Category: Age of Conversation

The problem with good ideas is that they take a LOT of hard work to bring them to life. Now, both Drew McLellan and I knew that going for a second edition of the Age of Conversation was going to be a challenge, but we had already lived to tell the tale once already.

Little did we know that the author list would more than double!

And while we had about 275 authors raise their hand early on, life and the other catastrophes of modern living have intervened, whittling this down to a mere 237. As a result, we are knee deep in editing right now — still aiming for a publication date towards the end of August (we are still discussing and planning the exact launch date — but we WILL let you know).

In the meantime, become acquainted with those outstanding individuals who have committed their time and creativity in the name of charity (after all, all proceeds go to Variety, the Children’s Charity):

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 LeDrew, Brad Shorr, 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, Chris Brown, Connie Bensen, Connie Reece, Corentin Monot, Craig Wilson, Daniel Honigman, Dan Schawbel, Dan Sitter, Daria Radota Rasmussen, Darren Herman, Dave Davison, David Armano, David Berkowitz, 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, Eric Peterson, Eric Nehrlich, Ernie Mosteller, Faris Yakob, Fernanda Romano, Francis Anderson, Gareth Kay, Gary Cohen, Gaurav Mishra, Gavin Heaton, Geert Desager, George Jenkins, G.L. Hoffman, Gianandrea Facchini, Gordon Whitehead, Greg Verdino, Gretel Going & Kathryn Fleming, Hillel Cooperman, Hugh Weber, J. Erik Potter, James Gordon-Macintosh, Jamey Shiels, Jasmin Tragas, Jason Oke, Jay Ehret, Jeanne Dininni, Jeff De Cagna, Jeff Gwynne & Todd Cabral, Jeff Noble, Jeff Wallace, Jennifer Warwick, Jenny Meade, Jeremy Fuksa, Jeremy Heilpern, Jeroen Verkroost, Jessica Hagy, Joanna Young, Joe Pulizzi, John Herrington, John Moore, John Rosen, John Todor, Jon Burg, Jon Swanson, Jonathan Trenn, Jordan Behan, Julie Fleischer, Justin Foster, Karl Turley, Kate Trgovac, Katie Chatfield, Katie Konrath, Kenny Lauer, Keri Willenborg, Kevin Jessop, Kristin Gorski, Lewis Green, Lois Kelly, Lori Magno, Louise Manning, Luc Debaisieux, Mario Vellandi, Mark Blair, Mark Earls, Mark Goren, Mark Hancock, Mark Lewis, Mark McGuinness, Matt Dickman, Matt J. McDonald, Matt Moore, Michael Karnjanaprakorn, Michelle Lamar, Mike Arauz, Mike McAllen, Mike Sansone, Mitch Joel, Neil Perkin, Nettie Hartsock, Nick Rice, Oleksandr Skorokhod, Ozgur Alaz, Paul Chaney, Paul Hebert, Paul Isakson, 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, 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 Landau, Stephen Smith, Steve Bannister, Steve Hardy, Steve Portigal, Steve Roesler, Steven Verbruggen, Steve Woodruff, Sue Edworthy, Susan Bird, Susan Gunelius, Susan Heywood, Tammy Lenski, Terrell Meek, Thomas Clifford, Thomas Knoll, Tim Brunelle, Tim Connor, Tim Jackson, 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

One of the things that I like about social media is that it compresses the time between thought and action. As soon as you think of an idea, you can test it with an audience.

Take Age of Conversation, for example. With this book, we went from a concept to having 103 authors from 12 countries in about three weeks. And two and a half months later we had books available for purchase.

And if you thought that was amazing … one of the most compelling aspects of this is that all of the 103 authors committed their time, their thinking and their expertise for FREE. That’s right, everyone signed away any rights to royalties — in the name of charity. For every sale, ALL profits go to Variety, the Children’s Charity. This means that for a single purchase, you not only get some great thinking — you are also making positive difference in a child’s life. The story doesn’t get better than that!

What you can do …

We are currently doing a push (a "bum rush") on the Amazon charts. We aim to garner online attention to generate more sales and reach a wider audience. You can help by purchasing a copy here. You can also write a review, blog about the book and our efforts, and tell your friends. Please, tell your friends — or better yet, buy one for them.

Right now we have just cracked the Top 300 books and Top 40 for "business books". Every time you buy (one at a time please), you push us a little further — and help Variety help more kids.

Today we launch The Age of Conversation Bum Rush on the Amazon charts. From today, you can buy the book directly on Amazon — with all profits going directly to Variety,the Children’s Charity.

Please use THIS LINK to purchase your copy.

And if you are buying MORE than ONE copy, please do so one at a time (this improves our "best seller" status).

Keep up-to-date with our progress over at Chris Wilson’s blog here.

Drew McLellan and I had so much fun publishing The Age of Conversation that we thought we’d do it again. This year, though, we took a different approach. We asked the community of authors and readers to choose the topic. Overwhelmingly, the choice was “why don’t people get it?”.

That means that the title of the book this year will be “Age of Conversation: Why Don’t People Get It?”.

In another twist on the original, the plan is to have authors contribute a chapter to a topic. So rather than having chapters devoted to an interpretation of a single theme, we have chosen a number of themes around which each author can structure their chapter. There will be more on this approach in the coming weeks, but in the meantime, I would like to share the MOST amazing news of all!

