you less than 5 minutes.

2. Write a post about the Bum Rush, the children of Variety and the great book.  Include this specific link to the Amazon listing please.  (http://tinyurl.com/2drj2x)

Tomorrow, Saturday the 29th:

3. Go to Amazon via this link (we make extra money if you use this link) and buy a copy of Age of Conversation.  If you are going to buy more than one copy (which you really should…great gift for clients or employees!) please buy them one at a time, or your purchase does not count!

4. Join Gavin, Chris and I as we give a Bum Rush play-by-play on Twitter. (Follow us: @Freshpeel, @DrewMcLellan, @servantofchaos) We also ask that everyone saying anything about the Bum Rush to use the code #AOC so that it can be picked up by Twemes.com

We need your help to make this work.  Basically, buy everyone buying a copy on March 29th, we will push Age of Conversation up Amazon’s charts, which will get other people’s attention and hopefully encourage them to buy.  Wouldn’t it be cool if Age was the #1 selling book on Amazon that day?

Please help us make this day a huge success for Age and for the kids of Variety.

Update:  After an entire day of effort on many, many people’s parts — we took Age of Conversation to #36 on Amazon’s Best Selling Business books and #262 on their overall Best Sellers list.  That’s amazing!!

Special thanks to Chris Wilson of Fresh Peel.  It was his brainchild and he did the lion’s share of the work.  Thanks to everyone and anyone who tweeted, blogged or talked about the Bum Rush.  Special thanks to everyone who bought a copy of the book.

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I’ve been blogged!

March 26, 2008

Picture_2 The folks at Blogged.com have been busy gathering, reviewing and rating blogs in just about every category you can imagine.  So, if you are looking for a few blogs to add to your reading list, look no further.

They rank the blogs based on frequency of updates, relevance of content, site design and writing style.  In the Business category, Drew’s Marketing Minute was scrutinized and I am honored to tell you that we (yes, we) got a 9.4 or excellent rating.

I’m only half the blogging team around here — without your questions and comments, this would be a very different place.

So congrats and thanks to you (and the Blogged.com team) for our great rating!  Let’s keep up the good work!

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Meet the Age of Conversation ’08 authors!

March 23, 2008

Author1 In mid-January, Gavin Heaton and I announced we were ready to take on the sequel to the incredibly successful Age of Conversation.

We put out an author call and in a new twist, asked everyone (authors and readers) to vote on the theme of this year’s book.

The votes are tallied and we’re off to the races!  The winning theme was “Why don’t they get it?”  To add dimension to the book, we’ve added a new layer — topics.  So each author was asked to select one of eight topics that falls under the “why don’t people get it?” theme.  We’ll share those with everyone down the road.  In the meantime, while we’re getting everyone set on their specific writing assignment…

We thought it was time to introduce you to the 275 (yes…275!) authors of Age of Conversation: Why Don’t People Get It?

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< /a>, 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

Behold….the authors of Age of Conversation: Why Don’t People Get It?

We’ll keep you up-to-date on the book’s progress as we move from defining the theme to the actual writing/editing of the book’s contents.  In the meantime…join me in cheering for and thanking these fantastic authors, marketing professionals and business bloggers as they take on this collaborative challenge.

Both Gavin and I are thrilled at both the high percentage of returning authors and the terrific additions to the ’08 edition.  Many, many thanks to you all for sharing your insights and talents!

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WowOwow! And I really mean it.

March 9, 2008

Logo_2

Look at this list of women.  Do your best not to say WOW at least once.

Lesley Stahl, Peggy Noonan, Liz Smith, Joni Evans, Mary Wells, Sheila Nevins, Joan Juliet Buck, Whoopi Goldberg, Julia Reed, Joan Ganz Cooney, Judith Martin, Candice Bergen, Lily Tomlin, Jane Wagner, and Marlo Thomas.

I know…can’t be done.  Go ahead.  Give yourself permission.  Wow.

That is a power-packed list.  Women who have incredible influence in many different fields.  Apparently, they’ve been friends for some time and as they say:

"And for years we have been talking to each other about everything under the sun – our families, our work, our worlds. No matter what was happening in our lives, we made the time. We’ve shared what we think, observe and experience each day.

And now we want to share it with you."

The call it a conversation on the internet.  I call it a blog.  But….in very short order, we’re going to call it a force.  Their question of the day for yesterday was….which 4 women would you like to see on Mt. Rushmore.  70+ comments.

Umm, that was on the day of their launch, International Women’s Day.  Imagine how popular they’ll be in a week!

