El Gaffney

Age of Conversation 2-day

Oh yeah, see what I did there in the title?
Right, it wasn’t very creative. Well, the point is the Age of Conversation 2: Why don’t they get it? is available starting today for purchase (in hard-copy or e-book or both) here with all proceeds going to the children’s charity, Variety.

As I posted back a few months ago, I contributed to the Secrets-themed chapter. More specifically, I try to capture the struggle I think a lot of people are having with being at times both a really private person and over-sharer, and thus, the world that has created. For example:
“What are your biggest weaknesses?” the HR director asks. “Oh, I mean besides your inability to strategically choose which pictures you upload to your Facebook profile. Trust me, you’ve proven you’re not too much of a perfectionist.”

If that didn’t whet your appetite for AOC2, there 200+ contributors, who probably did a better job giving you some E & E (education and entertainment):

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 LeDrew, Brad Shorr, 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, Chris Brown, Connie Bensen, Connie Reece, Corentin Monot, Craig Wilson, Daniel Honigman, Dan Schawbel, Dan Sitter, Daria Radota Rasmussen, Darren Herman, Dave Davison, David Armano, David Berkowitz, 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, 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, Greg Verdino, Gretel Going & Kathryn Fleming, Hillel Cooperman, Hugh Weber, J. Erik Potter, James Gordon-Macintosh, James G. Lindberg, Jamey Shiels, Jasmin Tragas, Jason Oke, Jay Ehret, Jeanne Dininni, Jeff De Cagna, Jeff Gwynne & Todd Cabral, Jeff Noble, Jeff Wallace, Jennifer Warwick, Jenny Meade, Jeremy Fuksa, Jeremy Heilpern, Jeroen Verkroost, Jessica Hagy, Joanna Young, Joe Pulizzi, John Herrington, John Moore, John Rosen, John Todor, Jon Burg, Jon Swanson, Jonathan Trenn, Jordan Behan, Julie Fleischer, Justin Foster, Karl Turley, Kate Trgovac, Katie Chatfield, Katie Konrath, Kenny Lauer, Keri Willenborg, Kevin Jessop, Kristin Gorski, Lewis Green, Lois Kelly, Lori Magno, Louise Manning, Luc Debaisieux, Mario Vellandi, Mark Blair, Mark Earls, Mark Goren, Mark Hancock, Mark Lewis, Mark McGuinness, Matt Dickman, Matt J. McDonald, Matt Moore, Michael Karnjanaprakorn, Michelle Lamar, Mike Arauz, Mike McAllen, Mike Sansone, Mitch Joel, Neil Perkin, Nettie Hartsock, Nick Rice, Oleksandr Skorokhod, Ozgur Alaz, Paul Chaney, Paul Hebert, Paul Isakson, 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, 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 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, Tim Brunelle, Tim Connor, Tim Jackson, 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

Tags: aoc, books, secrets

Finish that F’in Book Already

Continuing the theme from my last post about the video digestibility, I was just introduced to a service by Eric that take continuous media snacking into account…and given I haven’t made it to the final page of a book in more than two months, should be right up my alley. (I hope.)

It’s called DailyLit and true to its name, it provides literature in bite-sized quantity via email or RSS feed daily (or on the exact schedule you’d prefer, so you don’t have to receive text on weekends for example). And to answer your next question, if you have more time you can receive the next installment (and more) on-demand.

According to the founders:

We created DailyLit because we spent hours each day on email but could not find the time to read a book. Now the books come to us by email. Problem solved.

I know Matt is going to wish he thought of this given this post of his detailing the challenge laid out and solved above. As someone who hates starting something and leaving it incomplete, such as the three books I’m stalled on right now—Sharp Teeth, 1776, and A New Earth—I thinking very seriously about browsing/signing up pronto.

Actually upon further investigation, I found this incredible idea/service they are providing free of charge: Book Reading Groups via Twitter. How sweet is that! And it’s rare for me to quote something a CEO says for a press release but you really get the sense that DailyLit’s Susan Danziger is sincere:

We’re interested in exploring new ways to make books more accessible to readers, and sending book installments via Twitter is an innovative way to do just that. I also love the idea of creating a group experience by having folks from different parts of the world read books according to the same schedule.

Very cool idea and very smart execution.