Drew and I are excited to know that this time around we will have 275 contributing authors. That’s right, we have a large number of the original authors returning along with a raft of new contributors. It is going to be an awesome exercise. The authors are as follows:

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, Brent 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, 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, Doug Hanna, Doug 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, Gi Hoffman, Gianandrea Facchini, Gordon Whitehead, Graham Reginald Hill, Greg Verdino, Gretel Going, Hillel Cooperman, Hugh Weber, J. Eric 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 Helipern, Jeremy Middleton, Jeroen Verkroost, Jessica Hagy, Joanna Young, Joe Pulizzi, Joe Talbott, John Herrington, John Jantsch, John Moore, John Rosen, John Todor, Jon Berg, 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 McDonald, Matt Moore, Michael Hawkins, Michael Karnjanaprakorn, Michelle Lamar, Mike Arauz, Mike McAllen, Mike Sansone, Mitch Joel, Monica Wright, Nathan Gilliatt, Nathan Snell, Neil Perkins, 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, Raj Menon, Reginald Adkins, Richard Huntington, Rishi Desai, R.J. Northam, Rob Mortimer, Robert Hruzek, 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, 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

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 setout 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 …

With the infinite amount of social sites and connections on the web, this is a huge undertaking. That is why I came up with this plan of action list with the highest priority items at the top. 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 Drew and I as we give a Bum Rush play-by-play on Twitter. (Follow us: @Freshpeel, @DrewMcLellan) 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 will be rescheduled.
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.

The votes are in and Drew is scrutinising the results — and we will be announcing the focus of the next global, collaborative publishing effort very soon. But in the meantime, if you still have not signed on as an author for the Age of Conversation (the sequel), then you only have a couple of days to do so. That’s right, the deadline for admission is this SUNDAY, February 3.

First up, read Drew’s announcement (and check out all the great comments from previous and new participants) so that you know what you are in for. Then send Drew an email and let him know you are in.

We have a real bevvy of sophistocated, attractive and persuasive writers already signed up — but there is room for one or two more. Go on, take the plunge. It’s worth it!

Not quite a year ago, Drew and I asked a question — would you like to write a business book. And over 100 people  responded from all over the world … contributing 400 words each to the book Age of Conversation.

Part way through the project, Drew and I decided that we would go ahead and do it again in 2008. That’s right, we are now looking for contributors to another collaborative publishing project.

The rules and approach for all authors will be the same:

• You will sign over all rights to your chapter
• You understand that all proceeds of the book will be donated to Variety, the Children’s Charity
• You will promote the book, throughout the process, on your blog if you have one
• You’ll embrace the cooperative, collaborative spirit that defined Age of Conversation
• You’ll honor deadlines so Drew does not have to be a nag
• You’ll honor word counts so Gavin doesn’t have to be a nag

And while we are taking the same approach to the Age of Conversation, this time, we are also turning the topic over to you. We have come up with a short-list:

• Marketing Manifesto
• Why Don’t People Get It?
• My Marketing Tragedy (and what I learned)

And now we want you to vote for the topic that interests you most. Please go HERE to cast your vote (you have until the end of January to vote).

Please note: you can vote regardless of whether you want to contribute or not.

Now, this is something to talk about! Please discuss with your friends, write it up on your blog, encourage your colleagues and rope in every man and his dog … or even his horse. And if you are keen to CONTRIBUTE, email Drew and let him know.

Arun Rajagopal has been a tireless promoter of the Age of Conversation. With the assistance of some friends, he has single handedly run a strong promotional campaign bringing the book to the attention of mainstream media in the Middle East. This weekend, The Age of Conversation is the cover story of the Dubai-based Khaleej Times’ Weekend magazine.

The magazine’s feature writer, Pratibha Umashankar, interviewed both Drew and I and also features Arun, "the blogger in our backyard". Some of the images from our Flickr group were picked up for publication as well.

You can read the feature here or see some scans of the magazine at Arun’s blog.

Some time ago I was interested in what I was calling the "compliant idea". These compliant ideas are easy to implement and tend to very quickly take on a life of their own … I am sure you have seen them from time to time.

But as I wrestled with the concept I found that a good, strong definition eluded me. And just when I thought that I had it nailed, it would shift. While I am not normally put off by such setbacks, I decided to leave it. To wait. You see, I wasn’t quite on-board with the compliant idea — it still seemed too immature in its form. Oh, and I didn’t like the name … it wasn’t sexy enough and it didn’t carry the weight and momentum that I hoped for.

So when I was beginning to think about my 400 word chapter for The Age of Conversation, the compliant idea began to raise its head again. This was great, because I was beginning to feel the pressure to deliver … there were some great chapters arriving in my inbox each day and the quality was excellent. So as I returned to the idea of the idea … I hit upon a new tack. Something that was more about the idea than about the person conceiving it … something a little more dangerous.

My chapter, The Promiscuous Idea was written in about 40 minutes. To find out more, you will need to buy the book … but you can catch some of my thinking in this very first Age of Conversation Podcast by David Brazeal. David will be featuring one or two authors each episode … so make sure to keep checking back.