The social media community is fairly vibrant and well-established in the Newcastle area now. I think its about time to highlight the great writers, photographers, sights, scenes and ideas floating around the region and put them all in one easy place for everyone to find.

This photo is here for no other reason than its of a Newcastle beach

My team and I are putting together a side project to curate the best Hunter-based content.

That’s where you come in. We’re looking for people who’d like to contribute to a well-run online magazine for Newcastle and the Hunter. Its a chance for you to raise your profile, discuss burning issues, highlight the things you love and get some additional traffic and link-love along the way.

It’s a little bit Huffington Post (without heavy politics), a little bit Daily Candy, a little bit Digital Ministry (community contribution, not the geeky content), a little bit Gridskipper.

Topics should be of genuine interest to the greater community, not some niche tech / web / marketing subject (like this blog) …..although over time it might evolve enough to support niches.

Content should be original, not old material on your site being re-hashed. It should be your very best stuff. We won’t mind a bit of controversy, but it must be of acceptable quality and not abusive or defamatory.

Its an opportunity for you to publish the ideas, issues, debates etc that you wouldn’t normally include on your own site.

Its an opportunity to provide an alternative to traditional media coverage of the region and spark interesting discussions with the broader community.

Its an opportunity to promote events and artists who might struggle for mainstream coverage.

This project will launch in early January 2011. It’ll be modest to start with but should grow rapidly if we have good content.

So if you’re a blogger, video blogger or photographer, or you’d just like to see how you can get involved please put your hand up. Email helen@stickyads.com.au and she will compile a list of contributors and topics. Also chat with me at Newcastle Coffee mornings or at NewLunaticks.

Earlier this year we were involved in the publication of the collaborative marketing book Age of Conversation 3: Its time to get busy.

Join the Age of Conversation

The book has gained plenty of attention but this Friday 15 October we want to dial it all the way up to 11 with a concerted online effort of promotion and sales.

Friday is Blog Action Day – and this year’s focus for Blog Action Day is water. To participate in Blog Action Day, you simply register your blog and then write a post. BUT what can you write about? Here’s where Age of Conversation comes in!

You see, our chosen charity for this edition of the Age of Conversation is Charity: Water, who are also one of the participating partners for Blog Action Day. So what we’d like you to do is to help us with a Bum Rush on the Amazon charts – generate sales for AoC3 and raise money for charity: water.

charity: water is a non-profit organization bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations. 100% of public donations directly fund water projects.

Amazingly, just $20 can give one person clean water for 20 years. An average water project costs $5,000 and can serve 250 people with clean, safe water – so purchasing a copy of the Age of Conversation 3 really can make a difference to someone’s life!

Here’s how you can help

1. Buy the Book and send others to buy the book. If you work in an agency, get your agency to purchase multiple copies and give them out as year end gifts. This is the #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 these affiliate links, which will help us in tracking sales. Remember, all the proceeds from the book sales and referrals will go to charity water:
   • Kindle Version
   • Paperback Version
   • Hardcover Version
2. Register with Blog Action Day – Help raise the profile and participate in a huge global effort around water by registering for Blog Action Day.
3. Blog About Blog Action Day, focusing on AoC3 - 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.)
4. Twitter Commentary - Join the other authors as we give a Bum Rush play-by-play on Twitter. We also ask that everyone saying anything about the Bum Rush to use the code #aoc3 so that it can be picked up by What The Hashtag.
5. Trackback or Comment on the post that I will leave here on October 15, so that everyone can follow the conversation and help promote exposure on social sites (Digg, StumbleUpon, Del.icio.us, etc.)
6. Digg the posts listed here and send emails and shouts to friends requesting Diggs.
7. Stumble the posts listed and tell friends to do the same.
8. Bookmark your posts on Del.icio.us
9. Don’t forget Facebook – Make sure to become a Fan of AoC3 and to contribute to our wall
10. Send an Old Fashioned email to your friends about the Bum Rush for AoC.

So come on and join the RUSH. We’ll be making plenty of noise around the world this Friday to sell lots of copies of Age of Conversation and help raise money for charity:water.

How many marketers and advertising experts actually practice what they preach?

Until recently it probably wasn’t a very viable option.

How many times has your media rep, who happily suggests where to spend your hard-earned advertising budget, actually “invested” his or her own funds in an ad campaign?

How often has your agency account manager had to feel the anxiety of committing tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars on a campaign that could make or break their business?

For that matter, when was the last time you saw an advertising agency run their own highly-creative, cutting-edge 30 second television spot during prime time?

You haven’t, have you. Agencies enter awards and then drum up column inches in trade press. Its called PR.

