Category: Uncategorized

I was doing a bit of digging around on social media and came across this post by Karl Long. It was from waaay back in July 2006.

One of the things that I love about blogging is that you once a post has been published, it is available as an archive of your thinking. While sometimes this can be embarrassing, it can also capture a moment in time that was a turning point in the way that you consider the world, your profession or even the way that you choose to interact.

This is particularly relevant given that my good friend, Drew McLellan is fast approaching his first blog birthday. If you look back through his archive of posts you will see, that just like Karl’s post, the content remains as fresh and as relevant now as it did some time ago. There is a lesson here …

Many bloggers write posts based on a current news story … but this can mean that you end up with a site that has no depth (perhaps a balance is in order?). Sites like Drew’s and Karl’s contain a wealth of information, analysis and practical tips that you can put into practice from a marketing, branding or even technical point of view.

When someone looks back in time at your site … what will they find?

Yeah right!

This is probably the most imaginative piece of spam that I have received. Not only does it tell a good story, it starts with an excellent distraction, then hits you with the deal. Man … that $600k could have come in handy.

Toyota Car Promotions Department
Asia & Pacific Office
Fax- 66-876-987-977
www.toyota.com

This is to inform you that have been selected for a Cash prize of ?600,000.00.(Six Hundred Thousand Dollars)and a brand new Toyota Prius car programs held 2007 in Asia.

You can view our website to view your car
(http://www.toyota.com/prius)

Description Of New Toyota Car to be Shipped to you.
Miles:New…………………..Doors:4 doors or more
Transmission:Automatic…………Interior:Tan
Engine:4 – Cyl………………..Year:2005
Warranty:Existing……………..Cruise Control
Title:Clear…………………..Exterior:Red
Condition:New…………………Engine: 1.9L DOHC MPFI VVT-i
16-valve 4-cyl engine w/integ
CD Player…………………….Side Airbags
Passenger Airbag………………Driver Airbag
Anti-Lock Brakes………………Air Conditioning
Power Windows…………………Power Locks

The selection process was carried out through random selection in our email selection system(ess) from a database of over 250,000 email addresses drawn from all the continents of the world.
This Toyota car Lottery is approved by the British Gaming Board and also Licensed by the International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR).
This promotional car lottery is the tenth of its kind and we intend to sensitize the public.

To begin the processing of your prize you are to contact your claims officer through our accredited Prize Transfer agents as stated below:

Sir Lord Gordon Lee
Foreign Payment Dept.
Asia & Pacific regional office,
Tel – 66-879-328-005
info.toyota@asiamail.com

When contacting him, please provide him with your secret pin code TY7448500 and your reference number 799BV90.You are also advised to provide him with the under listed information as soon as possible:

CLAIMS REQURIEMENTS:

1.Name in full :
2.Address :
3.Nationality :
4.Age :
5.Sex :
6.Occupation:
7.Phone/Fax:
8.Present Country:

If you do not contact your claims agent within 7 working days of this notification,your winnings would be revoked. Winners are advised to keep their winning details/information from the public to avoid fraudulent claim (IMPORTANT) pending the transfer/claim by Winner.

Accept my hearty congratulations once again!

Regards

Mrs. Kimberly Mitchel .
Lottery Manager.

Are you new to social media? No idea what a blog is? Want to find out a bit more?

When most of us start out blogging we have to spend some time orienting ourselves … getting used to the terminology, the technology and the unspoken etiquette.

But Arun Rajagopal has saved all new comers a lot of hard work! Now, you can simply follow-on and click through Arun’s post that was compiled over a 10 hour social media investigation. Check it out here.

There is always so much going on … ideas spread with a vicious speed, new sites open and close in the blink of an eye … and the words, torrents of words, flow from the keyboards of the small named thousands scattered across the Internet. And out of this multitude, the one thing that makes us unique that gives us our own context, our name … also has the potential to be commodified. Recycled. Copied. Where in the world do we find a place to rest? To step away from the chaotic clutter?

My friend Stan has a great post that is marvellously quiet. It is part of his monthly Around the Blogosphere series … and it focuses (yes focuses) on one or two ideas that have been powerful enough to keep the words at bay. This month he talks about the godfather of branding, Russell Davies and New York branding consultant Ross Cidlowski. Give it a moment’s thought — you’ll be glad you did.

Ever wanted to meet the people behind your favourite blogs? I know I have (and in some instances I have been lucky enough to do so). But some of my favourite bloggers live far away … from Europe to India and across the US. It is hard to think of a way of bringing eveyone together … but then, that has never stopped a good marketer!

The charming and super-smart CK teamed up with Mike, Cam, Luc and Drew to form an organising committee to make sure that we will all have a chance to meet face to face. More herculean than the 2008 Olympic Games, this dynamic group have drawn a line in the sand — April 4-6, 2008. The place? NYC.

But to make sure we can secure a place and move ahead with the many arrangements that need to be made, you need to RESERVE a place before November 15.

HOW? Simply go here … find out more … and book online.

And PLEASE … book earlier rather than later. Go on … you know you want to!

If you live close to LA, then you are bound to want to check this out.
The approach is to look at trends in the morning and then use the afternoon to find ways of applying new ideas to the emerging challenges.
Now, if we can only convince Piers to run a PSFK conference in Sydney …

Last week I was interviewed by Clint Carroll from Behind the Glasses. Clint has a particular interest in technology and conversation, working for Novell, but also has a passion for cycling and even hybrid cars.
A podcast of the interview is available here. We covered quite a lot of ground, from my interests in blogging, a little bit on my background and, of course, how The Age of Conversation came about. Enjoy!

In his inimitable style, Mack Collier has created some great debate around the concept of monetizing one’s blog, bouncing off Joseph Jaffe’s iPod experiment. But while the debate raged across the blogosphere there was something quietly occurring over at Todd Andrlik’s Power 150.

The Power 150 is now joining forces with Advertising Age who will use the Power 150 "as the main editorial benchmark when referencing bloggers in print and online".
More details will emerge when AdAge make their own announcement — but in true blogging style, Todd chose to send out an email to his community of readers to let them know, in advance, what was coming down the track.

This is an exciting crossover/connection between the advertising/marketing industry and the blogging community and represents a vote of confidence in the power of social media in the overall marketing/branding mix.

Where will it go? Obviously AdAge have identified some serious value in the blogosphere — perhaps others will also begin to take stock of the value of blogs. Watch out, Mack, the Top 25 could be the next on the shopping list!

Well not exactly, a bird, but a book!

My hard cover version of Age of Conversation arrived today and it looks and feels fantastic.

Well, to tell the truth, I ordered this pre-publication proof a while ago so that we could test the quality and the printing. As a result, this version is slightly different to those now on sale. Does this make it a collector’s edition?

By now, some of you will be receiving your hard and soft cover orders and feeling a little of what Drew and I feel … a sense of pride and satisfaction at being able to look through (and carry around) a quality business book that we had a hand in creating.

Enjoy!

In case you were sniffing around yesterday’s post, you would have noticed I used a great Flickr photo with the sign “Free Smells” clearly visible.

Kevin Dugan sent me a link to the same sign but from a different angle. I love it! Just goes to show what a little perspective can do.

I am sure you know what I mean 😉