Age of Conversation

The Trickle Begins

Elevated Trickle
Originally uploaded by Jaypeg21

The topics have been set or assigned and I can almost hear the almost 300 contributors starting to ask and answer the central question -- Why Don't People Get It?

Already we have received some chapters ... but as with most things, we expect a last minute submission rush.

For those who are new contributors, remember, it is only 400 words ... and it may take longer to commit them to print than your normal blog posts. Please start early (ie now). Give yourself plenty of time to rewrite.

But most of all, have fun!

The New Age of Conversation Widget

Since being released through the book publishers' channel, the Age of Conversation has raised even more money for Variety, the Children's Charity. This is partly due to the Bum Rush organised by Chris Wilson but also due to the support that the marketing and blogging community has provided in spreading the word and encouraging people to purchase the book.

What continues to amaze me about this community is the creative thinking, problem solving and DEDICATION that you all show. And as we begin to gear up for the next edition of the Age of Conversation, new ideas are also flowing in from new contributors. Chris Wilson, for example, was not an author of Age of Conversation, but he spent a great deal of time and effort creating a bum rush strategy and executing it flawlessly.

And now Fraser Kelton has kicked in with a funky Age of Conversation widget courtesy of his company, Adaptive Blue. This widget allows your readers to purchase the book directly from their favourite booksellers -- while also including the relevant affiliate program. This means that when someone purchases a copy of Age of Conversation through the links in this widget, Variety also benefits from the additional revenue generated by the relevant affiliate program. To check out how it works, simply mouse over the image of the book above. Neat!

The Rush is On!

  Today we are calling on your efforts to help us push The Age of Conversation, for one day, up the Amazon charts. We are hoping to raise a few more dollars for Variety, the Children's Charity and at the same time, to generate a wider audience for The Age of Conversation. You will notice (hopefully) a range of blog posts, tweets and diggs from today onwards. You will also now be able to find a reference to the book on Wikipedia courtesy of Chris Kieff.

Chris Wilson has organised this Bum Rush ... and here are his recommendations for action:

Plan of Action (for March 29th)

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, @Servantofchaos) 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 will leave here on March 29th 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 here & 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.

Age of Conversation Bum Rush for March 29

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.

Herding Cats

Herding Cats
Originally uploaded by Nerdimus Prime

Howdy folks ... just wanted to let you all know that Drew and Gavin have NOT forgotten about you all. We are diligently working our way through a few issues to do with the next Age of Conversation book project and will be contacting all you authors very soon.

PodCast with Anna Farmery

Late last year Drew and Gavin were interviewed by Anna Farmery for Show #133 of The Engaging Brand. You can listen to the show in a number of ways:

1) You can listen on your PC now without downloading any software just click here and it will take you to the podcaster news page. Then press the play button!

2) You can subscribe to the show via iTunes or

3) If you use a different podcatcher then you can subscribe using the following  http://www.podcasternews.com/feeds/enbr.xml 

Age of Conversation Bum Rush - 5 January

The crowd bum rushes the stage for Girl Talk
Originally uploaded by joebeone

Chris Wilson is kindly organising a bum rush of the Amazon charts for the first week of the new year. That's right, we are extending the distribution of The Age of Conversation -- from the Lulu marketplace into the big, scary publishing world.

The plan is to kick start the year in spectacular social media fashion. But, in preparation, there are a few things that you can do:

• Spread the word - Surely you are connected to people outside of your marketing cronies. Start talking…hence the word
  "conversation” in the title.
• Blog about It - Make sure everyone gets the word that the Bum Rush will be starting on JANUARY 5
• Play - Hopefully you will have some time off over the holidays. Take some time to play with social media sites. Make connections
• 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
• 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
• Add AOC to Wikipedia - Any experts on Wikipedia guidlines? Made to Stick is a good example of what can be included.

AoC Podcast Series

In case you have not noticed, David Brazeal is working through the AoC author list and taking the time to discuss their ideas in a series of podcasts.

So far, there are some great interviews with Tim Jackson, Becky Carroll, Drew McLellan and Gavin Heaton. Enjoy!

Searching AoC Blogs

B met b #4
Originally uploaded by Bubi

Herb Sawyer has made a custom Google search that allows you to search the blogs of all 103 authors PLUS those of Rohit Bhargava and Noah Brier.

Herb even posts the code so that you can extend the customisation yourself. Very cool!

Marketing eBook Makes Cover Feature

AoC-KhaleejTimesCover
Originally uploaded by servantofchaos

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 Gavin and Drew 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.