29Jul07The Wired Cover
Hard to believe … only two weeks in and we have sold around 680 books with almost $5,500 raised for Variety, the Children’s Charity. There has been a mountain of online buzz created (see our recent news over at Facebook) and now, unbelievable … the cover of Wired.
Actually, if you want to … you make your own Wired cover as well. Simply go here.
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22Jul07Age of Conversation Facebook
In true conversational style, the Age of Conversation authors are tapping into a range of online tools. Mark Goren has done a great job of setting up a Facebook group around the book. Each day I am checking in to see what has been added into the discussion boards, the Wall, and to find out the latest media coverage.
And on that topic, recent coverage includes some discussion during crayonCast #30, a mention at the influential PSFK and references from one of Japan’s IT media blog sites.
There are loads of things going on in the Middle East where our very own Arun Rajagopal is rapidly becoming a celebrity. More to come on the exploits of Arun and his friends, Dina Al Jafari and Bosky Dutia from BuzzWordActionPR in Oman.
18Jul07Day 1 Update
Thanks to the combined efforts of Age of Conversation authors, we have had some excellent press coverage in some very reputable online publications. Over at Business Week, Bruce Nussbaum announced the launch and then asked the question, Are We Communicating Too Much. Be sure to drop by and give Bruce your view!
Nina M Lentini over at MediaPost gives us a good writeup here, using some great snippets from Ed Cotton’s and Julie Fleischer’s chapters (plus there is also a nice brief piece here), and Brian Reich also profiles the launch on Fast Company’s Expert Blogs.
Know of any other coverage? Be sure to drop in the comments for us all!
16Jul07Age of Conversation Launches
Sydney, Australia; Des Moines, Iowa, USA, July 16, 2007 — In what may be a first-of-its-kind collaboration via the internet, more than 100 marketing professionals have joined together online to write The Age of Conversation, a book that will be published July 16. In addition to the downloadable e-version, the book will be available in limited quantities in hardcover and softcover. All proceeds from sales of the book will be donated to Variety, the Children’s Charity. The proceeds will be earmarked to help children in the authors’ home countries.
The book has an unusual story behind it, involving online connections between people around the world who have never met each other.
Drew McLellan, who heads McLellan Marketing Group, an advertising agency here, has been writing a blog online for since September 2006. His blog, www.DrewsMarketingMinute.com is among the 25 most-read marketing blogs in the world. McLellan’s partner in this adventure is another marketing blogger in the top 25, Gavin Heaton. Heaton is the Interactive Director of one of the world’s leading marketing and promotions agencies, Creata, where he is Director of Interactive. Heaton blogs at www.ServantofChaos.com.
In March, McLellan wrote about Wharton’s effort to create a collaborative book and Heaton commented, “And it sounds like it could be fun … but you know what, Drew? I reckon between a few of us we could knock out a short book and publish it. All we need is a theme and a charity …"
“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 prefect topic. The marketing industry is abuzz about how the citizen marketers are changing the landscape. This book captures that new phenomenon,” he added.
McLellan and Heaton, through their blogs, invited other marketing professionals and other bloggers to commit to writing an essay about conversation. They set what they thought would be an impossible goal – 100 bloggers. They received commitments from 104 authors in less than 7 days.
“What began as a comment online has grown into a major collaborative effort by marketing professionals from 24 states and nations, beyond the U.S.,” said McLellan. “Gavin and I were overwhelmed with the response.”
“We heard from people, telling us what they planned to write about,” Heaton added. “We’ve been amazed at the variety of approaches that have been taken, and with hardly any duplication or overlap. This book really explores the art of conversation and how that is changing the face of marketing from virtually every angle possible.”
A fellow marketing blogger in New York, Christina Kerley, had just lost her mother and many in the marketing blogging community were looking for a way to comfort her from afar. McLellan and Heaton decided that they would dedicate the book to Sandra Kerley, their colleague’s mother.
The Age of Conversation will be available in all three formats on July 16. Prices will be:
e-book: $9.99 ($7.99 going to charity)
paperback book: $16.95 ($8.10 to charity)
hardback book: $29.99 ($8.55 to charity)
Orders will be taken online at Lulu.com/ageofconversation.
Oh, and you can DIGG THIS here.
15Jul07Contributors
Age of Conversation #2 — 2008
The author list for the 2008 book is available here ->Download final_author_list_aoc2.txt
Age of Conversation #1 — 2007
14Jul07The Word is Out
In the last 24 hours, Drew and I have both spoken with Matt Kinsey from AdAge … and today The Age of Conversation is featured in the Bookstore. Take a look at the interviews and commentary. There are also a few excerpts from articles by Faris Yakob and Bob Glaza.
I also got a note from Jeremy Geelan to let us know that the book is also being featured by Social Computing Magazine. Make sure you check out both of these pieces, and do let us know when you spy something in the media in your part of the world.
Remember, Monday, 16 July is getting closer … we should have link pages to each of your sites this weekend!
Update: Social Computing Magazine features us again!
3Jul07Is the Big Book a Big Idea?
Who was to know that a single comment would transform into a fully fledged business book co-authored by some of the most innovative marketers from all over the world? The Age of Conversation book is in the final stages of production and will be available soon.
In the meantime, if you would like to understand how it all came about, I have reproduced Drew’s explanation below:
Here’s how it all happened.
I posted about a project called We Are Smarter than Me which gives people a chance to help author a guest book.
In the comments of that post Gavin Heaton said "Great concept! And it sounds like it could be fun … but you know what, Drew? I reckon between a few of us we could knock out a short book…All we need is a theme and a charity …"
To which I said…"You are very right. Let’s do it. Watch for an e-mail from me!"
Two weeks later — here we are. And we’d like you to consider joining us.
And out of that blogging conversation and a few e-mails, Gavin & I concocted the idea for an e-book about this new era of communications we’ve all entered together. But not just any book. It has to be a quick book. Exciting. Sharp. Inclusive. It had to be a book about community and conversation that came from that community and spoke the same vernacular. The title — The Conversation Age.
And that is why we are talking to you. Our idea:
- 100 authors. We’re a few but need more.
- The overriding topic is "The Conversation Age" — where you take it is up to you.
- The items are short – one 8.5" x 11" page — it can be words, diagrams, photos (again up to you) If it is words – about 400, give or take a couple.
- We write it quickly and get it out there. We publish electronically.
- We make it available online for a small fee and we donate 100% of the proceeds to Variety the Children’s Charity — which serves children across the entire globe.
1Jul07About AoC
In 2007, what began as a half dare, the editors, Gavin Heaton and Drew
McLellan challenged bloggers around the world to contribute one
page — 400 words — on the topic of “conversation”. The resulting
book, The Age of Conversation, brought together over 100 of the
world’s leading marketers, writers, thinkers and creative innovators in
a ground-breaking and unusual publication.
Now,
in 2008, the effort has been re-doubled with the publishing of The Age
of Conversation 2. Asking the hard question – why don’t they get it? -
237 authors respond to the changing marketing landscape.
And in the spirit of conversation, you can follow-up and extend your
interest in the topics covered in the book at the Age of Conversation
blog — www.http://203.88.115.121/~wwwageo/.
All the proceeds from the sale of this book (less printing and shipping)
go to Variety, the Children’s Charity. We thank you for supporting this
initiative with your purchase.
