Age of Conversation

Age of Conversation Podcast - Episode 7: Manifestos Part 2

Why don't they get it in the Age of Conversation? In episode 7 we look at the big picture of online conversations and what they mean on a personal level. Here are a few choice quotes to get your warmed up.

“You realize that even if you have only been following someone’s Twitterstream for the past several months, that actually does add up to something significant.”

Mike Arauz - Undercurrent
Twitter: @mikearauz

“It’s not about sending everybody to a point, it’s about people and the interactions between people.”

Jon Swanson - Graybill Missionary Church
Twitter: @jnswanson

“Maybe in our next stage of the age of conversation we will work toward the art of conversation.”

Jay Ehret - The Marketing Spot
Twitter: @themarketingguy

Click the play button on the player below or download the episode here: Episode 7 - Manifestos Part 2
Be sure to buy your copy of Age of Conversation 2: Why don't they get it?

Age of Conversation Podcast - Episode 6: Manifestos Part 1

Why don't they get it in the Age of Conversation? In episode 6 four contributors to the Manifestos section of the book weigh in. Take a listen below for brilliant content such as this:

“We had to get over this 'shiny object syndrome,' this reliance on, or  immediate gravitation toward, the small stuff and really say something big and bold.”

Brian Reich - EchoDitto
Twitter: @BrianReich

“We have to concede that the number and power of conversations we are having with each other are the things that are building brands right now. Not the communications and the controllable collateral organizations create for themselves.”

Richard Huntington - Satchi & Satchi, London
Twitter: @adliterate

“It's not that I think we are losing the art of conversation, it's that the art of conversation is changing into some new forms. It's not going to help to whine about that or to yearn for the old days. We just have to embrace it, and find the good in it, and learn the new disciplines that are part of it.”

Steve Woodruff - Impactiviti
Twitter: @swoodruff

“We've used the terms frequency, speed, volume in this age of conversation. I'm wondering if sometimes we lose the art of conversation along the way. And we're just worried about getting out there as much as we can to as many people as we can.”

Jay Ehret - The Marketing Spot
Twitter: @themarketingguy

Click the play button on the player below or download the episode here: Episode 6 - Manifestos Part 1
Be sure to buy your copy of Age of Conversation 2: Why don't they get it?

A New Brand of Creative - Episode 5

Has creativity changed in this Age of Conversation? That's what we wanted to know when we assembled this cast of eight AOC2 authors from five different countries.

“The way creative folks are getting prepared in college, for instance, does not really reflect the way that they should be working when they become part of the work force.”

Efrain Mendicuti - Google Mexico

“We have to realize that most of the jobs that will be here in ten years haven’t been invented. So it’s hard to set up a curriculum for these new kind of creatives.”

Armando Alves - Draftfcb Portugal

“Older, traditional creatives are used to using entertainment to interrupt people and get attention so that they can deliver information about a product. But on the web, you’re not interrupting people, you’re fulfilling a quest.”

Ernie Moesteller - Blatttner Brunner/BBdigital

“The first thing that really has to happen is that internally, agencies have to get the foundations down to understanding that the culture outside of their four walls is more collaborative almost than it is inside of their four walls.”

Mark Goren - Transmission Content + Creative

“One thing that excites me about this age that we’re in, is that everyone has the potential, if not the responsibility, to be part of this new brand of creative.”

Mike Sansone - Angela Maiers Educational Services         

"Another quality that should be pervasive in creative people, and that’s the willingness to troubleshoot….It goes beyond just the pretty pictures that we put on the TV screen or in the ad, it goes to having a direct and measurable impact on the clients brands.”

Cam Beck - Click Here

“Trying to get a culture that…celebrates creating and collaboration and connecting is very difficult because it’s not been about that. It’s been about one person holding all of the knowledge and keeping it under lock and key.”

Angela Maiers - Angela Maiers Educational Services

"Social media, online media, has almost created a new art form"

David Petherick - Digital Biographer

Click the play button on the player below or download the episode here: Episode 5 - A New Brand of Creative
Be sure to buy your copy of Age of Conversation 2: Why don't they get it?

