Month: April 2007

Knee Deep in Conversation

Age of Conversation

The response to the eBook Age of Conversation has been great … thanks to all who have responded. We have even had TWO submissions! That’s right campers … two chapters are ready! We are working to keep track of all the contributors and their topics, responding to email and questions — and making sure that we do not have topic overlaps!

Ageconv In amongst all this, Drew has become rather ill — but continues to write outstanding blog posts, send hundreds of emails about the eBook AND work in his own business while in a considerable amount of pain! On top of all this, he does it all with grace and good humour.

In the meantime, if you have been considering joining in, then please send an email to Drew McLellan and let him know your topic.

And for those of you who are submitting pictures and diagrams — please send us EPS for diagrams and JPGs for photos.

Don’t Talk to the Hand

Uncategorized

Lighten up!!
Originally uploaded by slightlydramatic.

David Armano continues to storm the barricades between the blogosphere and mainstream media.He has a great article featured over at Business Week. He prefaces the article with the following — "As consumer markets fragment, marketers and designers must understand how platforms evolve and influence human behavior".

This article expands on David’s ideas around the Conversation Economy and the way that it is redefining what we consider "marketing" … of course, it is not about talking to the hand. It’s about talking to the face.

Everyone Knows Your Name

Web 2.0

There used to be a time when the materials that you published online had little or no effect on your offline or REAL world. Even the word "Internet" sounded like it was made up. But now the divide between what you do or say online crosses seamlessly into the real world. This does take some getting used to — even the fact that I mention a division between "on" and "offline" indicates my own dated way of thinking. Actually, this may be more deeply rooted — similar to the distinction between mind and body a la Descartes — just in a contemporary context.

But what is clear, even to my old-millenium brain, is that the dichotomies are no longer apparent for younger generations.

I have discussed the idea that blogs are the new CVs before, but the same applies to our private lives. With a bit of effort, anyone with a modest understanding of the Internet and its structures could dig around and locate the home address of most bloggers. And even casual searching on your own name will turn up references and links to blog posts, comments, websites, discussion boards, videos, podcasts and so on.

The folks over at Beyond Madison Avenue have posted some videos that show just how creepy this can become. And while many of us marketing people tend to operate in a safe and supportive online community, this is not the case for many, many others on the web who post, publish and discuss personal, public and professional aspects of their lives via social media.

It is not only your name that everyone knows. It is a whole lot more.

Welcome to the Conversation Age

Community

If ideas are the currency of our times then this is, undoubtedly, the age of conversation, for without the art of dialogue, the cut and thrust of debate and discussion, then the economy of ideas would implode under its own heavy weight. Instead, the reverse is true. Far from seeing an implosion, we are living in a time of proliferation — ideas build upon ideas, discussion grows from seeds of thought and single headlines give rise to a thousand medusa-like simulations echoing words whispered somewhere on the other side of the planet. All this — in an instant.

Technology in the guise of social media is giving rise to not virtual connections, but real conversation. The human desire to reach out, meet, share and converse is tapping into digital networks in an effort to transcend and obliterate the tyrranies of time, geography and, in some instances, culture. And the resulting explosion in content, commentary, activism and community is causing academics, marketers, advertisers, politicians and social commentators (amongst others) to call into question many of the demographic standards that have been relied upon for years.

In response to these changing (and quite exciting) conditions, Drew McLellan and I are calling upon a wide range of bloggers to contribute to an e-Book entitled The Conversation Age. We are looking for a maximum of 100 bloggers to contribute one 8.5×11 page — approximately 400 words OR a page of diagrams, pictures etc — on the topic of The Conversation Age.

All proceeds from the sale of this e-Book will be donated to Variety.

Conversationage_2

If you would like to contribute to The Conversation Age, you can do so by clicking this image and letting Drew know the topic that you would like to cover (we need to make sure that we don’t double up!). But be quick, you only have until 11 APRIL 2007.

This is a great opportunity to participate in this fascinating global debate!

REMEMBER, ALL CONTRIBUTIONS ARE DUE 30 APRIL 2007.

Thus far, those who have committed to contribute include:

Oh, and of course, Drew and I are contributing! While there is a large focus at present in the marketing area, we welcome contributions from other subject areas. So, what are you waiting for? JOIN THE CONVERSATION!

UPDATE: I forgot to thank Mike Sansone for the great button! Thanks, Mike!