Truth is that most of the marketing and advertising experts who businesses rely on don’t actually practice what they preach. And, to be fair, in many cases its not very practical to expect them to.

But the emergence of social media and inbound marketing means that a new generation of marketers has emerged who do have skin in the game, who do actually live, breathe and experience the highs and lows of the strategies they extol.

I have experienced this first hand. Our agency was originally a traditional full-service shop. We bought media spots for clients and produced their ads for them. But not for ourselves.

However, over time we began looking for other ways to grow our business, to promote ourselves, to attract more customers. We started blogging. We started using Twitter. We started creating videos and interviewing other marketers around the world. We started creating new marketing tools that helped our business.

Everything our agency now offers as a service to clients was borne out of our own experiences and efforts in growing our own business.

Our web design approach and philosophy is a result of constant experimentation and improvement.

Our Inbound Marketing system is the collective wisdom we have gained from creating an effective blogging, optimising, tweeting, and converting methodology.

Our advanced search engine optimisation tools evolved from our need to improve our own Google rankings so that we could be found online, increase traffic and generate inquiries.

Our use of social media has contributed substantially to the growth of the business and informed our advice to our clients accordingly.

In short, we finally practice what we preach. It’s a nice feeling.

Our inbound marketing approach has seen us evolve from a small agency servicing clients in our home town to one that has a growing roster of large national clients. Over ninety percent of our revenue now comes from outside of our home market and more opportunities arrive every week.

That’s what the internet, social media and inbound marketing can do for a small business now.

The most exciting thing is that we’re not alone in actually living and breathing our approach to marketing. Now there are hundreds of talented people and a generation of new agencies practicing what they preach.

You don’t need to look any further than the Age of Conversation series to find them. 171 of the brightest minds in marketing from around the world can be found in the latest book. Buy it. Visit their blogs, follow them on Twitter or Facebook or Linked in.

And if you are in need of some modern marketing advice, contact them.

If you want to learn about social media and modern marketing then look no further than Age of Conversation 3. In one book you can hear from 171 of the World’s leading bloggers and marketers as they discuss 10 fascinating topics such as Conversational Branding, Measurement, Influence and Pitching Social Media.

For the third book in this series, Gavin Heaton and Drew McLellan undertook the mammoth task of attracting, editing and compiling in a wonderful example of modern collaboration. Fifteen countries are represented with authors coming from places as diverse as Oman, Finland, India, Mexico, Portugal, Ukraine and of course Australia and the USA. It truly is an International effort.

I think John Rosen says it best on the back cover:

Gavin Heaton and Drew McLellan have created a true phenomenon – one that will be studied for yours and be recognized as a turning point in our vision of the author……the author of the future will be a coordinator, conductor and guide who directs a global workforce of the best and brightest in completing the ultimate endeavour.

Age of Conversation 3 is now available on Amazon in hardcover, softcover and even a Kindle version. Once again, all proceeds from sales of the book will go to children’s charities.

I am extremely proud to be a small part of the Age of Conversation for a third time. Please buy a few copies for yourself, your clients or your company. Spread the word and help us raise some money for children’s charities. But most importantly – get busy and join the conversation.

Meet the authors:

Coming soon, Age of Conversation 3

The latest edition of the exciting collaborative Age of Conversation marketing book series is about to go on sale with the release of “Age of Conversation 3: Its time to get busy” now at the publishers.

Drew McLellan and Gavin Heaton have had the monumental task of compiling and editing the contributions of around 170 authors from around the world and now the book is close to release.

Very soon you will be able to purchase it directly from Amazon or a number of other online book stores. The new cover was designed by Chris Wilson. And the new website was created by the hard working team at Sticky.

There are some extremely talented marketers contributing this book so I can’t wait to read it myself. Stay tuned for more announcements soon, but in the meantime you can meet the authors:

Every Friday morning since March 2009 an intrepid crew of social media types have gathered at local cafes to chat and meet in real life (IRL). As social networks such as Twitter have grown, so have the number of people who have been dropping in for a coffee and a chat. This has recently included Anthony Scully of 1233ABC radio who interviewed several of us at a recent coffee morning.

You can listen to the interviews with  @billfredtom @hyperbrendan @jentally @mediahunter @ofdphoto @the_git here on the ABC website

Meanwhile, Newcastle Coffee mornings are being held each Friday from 745am to 9am at Sprocket Cafe, cnr Hunter & Watt Sts Newcastle (except over Xmas break). Follow the #newcastlecoffee hashtag on Twitter to keep up to date.