Age of Conversation Podcast: Episode 4 - Launch! and The Accidental Marketer starring Roberta Rosenberg & Drew McLellan

You can now purchase you copy of Age of Conversation 2: Why don't they get it? All proceeds benefit Variety, The Childrens' Charity. Co-editor Drew McLellan stops by the podcast to give us a launch update. That's in part 2.

But there's a little more to say about The Accidental Marketer. We had intended for Roberta Rosenberg, The Copywriting Maven to be part of the first conversation with David Armano and Gary Cohen. However, things went awry and we had to re-schedule. Roberta Rosenberg was part of the team that launched Genie, one of the original online subscription services. She joins us on Part 1 of the podcast to discuss accidental marketing.

"I think in our early adopter technology world, by the time the mainstream hears about it, we're bored with it already. There's a danger there, because just as it's going mainstream, is when we as marketers have the greatest ability to use it."

"In our online world we get very insulated in our own community."

"For those who come out of the gate saying 'I want to be a marketer,'...Well ok. What do you know? What have you done? Why should anybody listen to you?"
- Roberta Rosenberg

Download the episode here: Episode 4 - Launch! and The Accidental Marketer
More episodes on the way, so check back soon.

237 Bloggers Worldwide Collaborate to Benefit Charity

A year and a half ago, an online conversation between two marketing professionals in the U.S. and Australia evolved into a collaborative writing effort by more than 100 bloggers from nine countries that created a book called The Age of Conversation.  The project raised nearly $15,000 for Variety, the international children's charity. 

Following the success of the first book, which was published in the summer of 2007, Drew McLellan and Gavin Heaton, organizers of the first project, are about to publish Age of Conversation 2, which compiles written thoughts on the role of  conversation in marketing today from 237 marketing professionals who blog in the U.S. and 15 other countries.

McLellan, who heads McLellan Marketing Group, a Des Moines, Iowa advertising agency, has been writing a blog for more than two years.  His blog, DrewsMarketingMinute.com, is among the 25 most-read marketing blogs.   Heaton, who works for global software giant, SAP, writes ServantofChaos.com blog from Sydney, Australia, which is also a top 25 marketing blog.

The project has an unusual story behind it, involving online connections between people around the world who had never met each other face to face.

After McLellan had written about Wharton University’s effort to create a collaborative book, Heaton suggested online that they get a few fellow bloggers to try it.

“Three e-mails later, we had named the book and the charity.  It just fell into place," McLellan said.  “The Age of Conversation was the perfect topic. The marketing industry is abuzz about how citizen marketers are changing the landscape, and these books capture that new phenomenon from a uniquely global vantage point.”

Through their blogs, McLellan and Heaton invited other marketing professionals to commit to writing essays about conversation.  They set what they thought would be an impossible goal – 100 bloggers.  Within seven days they had commitments from 103.

No sooner had the first book been published when the two began planning for Age of Conversation 2.  The new book will be available on October 29, 2008 in three formats – an e-book, softcover and hardcover.  All proceeds will again be donated to Variety, the international children's charity.

Pricing for The Age of Conversation 2 is:

• e-book: US$12.50  ($10.00 going to charity)
• paperback book: US$19.95 ($8.02 to charity)
• hardback book: US$29.95 ($4.60 to charity)

Purchases can be made online from October 28, 2007 at www.lulu.com/ageofconversation.

A social media release is available at: http://pitch.pe/961

Age of Conversation Podcast: Episode 3 - The Accidental Marketer Starring David Armano and Gary Cohen

The Age of Conversation II: Why don't they get it? will be published later this month.  This podcast is a collection of "conversations" with contributors to the book.

Is an accidental marketer more valuable than an intentional marketer? What exactly is the role of a marketer? Our conversationalists in this episode are two accidental marketers, David Armano of Critical Mass in Chicago and Gary Cohen of Speakery in New York.

Here are some juicy quotes from the show:

David Armano:

"Markets have to fundamentally understand the
foundational aspect of what interactions mean."

"This Idea that marketing is conversation, I get it. I agree, but I think that’s half the equation."

"To be a marketer all you need is a pulse."

"What the collective does, it takes out the filter."

Gary Cohen:

"Where the audience is, the marketers are going to go."