Resurrection.

Storytelling

Okay, I’ll admit it.  Writing this post scared the crap out of me.  It’s one thing to write for your own blog.  You’ve set the standard, so it’s pretty tough not to meet it.  And if you blow it – no big deal.

But when you get the keys to a friend’s blog, it’s different. You find yourself writing like a little old lady drives, both hands squeezing each word so tightly they don’t stand a chance.  This was not going to work.  I had to shake this off.

Like an athlete about to go for gold, I stood up and stretched.  I rolled my neck.  Shrugged my shoulders a few times. I could almost here the theme song from Rocky. 

Nope, that wasn’t going to work either.

And then I got it. This has nothing to do with me. How many times have I said that to my clients?  I’d forgotten my own lesson.

Gavin has invited me here to mark his milestone. His 1,000th comment.  So the story should be one he’d enjoy hearing.  And sharing with his readers. I’m just the storyteller.

So sit back and let me tell you a story about courage. About re-birth.  About resurrection.

Gavin’s father-in-law, Noel Davies was in a serious accident two days before Christmas. He was struck by a car while out biking with his friends.

Internal bleeding, broken leg, fractured pelvis, a punctured lung.  Critical condition. ICU. Blood transfusions.  Medically induced coma.  Surgery.  Respirator Neck brace. Skin grafts. Infections.

But he’s alive.

Merry Christmas.

Fast forward to the New Year.  Do any of us really believe in coincidences? On this first day of a new year, Noel gives the first signal of his own new beginning.  He opens his eyes.

Happy New Year.

The incredibly slow road to recovery begins. The morphine and other drugs keep Noel fading in and out of consciousness.  When he can finally whisper, he asks for a Coke.  Not yet.  He can’t move, sit up, and even the whisper comes with a hefty price. The pain is excruciating.

More surgeries.  More internal injuries discovered.  Slowly beginning the simplest of exercises. Lift an arm. Sheer exhaustion.

When you endure an accident like Noel’s you expect the physical pain.  But no one tells you what being brought to you knees does to your spirit.  Your heart.  No one tells you about the nightmares.  The depression.  The fears that sneak up on you in the dark.

Recovery is as much about beating back those demons as it is about doing your exercises or following doctor’s orders.  It takes a man of incredible spirit to fight the battle.  On both fronts.

Noel shows his spirit by pushing.  At least one more exercise than required.  Every time.

The end of February.  Another month of surgeries, pain, ups and downs. Visitors boost his soul and his desire to get home for Easter.  The doctors tell him no.  It’s too soon. 

He has to be able to stand for 30 minutes before they’ll release him.  It must seem so far away.  He hasn’t even sat up yet.

It takes a man of incredible spirit to fight the battle.

March 1 – Noel isn’t really moving much other than shifting in bed. 
March 12 – Noel begins to sit up after three months of lying down. 
March 19 – Noel walks for two meters and takes his first wheelchair ride.
March 28 – Noel walks 20 meters on crutches.
April 2 – Noel went up two flights of stairs on crutches.

Remarkable.  30 days.

Picture_2
Suddenly, it does not seem so far away.

April 4 – Noel leaves the hospital for home.

It takes a man of incredible spirit to fight the battle.

Happy Spring. Happy Easter. Happy New Beginning.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gavin – happy 1000th comment.  Thanks for lending me the keys to your blog.  Once I got out of my own way, it was easy. I just let the story tell itself.

Drew

Welcome the Green Hornet

Smart Bloggers

Green Hornet
Originally uploaded by Кevin.

So I have been doing a bit of guest blogging over at Ariel Waldman’s Shake Well Before Use … and it really does feel like I am hanging out in someone else’s apartment for the weekend. Interesting in that I have never been to Kansas!

Guest blogging creates an interesting situation … what level of control should be exercised by the blog owner — should the content be reviewed before publishing, edited down/rewritten or should it go out warts and all. Similarly for the guest, what rules apply? Are there things you shouldn’t look at, topics you shouldn’t post on? And will we all still be friends at the end of the experiment?

Throwing caution to the wind, I am also opening up Servant of Chaos to my first guest blogger. You see, I love the potential chaos of it all … I love how random my posts may seem to Ariel’s readers (and I hope they do too), and I am excited about the change in tone, perspective and approach that my special guest will bring.