Hats off to these ladies, their fascinating conversations and their wisdom in inviting us to join in.

So here’s what I am wondering.  How will this site and these women influence the blogosphere, the media, advertisers or public perception?

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Blogger Social — here we come!

March 8, 2008

Collage_march_2_2 Who’s attending the BIG event?

We have "Socialites" (marketing bloggers) traveling from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Italy, the Middle East, the United Kingdom, East Coast, MidWest, West Coast, Down South and Up North…and many more places all over this amazingly connected and shrinking world.

 People from 8 countries and 20 different states within the US are going to descend onto NYC like a swarm of shouting, hugging and laughing communicators who are going to pack more fun and memories into 48 hours than anyone can imagine!

(just click on the graphic above to view it at full size)

We are proud to be hosting the following brainy, and beautiful!, Socialites featured in the below video…links to all the blogs of our Socialites available here.  

(Special thanks to Mark Goren for creating the collage and video.) Want to see what we’re going to do all weekend?  Check out our Event Guide.  That’s located right here.

Want to get a feel for the energy and excitement (not to mention the beautiful faces) of the weekend?  Take a couple minutes and watch this video.
 

Want to join us?  Mark your calendar for next year because believe it or not…Blogger Social ’08 is sold out, standing room only!  Many thanks to the brave souls who stuck their neck and and said "if CK and Drew are throwing a party….I want to be there." 

We cannot wait to see you!

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What will you be doing 3 weeks from today? I know!

March 8, 2008

Aoc_banner_2 You are going to be buying a copy of Age of Conversation from Amazon.com to support the Social Media Bum Rush!

We have finally overcome the litany of issues plaguing the retail distribution of The Age of Conversation –and are now planning an Age of Conversation Bum Rush. That’s right, we want to bring this ground-breaking work to a wider audience and have now made it available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other quality retail book selling sites.

But wait! Don’t rush out just yet to purchase your copy. Hold off until March 29. Here’s why … Chris Wilson has set out a plan of action designed to push the Age of Conversation up the best seller charts. Here’s how it works …

Plan of Action for March 29, 2008 …

Here’s the plan of attack, thanks to Chris.  We need everyone’s help to make this a success.  Remember, not only do you get a copy of a great book, but the children of Variety’s LifeLine literally get the gift of life.

The idea is to generate as many touch points around the web as possible so that it will be hard not to spot the Age of Conversation activity.

  1. Buy the Book & send others to buy the book. This is the number 1 call to action, because this is where we want to see the most impact. NOTE: Please buy 1 copy at a time because Amazon counts bulk orders once, and please use this affiliate link, which will help us in tracking sales. Remember, all the proceeds from the book sales and referrals will go to charity.  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1847992994?ie=UTF8&tag= drewmclellan-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325& creativeASIN=1847992994
  2. Blog About It – Make sure you have a prominent link to the Amazon listing so that readers can easily purchase the book. (Remember to use the affiliate link above. All of these earnings will go to charity as well.)
  3. Twitter Commentary – Join Gavin, Chris and I as we give a Bum Rush play-by-play on Twitter. (Follow us: @Freshpeel, @DrewMcLellan, @servantofchaos) We also ask that everyone saying anything about the Bum Rush to use the code #AOC so that it can be picked up by Twemes.com
  4. Trackback or Comment on the post that Chris leaves on March 29, at 12am CST, so that everyone can follow the conversation and help promote exposure on social sites (Digg, StumbleUpon, Del.icio.us, etc.)
  5. Digg the posts listed on Chris’ site and send emails and shouts to friends requesting Diggs.
  6. Stumble the posts listed & tell friends to do the same.
  7. Bookmark your posts on Del.icio.us
  8. Add your post to other social media outlets ( Technorati, Ma.gnolia, Furl, BlinkList, Newsvine, Facebook, etc.)
  9. Send an Old Fashioned email to your friends about the Bum Rush for AoC.
  10. Keep talking – Get on ooVoo, iChat, Aim, or where ever you like to talk, and start talking.