Tags: books, reading, twitter, web2.0

Seth Gaffney: Secrets

I fully expect most of my readers to have made the Conan O’Brien Celebrity Secrets connection when reading this post’s title. If not, NBD (No Big Deal, for those same peeps who didn’t make the Conan connection) but just remember that the best thing about being seen as the nicest guy in Hollywood is that nobody searches your backyard for bodies. (That’s according to Tom Hanks, of course.)

Anyway, for those hoping I’d reveal some deep, dark, light, juicy, and/or funny secrets now, I’m sorry to disappoint you. (Though I have shared my real given name with the few who have emailed me “Hello El…”) I have been remiss in updating about my participation in the Age of Conversation since here in March. Once again, it’s a collaborative book—mostly bloggers participating as you’ll see below—with proceeds going to Variety, the Children’s Charity. And it’s due to be released at the end of August.

I’ve linked to the entire 270 co-authors in my first post, so I thought here I’d show some love to the 20 contributors to my chapter, which is all about keeping secrets and, I’d imagine given my submission, privacy and sharing. I’ve never met any of this crew IRL (In Real Life) and I’ve only exchanged online words with one (Scott Monty about Sherlock Holmes), but I’m sure they wrote up some enlightening—dare I say, revealing—pages. So without further ado, I wanna give a shout-out to:

Bob Carlton , Colin McKay, Daria Radota Rasmussen, Darryl Patterson, George Jenkins, G.L. Hoffman, Gianandrea Facchini, Jeroen Verkroost, Joanna Young, Julie Fleischer, Matt Moore, Phil Soden, Rob Mortimer, Ron Shevlin, Scott Monty, Scott Townsend, Steve Portigal, Tim Mannveille, Troy Worman, and last but not least Veronique Rabuteau

I’m really interested in what compelled each member of this smaller group to choose this topic from a list that included marketing manifestos, moving conversation to action, accidental marketers, and marketing failures, amongst others. I, for one, wrestle with how much of my personal life I share online. I wouldn’t call it a struggle, but I definitely realize my lack of complete openness when failing to fill out my interests in my Facebook profile or post video from my best friend’s wedding, for example. I’ve seen a decrease in how many services or communities I’ll register for. I’ve seen an increase in my use of things like Twitter and Tumblr.

These (surface) inconsistencies made me interested enough to write on this topic. Who knows maybe some of my “Keeping Secrets” colleagues will drop by (after seeing the link) and let us in on their quick story.

In closing, I Believe It’s Butter. Thanks Fabio.

Tags: aoc, books, secrets

Age of Conversation: Part Deux

Basically anytime I can justify giving Hot Shots and Topper Harley a shout-out, I’m going to take it. Though I missed the AoC 1 bum rush this weekend, I didn’t want to be the only participant not spreading the love to my fellow co-authors or promoting the first book (from which all proceeds were donated to Variety, the Children’s Charity). I’ll be putting some words (and hopefully full sentences) to paper for the second AoC book with subject: Why Don’t People Get It? Specifically, I’ll be writing about “Keeping Secrets in the Age of Conversation.” More to come, but until then, here’s the list of contributors to AoC 2 in all its glory…

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

Tags: action, aoc, books

Get Grant’s Green

Anyone coming here for the first time may not know my affection for alliteration. But it’s well-documented. Regardless of your affinity for the technique, you should consider getting a copy of The Green Marketing Manifesto. Here is it in all its glory.
John Grant has been a source of knowledge and inspiration over my five years in the advertising world. His Brand Tarot blog has been linked to for a while (if anyone’s coming to the site vs. RSS). So I’m sure it will be a fantastic read. And it could not have come at a more appropriate time. Whether you’re tending to brands, starting a business, or making personal changes to promote an environmentally-friendly lifestyle, the green movement will have an impact on our future. As awkward as NBC’s Sunday Night Football half-time show in the dark was and as cheesy as their marketing of their “Green is Universal” initiative is, I appreciate the thought and, more importantly, action. But it’s clear that marketers especially need help from us in the agency world to figure out how the become more sustainable (probably how they define green in the first place) as well as how they communicate it (proving they believe it and aren’t just looking to cash in (make some green, anyone?) from the “hot thing.”)

Tags: blogging, books, green