It seems there is a world-wide game of tag going on at the moment. Bloggers are tagged by other bloggers and are encouraged to write 8 random things about themselves. Seems I have been lured into the game after being tagged this week by fellow Age of Conversation author C.B. Whittmore from Flooring the Consumer.

So here we go….8 Random Things About Me

1. I have lived in 3 countries: Australia, Finland and USA.

2. I met my American wife in Finland, married her in USA and now reside in Australia.

3. I have been a competitive sailboarder, sailor and cyclist (hello MasiGuy).

4. Owning my own advertising agency was both one of the bravest and most natural things I have ever done.

5. I love to write but until I began blogging I had never found the right forum (beyond 30 second TVC’s). I can thank Gavin Heaton for that.

6. I am the guy who flicks between TV programs looking for the ads – sick I know.

7. I picked Cadel Evans to win the Tour de France before it started. He has been fighting valiantly near the top of the race and now with drug cheats dropping like flies he may be the first Aussie winner ever. Go Cadel.

8. I am determined to create a successful "Citizen Powered Media".

Now…who should I tag?
Gordon Whitehead because he needs all the love he can get (joking)
Tim Jackson because I too love classic Italian bikes
Tim Ferriss because we’d all like to know how to have a 4 Hour Work Week
Laura Ries because I like the way she and Al think about brands
Robin Sharma because everyone needs to put things in perspective sometimes
Kofi Annan because he is a clear voice from deepest darkest Africa
Kim Klaver because my mother-in-law was so excited when she found I was in the same book as Kim Klaver
Andrew Parker because he is so passionate about his field

So there you go….8 very interesting people, 8 different perspectives, 8 blogs worth reading.

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The innovative new collaborative book The Age of Conversation is selling strongly after just 10 days on the market.

Lulu.com has the all three versions of the book in it’s Top 10 this week (positions 2, 4, proving that our launch campaign has successfully kicked off sales.

You can order the book HERE.

All proceeds are to be donated to Variety.

A good read and a good cause.

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Finally, after a lot of hard work by Gavin and Drew, their brainchild book has been born. The Age of Conversation is in now available for purchase.

Some interesting facts and figures have emerged from the compilation of this book.

• There are 103 authors of the book.

• Countries included are USA, Canada, Australia, Great Britain, France, Holland, Belgium, Italy, Oman and India.

• In Australia there are 8 authors, 2 from Victoria, 5 from Sydney and myself here in Newcastle.

You can view a global map of the authors here.

The book is now being featured in the Advertising Age bookstore in the USA. after that esteemed journal interviewed Gavin and Drew last week.

TO BUY THE BOOK: Go to the official website or lulu.com/ageofconversation.

Finally, here is the most up-to-date listing and linking of the contributors to the Age of Conversation. There are some very interesting thinkers here, so take the time to visit their sites and see what else they have to offer:

Gavin Heaton
Drew McLellan
CK
Valeria Maltoni
Emily Reed
Katie Chatfield
Greg Verdino
Mack Collier
Lewis Green
Sacrum
Ann Handley
Mike Sansone
Paul McEnany
Roger von Oech
Anna Farmery
David Armano
Bob Glaza
Mark Goren
Matt Dickman
Scott Monty
Richard Huntington
Cam Beck
David Reich
Luc Debaisieux
Sean Howard
Tim Jackson
Patrick Schaber
Roberta Rosenberg
Uwe Hook
Tony D. Clark
Todd Andrlik
Toby Bloomberg
Steve Woodruff
Steve Bannister
Steve Roesler
Stanley Johnson
Spike Jones
Nathan Snell
Simon Payn
Ryan Rasmussen
Ron Shevlin
Roger Anderson
Robert Hruzek
Rishi Desai
Phil Gerbyshak
Peter Corbett
Pete Deutschman
Nick Rice
Nick Wright
Michael Morton
Mark Earls
Mark Blair
Mario Vellandi
Lori Magno
Kristin Gorski
Kris Hoet
G.Kofi Annan
Kimberly Dawn Wells
Karl Long
Julie Fleischer
Jordan Behan
John La Grou
Joe Raasch
Jim Kukral
Jessica Hagy
Janet Green
Jamey Shiels
Dr. Graham Hill
Gia Facchini
Geert Desager
Gaurav Mishra
Gary Schoeniger
Gareth Kay
Faris Yakob
Emily Clasper
Ed Cotton
Dustin Jacobsen
Tom Clifford
David Polinchock
David Koopmans
David Brazeal
David Berkowitz
Carolyn Manning
Craig Wilson
Cord Silverstein
Connie Reece
Colin McKay
Chris Newlan
Chris Corrigan
Cedric Giorgi
Brian Reich
Becky Carroll
Arun Rajagopal
Andy Nulman
Amy Jussel
AJ James
Kim Klaver
Sandy Renshaw
Susan Bird
Ryan Barrett
Troy Worman
S. Neil Vineberg
CB Whitmore

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The Age of Conversation is coming.

A remarkable project involving over 100 of the world’s foremost marketing thinkers has resulted in  a new book called the Age of Conversation.

In only a few months Gavin Heaton and Drew McLellan have conceived, assembled and produced this project which is all about the power of community in marketing.

Launch date:  Monday, July 16th (world-wide)

Formats/Prices:

Hardbacks $29.99

Paperbacks $16.95

E-book $9.99

Background

Proceeds from the sale of the book will go to Variety.

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An exciting new e-Book is about to be released discussing the new marketing methods and Web 2.0 concepts.

Age of Conversation is the brainchild of two respected bloggers and marketers, Gavin Heaton and Drew McLellan. Gavin is the Sydney based author of Servant of Chaos, while Drew is the American author of The Marketing Minute.

Gavin and Drew have assembled 100 of the world’s leading marketers and Web 2.0 thinkers to write chapters for the Age of Conversation. The book promises to give an amazing insight into the new wave of conversation style marketing that some marketers have employed with great success, but is still a mystery to many.

Media Hunter is proud to be a contributor to this ambitious project, writing a chapter on a new form of Citizen Powered Media that enables local businesses to benefit from the incredible opportunites to be found online. It’s all about making the web relevent at a local level and the case study is Hunters Best.

All proceeds from the sale of the Age of Conversation e-book will be donated to Variety, a worthy cause I am sure you will agree.

So stay tuned for the imminent release of the Age of Conversation.

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I was recently invited to submit a chapter to an exciting new E-book titled The Conversation Age. The project was created by Gavin Heaton and Drew McLellan and has assembled n impressive list of contributers from around the world.  Proceeds from the E-book will be donated to Variety, making it a worthwhile read for a worthwhile cause.

When instigating the project Gavin theorised:

"If ideas are the currency of our times then this is, undoubtedly, the age of conversation, for without the art of dialogue, the cut and thrust of debate and discussion, then the economy of ideas would implode under its own heavy weight. Instead, the reverse is true. Far from seeing an implosion, we are living in a time of proliferation — ideas build upon ideas, discussion grows from seeds of thought and single headlines give rise to a thousand medusa-like simulations echoing words whispered somewhere on the other side of the planet. All this — in an instant.

Technology in the guise of social media is giving rise to not virtual connections, but real conversation. The human desire to reach out, meet, share and converse is tapping into digital networks in an effort to transcend and obliterate the tyrranies of time, geography and, in some instances, culture. And the resulting explosion in content, commentary, activism and community is causing academics, marketers, advertisers, politicians and social commentators (amongst others) to call into question many of the demographic standards that have been relied upon for years."

….and thus an innovative new E-book is born via the contributions of a community of worldwide marketers.

Stay tuned for the imminent release of The Conversation Age.

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