Servant of Chaos

The Perfect Gift for a Man - Join Us!

UPDATE: You can sign up to the Perfect Gift for a Man project here.

Towards the end of last week, it felt like the ManWeek efforts of Reach Out and Triple J were just starting to gain some traction. There were standout posts from Mark Pollard, Scott Drummond, Julian Cole, Jye Smith, Trent Collins and Gavin Bollard – but then it just stopped. And yet, it feels like there is more to be said, more to be shared, more honesty to be uncovered.

Over the last week Mark Pollard and I have been scheming … about what happens next. And we have come up with a plan – to produce a book in time for Father’s Day here in Australia. Yes – that is the first Sunday in September.

And we want YOUR submission!

That’s right – if you have written something for ManWeek you may already be way ahead. But if you haven’t, you have a week to get your thoughts, ideas, pictures, photos etc together.

Under the working title of “The Perfect Gift for a Man” we want you to share your personal (yes, very personal) stories of becoming a man – the joys, sorrows, challenges, regrets and triumphs. We want to hear about your Dad, your Son, your first job, admitting mistakes, overcoming challenges, living with issues, illness etc. Whatever your story is, we want to hear it.

Why?

The Inspire Foundation research indicates that:

Young men are at increased risk of suicide, drug and alcohol problems compared with the general population and age matched young females. They commit suicide almost three times more often than females of the same age and are also two to three times more likely to develop schizophrenia. These problems often start in adolescence, go undiagnosed and continue into adulthood placing a major burden on Australia's health care system and society.

We want this book to show that it is possible to share, honestly, the intense emotions and experiences of “becoming a man”. We want men to read the stories of others – to find strength in knowing that others have lived through issues and gone on live a rich life. And to realise that it is ok to reach out and ask for help when it is needed.

How?

You can send us:

• Stories: 500 or 1,000 words
• Photos
• Illustrations
• Designs
• Anything - make a song, t-shirt if you want. Whatever you’re good at - just make sure it’s yours.

As we have only just hatched this plan, we will let you know how to submit early next week. BUT to give us an indication of your interest, leave a comment here or join our Facebook page.

What’s going to happen?

This has to come together quickly. If you want to be involved, you have to send us your submission by July 20, 2009. If you don’t get us your entry by this date it cannot be included. Don’t ask.

Oh, and don’t exceed the word limit – we will either edit it down to size or discard it. If you create an illustration, photo etc, contact us for format requirements.

You will need to SIGN a release form that gives us permission to publish your work. In return you will see your name in a book, be part of a project that we hope will help make an impact on men’s mental health AND raise money for Reach Out / Inspire.

100% of the proceeds of the sale of these books will be donated to Reach Out.

Who can contribute?

We want a broad cross-section of men. So far we have the support of people within the marketing community, but we want to go far broader than this. We want doctors, lawyers, bricklayers, stay-at-home dads, artists – anyone can contribute.

Who is in the book?

So far, it is just Mark Pollard and I. Luca Ionescu has kindly agreed to create a logo for the project. But we think it will be far more interesting if you were involved too.

How can you help?

As Mark says, there are some things you can do to help us – even if you don’t want to contribute:

1. Contribute something super sweet (by Monday July 20, 2009)
If you don’t have time or don’t see yourself as a content-maker, consider adding some ideas to the project: marketing, PR, events, stunts, anything. Pull some favours.

2. Get someone interesting to do the above
So far, most ManWeek bloggers have been from the marketing, advertising, technology sectors. We want people from all backgrounds to have a stab at this. If you have a granddad with an incredible story, get him to tell it. If you know or are a musician, sportsperson, policeman, farmer, miner, journalist, tattoo artist, biker… please have a go.

3. Tell someone about it
Tweet away. Blog about it. Tell friends about the Facebook page. Please do not feel obliged to link to this blog post.

4. Help us break out of the internet
If you have contacts with journalists, bloggers, politicians… people with influence. Tell them about this project. If you’re watching your kid play soccer this weekend and find yourself standing next to a man, tell them about it.

5. Buy the book (or e-book) when it launches
Give it to a husband, a son, a dad, a granddad. Maybe consider buying bulk to give to your male staff.

So what are you waiting for? Get writing – the clock is ticking!

Who Loves Your Blog?

When I first started blogging I was obsessed with inbound links. I checked Technorati religiously – hoping someone, anyone, would link here. I waited for comments, emails, suggestions; and I checked Google Analytics for the smallest spike in traffic.

Now, those who don’t understand the rush that comes with receiving a comment (or writing one on someone else’s blog) may consider this slightly compulsive. But it is also fundamental human nature – we become the people we are simply due to those who show us or deny us, love. Of course, encouragement is a great motivator – and those who link to our blogs or write about us are more likely to draw our own attention. I am no different.

In addition to the dozens (or hundreds, really) of feeds that I read on a daily basis, I still regularly check the blogs that link here. I have a BackType profile which alerts me to mentions of my name or website address and I have a similar range of Google alerts established – and I try to respond either to the post that links to my writing, or at least to another article that tickles my curiosity. You see, if someone has taken the time to read my writing and think about it and then write/respond, then I feel an obligation to understand their perspective too.