What you can do right now …

  1. Spread the word – Surely you are connected to people outside of your marketing cronies. Start talking … hence the word “conversation” in the title of the book.
  2. Add the Join the Rush Badge to your Blog or Web page. (Just copy and paste the HTML code below.)
    <a href="http://freshpeel.com/2008/03/AOC_BumRush_March/"><img src="http://www.freshpeel.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/AOC_banner.jpg" alt="Join the Age of Conversation Bum Rush on March 29th" /></a>
  3. Blog about It – Make sure everyone gets the word that the Bum Rush is on…and we need their help.
  4. Create a podcast or video and upload to Youtube or other streaming video site (Maybe David Brazeal or Anna Farmery can do a special edition?).
  5. Add your Reviews and tags on Amazon – Right now the Amazon page looks a little naked. Help fill it up!
  6. Join the Facebook Group – This is a great way to connect with all of the AOC writers and fans. You can join the group here.
  7. Become an AOC Fan on Facebook – Show your love for AOC. Yet another awesome way to connect with AOC writers and fans. Join AOC fan page here.
  8. Add AOC to Wikipedia – Any experts on Wikipedia guidlines? Made to Stick is a good example of what can be included.

We need your help to make this work.  Basically, buy everyone buying a copy on March 29th, we will push Age of Conversation up Amazon’s charts, which will get other people’s attention and hopefully encourage them to buy.  Wouldn’t it be cool if Age was the #1 selling book on Amazon that day?

Please help us make this day a huge success for Age and for the kids of Variety.

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A day inspiration and creativity

February 21, 2008

Here’s the sign of a good conference or meeting for me.  If I walk out buzzing….feeling like I can’t wait to try one of the new things or tell someone one of the stories, or check out one of the mentioned references — that’s a well spent day.

I suspect there will be a whole lot of people feeling that way on March 27th, as they leave PSFK conference in New York City.

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Check out the incredible list of speakers, including Greg Verdino, Steve Rubel and Graham Hill, among others. 

If you think the speakers are impressive, scroll down a little further on the site and check out the attendees.  Imagine spending a day learning from and meeting from the likes of them!

I’m sure there’s room for you, if you can get into the city.  It looks like it would be well worth the effort.

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Look Mom, I made the team!

February 21, 2008

Atbat I love baseball.  I love the smell of the freshly cut grass.  I love the sounds of the ball smacking into a glove.  I love the adrenaline rush that you get as you approach the plate.

So, the sure sign of Spring for me is Spring Training.  Which began this week.  We’re only 5+ weeks away from Opening Day.

I’ve always believed that the best players — be it baseball, marketing, sales or ice cream scoopers are the people with a passion for their game.  The skills can be taught.  But you can’t teach, cajole or force passion.  It either burns in the belly or it doesn’t.

I was delighted to see Mike Sansone’s post about Spring Training and his baseballesque All Star team of bloggers.  The team is impressive with guys like Jeremiah Owyang at third and David Armano in center field.  So…I was thrilled to make the team.  Twice.  I get to play 2nd base and as one of the MarketingProfs Daily Fix line-up, be in the bullpen as well.

How cool is that?

When I look at Mike’s line-up, what strikes me is that every blogger on his list burns with a passion for their area of expertise.  That’s what put them on Mike’s must read list.  Be sure you check out his post…because these people should be on your must read list too.

Would your clients say that about you?  Are you an All Star because of your passion?  How do you bring that to life?

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What is an ooVoo?

February 13, 2008

Drewgavincomposite1 One of the best things about today’s technology is that the world is a much smaller place.  With free tools like skype and even the taken for granted e-mail, we can stay connected to the world.

ooVoo takes that to a whole new level.  Video conferencing with up to six people.  All you need is a webcam, a headset with a mic and the free download of ooVoo (both mac and PC).

To create some buzz, ooVoo is doing a pretty cool thing.  MyooVoo Day.  (Check out Mack’s comments on the event.)

For this week, they’ve lined up some marketing and blogging gurus and each of those folks is hosting a 1-2 hour chat with people just like you (the complete list here).  Big names on this list…so check it out!

Best of all, for each session being held — they are donating $1,500 to the Frozen Pea Fund in support of Susan Reynolds and breast cancer research.

Okay….so we’ve got chatting with smart people about marketing.  We’ve got supporting Susan and fighting breast cancer.  We’ve got cool and FREE technology.  I’m so in!

I e-mailed my Age of Conversation cohort, Gavin Heaton, and said….who cares if we’re not famous or even that smart like the rest of the hosts — let’s see if we can host a session! Fortunately the guys at crayon (the genius behind the campaign) lowered their standards and let us in.

What are you doing Saturday the 16th (or Sunday the 17th if you’re in Gavin’s neck of the woods) If you think spending 15 minutes with Gavin and I would be fun….sign up here.  4 pm EST.  8 am Aussie time.  Compare your timezone here.

Thanks to my friends Scott Monty and Greg Verdino for bringing this opportunity to all of us.

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