A couple things...
Some happenings from around the net:
The brainchild of Drew and Gavin, the Conversation Age has its authors conversing about a pricing strategy. Suggestions have been all over the place, but I'm inclined to think 10 bucks makes the most sense, with higher donation levels accepted. I doubt this would go over too well, but I think there is merit in having some "buzz-building" copies for free giveaway. These could be used for press, contests or whatever at each blog, but only after the author buys a copy for themselves.
Of course, after we give away the copy, we guilt them into donating anyway.
And, over in CK's neck of the woods, she's putting together the Blogger Social '08. Cam made a survey to test the waters a bit, so you should be cool and go take it. As I told CK, I think having a conference without the boring conference part is a fuckin' brilliant idea. We've been talking about getting together for awhile now, so the more the merrier.
Also, Marcus is looking for some feedback for the new Siemen's CEO. I don't think he has much faith that the new guy has a chance to turn around the Siemen's monolith.
And for a little link love, here's the final list of authors...
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
Mindblob (Luc)
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
Bob Hruzek
Rishi Desai
Phil Gerbyshak
Peter Corbett
Pete Deutschman
Nick Rice
Nick Wright
Mitch Joel
Michael Morton
Mark Earls
Mark Blair
Mario Vellandi
Lori Magno
Kristin Gorski
Kris Hoet
Kofl 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
C.B. Whittemore
one year later...
"Hello, there, folks
Well, I've moved, and forgive me all none of you reading this while I settle in.
I'll be discussing my marketing philosophies, probably some music, and whatever other bullshit I feel like. If you happen to stumble by before I really get this going, go here and listen to the new Midlake. Highly recommended, and local (to me, anyway)."
And, it's true, back then no one was reading. But, exactly one year, 230 posts, 1469 comments, 5 dallas marketing zoos, 8 madison avenue journal articles, 4 likeminds, 50 Tune Ins, a couple coffee mornings, a slew of beyond madison avenue posts, a couple videocasts, more fucks and shits than you can shake a stick at, and a shitload of good conversation later...
Well, I guess I'll just leave it open-ended. It's sort of the nature of this thing, I think. I never would have stuck around without you guys continually prodding, pushing and keeping me thinking, so thanks for everything. You guys are the best. Smooches!
Back to regularly scheduled programming...
Tune In Saturdays: The National
This has become more of a working weekend than usual, so this one's a quickie. The National is two sets of brothers from Cincinnati, plus an aussie. It's kind of romantic music, but in a mostly odd sense. It's booming and bassy most of the time, especially with the brooding, deep vocals, but they never forget the little touches that make them much more interesting than most bands of their ilk.
From popmatters:
"All these elements—the warmth and humanity and musical complexity, the indelible images and koan-like puzzles, the guitar-based rock and classical embellishments—go a certain distance in explaining why Boxer is so good… but they don’t quite explain it. This album, like all great albums, somehow transcends all the factors that makes it work, absorbs them in a seamless whole and breaks your heart in the process. All hail Boxer, the album to beat for the rest of the year."
The National - Fake Empire (mp3)
The National - Slow Show (mp3)
The National - Mistaken For Strangers (video)
DMZ 5
The Dallas Marketing Zoo came back after a its long slumber last night. It was the greatest discussion about marketing that ever been discussed. The Jerry Falwell talk was pretty good, too. On this weeks show we had Scott Baradell of the Media Orchard and Spin Thicket, as well as Cam Beck and Paul Herring of Chaos Scenario and Click Here.
How to Piss off A Digg User
Here’s a lesson in how to piss off your users. Apparently, Digg has removed stories involving a hack to HD-DVDs. From the digg blog:
"This has all come up in the past 24 hours, mostly connected to the HD-DVD hack that has been circulating online, having been posted to Digg as well as numerous other popular news and information websites. We’ve been notified by the owners of this intellectual property that they believe the posting of the encryption key infringes their intellectual property rights. In order to respect these rights and to comply with the law, we have removed postings of the key that have been brought to our attention."
Unfortunately, the blog doesn’t allow comments, so digg users have chosen to scream "fuck you" the only way they can, throwing it in their face over, and over and over again. Now the entire front page has been taken up only by stories revealing the hack. And that’s just a small selection. My entire digg feed is filled with these stories. Not sure what the right move for digg is here, but it sure is interesting to watch…
*Update* Deleting of stories has stopped, and Kevin Rose of Digg has responded:
"But now, after seeing hundreds of stories and reading thousands of comments, you’ve made it clear. You’d rather see Digg go down fighting than bow down to a bigger company. We hear you, and effective immediately we won’t delete stories or comments containing the code and will deal with whatever the consequences might be."
Well, there you go...
Now Hiring in Dallas.
My agency wants you. We're looking for a new creative super-genius to come in and take over, ensuring high levels of bad-assery. If anyone is that person, or knows someone who may be, e-mail me here.
Remembering Sandra Kerley
My friend, CK, lost her mom a couple weeks ago. I've never seen anyone handle such a tragedy with such grace. She again proved why she's so much of a valued and loved member of our community. For that reason, Cam created this site, and Armano created the badge you see here so that we can commemorate her loving mother, Sandra Kerley, by making a group donation to Habitat for Humanity.
It's the least we can do for someone who has been so good to so many people. CK, we love you, and wish you happiness with all those brilliant memories your mom left behind.
Donate here.