And over the last couple of years, I have been exposed to some fantastic blogs after being included in some list or other. This list of Planners, for example, has been maintained by Iqbal Mohammed for sometime – and is a great way of learning from (and linking to) some of the smartest minds in marketing/planning/advertising.

1. russell davies
2. Talent Imitates, Genius Steals
3. adliterate
4. Servant of Chaos
5. Only Dead Fish
6. Noah Brier
7. Influxinsights
8. The Hidden Persuader
9. CrapHammer
10. brand new
11. Fallon Planning
12. [ paul isakson ]
13. nick burcher
14. Get Shouty
15. Herd - the hidden truth about who we are
16. Adspace Pioneers
17. Life Moves Pretty Fast
18. Make Marketing History
19. Social Hallucinations
20. Interactive Marketing Trends

And while it is great to be included in lists such as the Marketing or Content Marketing lists on alltop.com, it feels much more important to be included in lists like Blaiq’s or Julian Cole’s compilation of Australian marketing blogs – for these require the care and attention of an individual and are not simply automated like some others. And in a world where attention is scarce, perhaps making a list is the blogging equivalent of love.

Join Us in #BlogChat

Last week, Mack Collier (@MackCollier) asked a simple question on Twitter. But because he tagged it – using what is called a “hash tag”, a simple question was transformed into a conversation lasting over a couple of hours. Along the way, people joined the conversation from all over the world. The question that spawned this discussion was simple:

Hash tags are a great way to initiate and follow conversations in Twitter. They allow easy searching on a particular topic, and they also indicate to other participants that a conversation is underway. Often hash tags are used for conference proceedings or TV shows – and of course, anyone can use them.

After the success of last week’s blogchat, Mack has decided to be a little more coordinated. He will be kicking off another round of blogchat today – Sunday at 8pm CST in the US and Midday in Sydney, Australia. However, the idea is to extend the conversation around the globe and across timezones – with folks from Australia joining from 2pm Sydney time and then Stefano Maggi (@stefanomaggi) and more folks from Europe stepping in two hours later.

How to #BlogChat Effectively

1. Try to follow people who are contributing to the conversation
2. Make sure to tag your tweets with the hash tag (#blogchat)
3. Use a tool such as TweetDeck to search the Twitter conversations for the #blogchat tag
4. If you don’t have TweetDeck, check search.twitter.com for the #blogchat topic

Hope to see you there!

Who Do You Love, Twitter?

As we move through the various stages of Twitter Commitment, we are eventually faced with the fact that we are now connected to people who we have never met. And as our personal Twitter network grows, we begin to rely on visual identity in order to exercise social judgement.

So, who do you love?

Using Twitter Mosaic I have created a picture of a number of the people with whom I chat with on Twitter. Interestingly, you can use this neat tool to also create coffee cups, T-shirts and even mouse mats - which is the perfect way to bring your online community into the offline world.

Get your twitter mosaic here.

The Benefits of Community

Many businesses ask whether there is value to building or participating in communities. But this is, in my view, fundamentally the wrong question. After all, the communities are already in existence – people of like minds, with common interests, fascinations or even passions gravitate towards each other. They find a sense of purpose. And they talk about you, your business and your brands whether you want them to or not.

Now, I don’t want to flippantly claim that return on investment is unnecessary – but I do want you to consider HOW you view your business ecosystem. And rather than calculating the return on investment that you want to make, try to determine the COST of irrelevance.

Online communities, if well considered, managed and supported can transform many business processes. And because they are fundamentally human, they unleash creativity and innovation in unpredictable ways. But, really, we know this already – we have been tapping into our personal networks for years (for sales, leads, new jobs etc) – the real opportunities come with the scale that comes from digitising these networks.

But don’t take my word for it. Listen to the participants of a vibrant community. This short video on SAP’s Business Process Expert community demonstrates the diversity, value and robust nature of communities. Wouldn’t you just love to have people speaking about your brand in the same way?

How To "Add Value"

I remember a performance review early in my career. I was looking for constructive feedback, wanting to know where I could improve the way that I worked and what particular steps I could take to gain a promotion or better conditions in the following year. But all my manager could respond with was “add value”. And the further I pushed this topic, the more I realised that he really did not know what he was talking about. He was simply reverting to “corporate speak” to avoid giving me a pay rise.

In the world of marketing, there is also a lot of talk about “adding value”. But what does this mean? What are the practical steps that we can take to deliver this "value" to our clients? How do we work as agencies to transform the experiences of consumers? Both Sean Howard and Paul Isakson point out this great presentation by John V Willshire that takes us down the path of creating and delivering value.

What shape does this take? What can we honestly do to transform the work that we as marketers or agencies do.

John’s approach is to look at both the history and future of communities, by understanding the dynamics by which communities come together. The important aspect of this, for me at least, is that the focus is on the co-creation of context – which means that we need to strategically consider context over placement.