I have had the distinct honour over the last 3 years to contribute to an ambitious and exciting publishing project titled: Age of Conversation. Initiated by Drew McLellan and Gavin Heaton, the Age of Conversation books (two so far) saw respected bloggers and marketers from around the world pool their talents to create a groundbreaking effort in collaborative publishing.

Now its on again. Drew and Gavin have decided to move forward with the 3rd installment and are calling for contributors to join the core of original writers who have returned for another edition.

Here are their two blog posts explaining all. Come and join the conversation…..

Drew McLellan

Gavin Heaton

Note: Call for authors has closed already. Fully subscribed within a few hours.

From humble beginnings only three years ago the short messaging, social networking service known as Twitter has exploded onto the Internet to become one of the hottest online applications. Originally the love child of tech geeks, it initially took off at South By South West Interactive Festival, Twitter may have just gone mainstream judging by the amount of traditional media coverage it has recently attracted.

The New Year has seen a myriad of Twitter stories in the mainstream media and an explosion of users.

During the Australian Open Tennis tournament the Sydney Morning Herald ran a lead story online regarding the Twitter coverage of the heatwave conditions.

A few days later news.com.au ran a lead piece on Australia’s most interesting Twitter users.

Coverage of the New York plane crash into the Hudson River included many references to the Twitter reports  and photos being loaded onto Twitter.

News.com.au also urged readers to follow the horrific Victorian bush fires on Twitter.

In fact news.com.au seems to have gone Twitter-mad with a plethora of stories recently including Twitter ‘influence’ doesn’t necessarily mean ‘interesting’.

Not to be outdone, smh.com.au has been filing it’s own barrage of Twitter themed pieces including this on February 12, Join the Twitterati.

Hi profile Twitter users are also garnering attention and bringing Twitter closer to the mainstream. The Twitterverse can now follow the public utterances of:

Stephen Fry

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Kevin Rudd

Malcolm Turnbull

Ashton Kutcher

Demi Moore

Britney Spears

Lance Armstrong

John Cleese

Al Gore

….and many more

Certainly we are seeing an influx of MSM journalists on Twitter, looking for contacts and stories.

The explosion of Twitter coverage, both in Australia and overseas, is matched by the skyrocketing use of the service. Compete.com has released the latest numbers on US social media usage from January and Twitter has been the big mover jumping 19 places to be the third most used social media application behind Facebook and MySpace. Twitter had over 54 million “monthly visits” in January. This number is likely understated due to the number of third party applications that can be used to access Twitter.

The large amount of mainstream media coverage in recent times suggests that these numbers could climb even more rapidly.

The big questions now may be, will widespread acceptance be good for Twitter, or will it drive away many of the early adopters? Will Twitter be a shooting star, the big thing for a couple of years, before fading away?

British blogger Neil Perkin has done it again. He has created a presentation (with the help of many of the world’s best marketing thinkers) that goes to the core of the social media ethos. A Presentation About Community, by the Community is essential viewing for brands and marketers trying to make sense of the new digital world order. For more great thinking and presentations, please take the time to visit Neil’s blog Only Dead Fish.

What is it? The Age of Conversation is a series of books discussing the social media paradigm

Who wrote it? The latest one has 237 authors actually. Some of the best marketing minds from around the world have collaborated to create an amazing collection of thoughts and observations.

Where do I buy it? The book is for sale online at lulu.com.

Where does the money go? All proceeds go to Variety, the Childrens Charity. Last year we raised over $15,000USD.

Who are these so-called ‘marketing geniuses’? Glad you asked, check out the following list and visit their sites:

Alphabetical listing (by first name) of all the Age of Conversation 2 authors:
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, 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, 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, Douglas Hanna, Douglas 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, G.L. Hoffman, Gianandrea Facchini, Gordon Whitehead, Graham Hill, Greg Verdino, Gretel Going & Kathryn Fleming, Hillel Cooperman, Hugh Weber, J. Erik 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 Heilpern, Jeremy Middleton, Jeroen Verkroost, Jessica Hagy, Joanna Young, Joe Pulizzi, Joe Talbott, John Herrington, John Jantsch, John Moore, John Rosen, John Todor, Jon Burg, 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 J. McDonald, Matt Moore, Michael Hawkins, Michael Karnjanaprakorn, Michelle Lamar, Mike Arauz, Mike McAllen, Mike Sansone, Mitch Joel, Monica Wright, Nathan Gilliatt, Nathan Snell, Neil Perkin, 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, Sreeraj Menon, Reginald Adkins, Richard Huntington, Rishi Desai, Beeker Northam, Rob Mortimer, 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 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