"It’s difficult to be an accidental marketer in an un-accidental world"

"Both social media and marketing is about forming connections."

"I think we’re accidental by design."

 

To get started, press the play button on the player below or download the show as an mp3 file from the provided link. But you don't have to just listen. You can contribute too. Please add your comment or post a question with the comments link below. Or send us an audio comment or question in the form of an mp3. Just send your audio to jay<at>themarketingspot.com.

Download the episode here: Episode 3 - The Accidental Marketer
More episodes on the way, so check back soon.

Age of Conversation Podcast: Episode 2 - Life in the Conversation Lane Starring Robert Hruzek and Dylan Viner

The Age of Conversation II: Why don't they get it? will be published later this month.  This podcast will be a collection of "conversations" with contributors to the book.

In episode 2 we tackle Life in the Conversation Lane. What is the conversation lane? What do you get out of it? How do you jump in? Our guests are engineer and blogger Robert Hruzek and marketer Dylan Viner of Schematic Interactive Agency.

To get started, press the play button on the player below or download the show as an mp3 file from the provided link. But you don't have to just listen. You can contribute too. Please add your comment or post a question with the comments link below. Or send us an audio comment or question in the form of an mp3. Just send your audio to jay<at>themarketingspot.com.

Download the episode here: Episode 2 - Life in the Conversation Lane
More episodes on the way, so check back soon.

Age of Conversation Podcast with Jay Ehret: Episode 1 Starring Gavin Heaton and Drew McLellan

Welcome to the all new Age of Conversation podcast. The Age of Conversation II: Why don't they get it? will be published later this month.  This podcast will be a collection of "conversations" with contributors to the book. To kick it off, we have the guys who started it all, Gavin Heaton and Drew McLellan.

How did this idea of a collaborative book start? What does this mean? What's different from the first edition in The Age of Conversation II? Drew & Gavin answer all these questions and more in this premiere episode. 

To get started, press the play button on the player below or download the show as an mp3 file from the provided link. But you don't have to just listen. You can contribute too. Please add your comment or post a question with the comments link below. Or send us an audio comment or question in the form of an mp3. Just send your audio to jay<at>themarketingspot.com.

Download the episode here: Premiere Episode of Age of Conversation
You will soon be able to subscribe via iTunes, so check back soon.

Calling All AOC2 Authors! Send Us Your Bios.

Hello Fellow AOC2 Authors!

The launch date for the Age of Conversation is fast approaching, and we would really like to help maximize your exposure and involvement. As part of the effort to build anticipation for the book (and to promote the authors who made it all possible), we're going to compile and publish a series of short bios for each author, up to and beyond the publishing date.

Here's what we need from you:

1. Photo
2. Name
3. Blog URL
4. Just 3-4 sentences that describe whatever it is you'd like others to know about you. Keep it to about 70 words. It can include where you're from, what you do, where you work, or what your high score in Pong is.

Numbers 2-4 should be formatted something like this:

Version 1

Aki Spicer
http://fallontrendpoint.blogspot.com
Aki Spicer is Strategic Planning Director at Fallon Worldwide out of Minneapolis, MN. His previous work roles include Account Planning Manager, Urban ThinkTank at Vigilante / Leo Burnett / Publicis, Vice-President of Marketing at Rocawear and President / CEO / Brand Strategist at Machine. He is also a founding officer in the Facebook philanthropic network, 'Planning For Good'.

Version 2

Firstname Last
http://www.yourblog.com
[Firstname] believes [insert mantra here]. With over [experience in chosen profession], [he/she] writes at [blog title] about [perspective and subject]. [His/Her] interests are [list interests]. [Firstname] is a [job title] at [company name] in [city, state/country].

Email all bios to aocbios@ymail.com NO LATER than OCTOBER 10th.

For maximum impact, we're going to start running them about two weeks before the book is available.

Back in Black

While we are still hard at work bringing the book together, crossing the Ts and dotting the Is, I thought I would share with you the cover design for The Age of Conversation 2. Courtesy of David Armano (again), this striking design should stand out nicely on your bookshelves.

And yes, very soon, the Age of Conversation will be back in black. Rock on.