But as the focus of this presentation is about how we engage communities – whether they are business communities (which gravitate towards brands or products) or local (geographic) groups and so on. John suggests that there are four clear areas where we should focus our added value efforts:

• Do something that is useful for people
• Entertain people
• Educate people
• Connect people 

This presentation positions the brand at the very centre of the consumer experience, but Sean suggests that this misses the true opportunity. Rather than pre-empting Sean’s thinking around this, I will wait to see what he comes up with. But I have a feeling that it centres around two things: passion and social judgement. The anticipation is delicious.

The Future of Advertising, APA, 17/02/09

View more presentations from John v Willshire. (tags: communities social)

Are You Going to Blogger Social 09?

Attending Blogger Social last year was certainly one of my personal highlights. It was a weekend of great activity and excitement set in New York with exclusive access to some of the most interesting (and friendly) bloggers from around the world – and it is a fantastic opportunity to meet face-to-face with people who you normally only converse with online.

This year, Blogger Social is being held in Boston, and Drew McLellan and Lori Magno are putting together a weekend of knock-out socialising – lasting from April 3 through to April 5. BUT just like last year, places are limited to 100. So, if you want to go, make sure you get over to the Blogger Social site and register. The price is $350 for all activities across the weekend – and Drew and Lori have organised some great accommodation discounts.

Connect! Countind Down for the Project 100

Some time back, Jeff Caswell put a call out for contributions to an Age of Conversation collaborative book. The topic? Marketing in the Social Media Era.

This new book, Connect! challenges 100 marketers from around the world, to keep their chapters to 400 words – and still challenge, provoke and inspire readers. The aim of the whole project is to raise funds for research into breast cancer.

I must admit really enjoying being just a contributor to this book and savoured the moment of emailing my contribution through to Jeff, knowing that the hard work was now just beginning. The book itself will launch on April 6.

The Project 100...Countdown to Connect!

View more presentations from Nojacketreq.

Some Big Moves in Australian Social Media

Here in Australia, there has been a noticeable change in the velocity of conversation around digital and social media in the last six to twelve months. I no longer have the explain “blogging” to every person that I meet. When I speak or do guest lectures, the majority of the audience acknowledge their use of “Web 2.0” in the shape of Flickr, YouTube or even Delicious accounts. And Twitter – well, even the Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd (or his minders) tweet from time to time.

Late last year I suggested that social media was showing signs of “mainstreaming”, but there was little to show by way of corporate marketing adoption. Certainly, the folks at Telstra were leading the way, but there were few others following in their wake.

But in the last 24 hours we have seen some interesting announcements that will impact the local agency space quite considerably. During the Sydney Twestival –a global charity event promoted exclusively via Twitter networks (and organised in Sydney by the good folks at CommunityEngine.com.au) – Amnesia Razorfish announced that Ian Lyons had been appointed Social Media Director. This announcement brings additional depth to an already impressive social media team.

But the good news doesn’t end there. This morning, another of our coffee morning crew, Jye Smith, unveiled his new direction. On Monday, Jye takes on social media for Switched On Media. Again, this announcement was made via Twitter.

It is great to see agencies selecting some top line talent to lead their social media efforts. Now, it’s over to the corporates. Wonder who will be first. Oh, and in case you had not realised - the revolution will not be televised, but it will be tweeted. Get your shirt from Mark Hancock.

Don't Fall in Love with Your Campaign

You know what it’s like.

The words leap from your mouth. Eyes widen. Smiles broaden and the room comes alive. And as the heartbeats quicken and the enthusiasm begins to mount, you know that THIS project is going to rock. A love affair is beginning, and yet you don’t even notice it.

When we turn our attention away from strategy and planning and take a deep dive into implementation, the challenge is to maintain a focus and direction – to guide and channel the creative energies of your team. After all, we all have ideas; and we all like to “contribute”.

And when it comes to digital projects – whether you are considering a web based advertising campaign, a social media activation of some kind, or even building your own community – you will never find yourself bereft of ideas. But if you want to drive success for your project (and I am sure you do), you need to focus on simplicity – and the best way to do so is to focus on your market. Think about the PEOPLE who you will invite into your campaign or project. Think about the value that they will find, be surprised by, and share. And one of the best ways of doing this, is by STOPPING a focus on functions and functionality.

Ashley Ringrose shares these 15 tips for growing a community courtesy of Ben Huh from I Can Has Cheeseburger. And while the focus of the article is on taking communities to a new level, the same applies to almost any team-based endeavour. Think particularly about your next digital creative project or any Enterprise 2.0 efforts that you are considering (or engaged in), and then read item 5:

5. Stop Engineering and Start Thinking About the Market
People who work in the technology industry tend to over engineer things. Don’t complicate your problems, simplify them. If you need to add a commenting system to your site don’t build it from scratch, download one. Whatever you do, do it quickly.

To an extent, we all fall in love with the projects we work on. Just make sure you don’t overcomplicate it. Keep it simple. Let it connect. Because in the end, true love isn’t about you, it’s about someone who loves you back.