And it is a special occasion — my 1000th comment was received and the person that posted it is my secret guest. Who is it? Some of you will know him as the Green Hornet.

Please make him welcome.

Standing on the Outside

Authenticity

Growing up in the mid-north coast town of Forster was a lot of fun. I remember the beautiful beaches, the good friends and the music. Everyone in town loved music. It was something that struck me immediately upon arriving from Sydney — there was the School Captain, Paul Davis sitting on a bench strumming a guitar and singing to the other kids around him.

Of course, he wasn’t singing Kumbaya … he was singing The Clash. He was singing Sex Pistols or Siouxie and the Banshees — but importantly, he was singing. And in many ways, this single incident set the tenor of my engagement with my new town and its people — it was to be a deep and musical connection. Even now the songs from my late teens remind me of specific moments, people and places — these songs have created a soundtrack to my own life — and none moreso than the songs of the Australian band, Cold Chisel.

Imagine how excited I was then to discover a whole album of Cold Chisel songs reinterpreted by some of Australia’s finest contemporary musicians. Called Standing on the Outside, it brings together many of my favourite songs in a new context. Exciting!

But the reason I am most interested in this, is because it touches on a theme that has been occupying me for the last few weeks. It is about authenticity, truth and "fakes". I will be writing more on this over the coming week, but there is something about PERFORMING the fake that seems to me, to reveal a greater truth. Sometimes the cover version reveals more than the original. Think on Johnny Cash’s version of U2’s One. That is where I am starting my next post. Stay tuned. 

Special Guest Blogging

Uncategorized

976196276_l
Originally uploaded by ariel_waldman.

I am becoming increasingly fascinated by the overlap between blogging, twitter, email and instant messaging. There are conversations that happen on all these levels … some immediate, others displaced by time and geography and still others that create sustained and thoughful commentary.

It is great to watch, via Twitteroo (or similar), a conversation unfolding. And in many ways, Twitteroo is facilitating the type of group conversations that you would have in a bar — where you can pay attention to particular speakers, become focused on one or two streams or join an all-in debate. You can also “eavesdrop” on other conversations that your group is having with someone at the next table. Cool. But kind of voueristic.

It was during one such conversation that Ariel Waldman was talking about preparing for an upcoming weekend away. You bloggers out there will know that readers get used to regular updates … and Ariel was lamenting the lack of hours in the day and struggling with the demands of work, life and blogging (like there is any real distinction). I facetiously asked why no one participating in the conversation was volunteering as a guest blogger on Ariel’s Shake Well Before Use blog.

Lo and behold, when I got home to check my email I found a Twitter Private Message from Ariel asking whether I would do a guest spot for her while she is in Seattle. So for the next couple of days I will be plumbing the intersection of “art, advertising, sex and technology” over at Ariel’s blog. Should be interesting for me, but Ariel’s readers may think it is more of a case of taking a walk on the mild side 😉

Something in the Air

Community

I love the idea of "the gift". It implies that we are providing something (of value to ourselves) with no expectation of reciprocity. It is partly what I like about blogging. Each idea is a gift. Each link. It is also what drew me initially to writing and to performance. When you write you do so for yourself (a gift to the self), but you also write for your readers (even the book that never makes it out of the bottom drawer has a secret future reader) … and to that reader, the writing is a gift. What the writer often does not realise (enough) is that the act of writing strips away and reveals the author to the glare of the readers. Sometimes this is difficult to bare.

Similarly, performance is a gift of self. My favourite perfomers (music, theatre, movies etc) give much of themselves in the performance. They reveal, or disclose, some deep truth that resonates in me. Or sometimes that disclosure is pure joy … so when I saw this clip I experienced also that joy of sharing and connecting. Nice.

Book of Tears

Smart Bloggers

Your words took my breath.
Sucked the air from my being.
The shock, your shock, articulation, clarity
Left me
Gobsmacked.
In an instant a thousand hearts flew to you.
A tear dropped.

There are not pages enough
To hold your book of tears.

On a hundred shores of unlit oceans
We wait to hear your stories
Share your slowly returning smiles
And bask in the glow of friendship
Unrestrained.

‘Til then, my friend, we wait by
Hands outreaching
Dozens standing
Making books for the chapters
Still to be written.

And the time will come when the
tears we see
Will fall as tears of joy.