CrossTalk: Join the debate on social media and the news

I'm taking part in the latest recording of CrossTalk today - Russia Today's flarogram.
For those unfamiliar, RT (as it's now know) is an English language rolling news channel. In fact its the third most viewed rolling news channel in the UK (after the BBC and Sky) with around 2.5m viewers in the second half of last year.

The show I'm joining brings together "politicians, journalists, scientists and decision-makers of all sorts – anyone who influences the decisions changing our world or plays a key role in forming public opinion" for American journalist Peter Lavelle to challenge with the days hard questions.

The theme (I'm told) is social media and the news agenda - and is likely to look at the challenge of validation in a world in which we all get to publish.
It's a challenge we also consider in The 10 Principles of Open Business in an interview with the editor of the Guardian Alan Rusbridger.

So this should prove timely since the book is due out in just a few days now (January 28, 2014).
If you're interested in watching, you'll find RT on Freeview, Sky and BT Vision (in the UK).

It is currently due for broadcast on FRIDAY 17 January 2014 at UK times) 7:30am, 1:30pm, 7:30pm and 10:30pm .

This link will tell you where to watch where-ever you are in the world: http://rt.com/where-to-watch/
I'll also have video links to share once its been broadcast. Hope you'll try to catch it and join in the discussion after either here or by commenting on the RT.com site.

It is done! My book is complete - and here's 20 per cent off

Last night, just before midnight, I hit a major milestone. I sent the manuscript for The 10 Principles of Open Business to the publishers.

We're still finalising the cover - though there is a draft in circulation. When I get an update I'll share it here to get your views. The preface is still to be done - but we've set a word count. Matt Atkinson, the CMO at Tesco PLC is planning to oblige. But that's pretty much all that's left.

I completed the last part of the last chapter late last night - after finally bagging an interview with Alan Rusbridger, the editor in chief at The Guardian, on the theme of open data and open journalism.

So, like all deadlines (mine was to deliver 60,000 words by July 31) there was a rush to the end. But the job got done.

Working on that chapter last night - which encompasses Open Data (with an interview with the CEO of Sir Tim Berners-Lee's Open Data Institute, Open Government (with an interview with Tom Watson MP) and Open Journalism (with Alan) allowed me to finish on a real high.

I'm really happy with the result.

It's been a long journey - not least the journey to formulating and formalising the 10 Principles in the first place - but also the actual process of writing the book.

Writing a compelling synopsis won us three keen potential publishers in the summer of 2012. At the time Jamie Burke (with whom I founded 90:10 Group where the principles were forged in the white heat of direct experience) and I were to be co-authors. Thanks to their enthusiasm and very complete international marketing plan for the book, we went with Palgrave Macmillan.

Our paths have taken us in different directions since. Jamie has founded a new business based on the principles and that left him with pretty much zero spare time.

I have stayed in consultancy - with The Social Partners - and have had to use pretty much every day off, weekend, evening, train and plane journey in between to write, arrange, interview, transcribe, edit, seek permissions, chase, herd cats etc.

Now that it's done I can reflect on how lucky I've been: Lucky to meet and connect with amazing people over many years as the ideas behind the principles were shared, challenged and gelled; lucky to be granted access to so many brilliant and usually extremely busy people; lucky to have worked with both colleagues and clients with imagination and belief; lucky to have so many great connections prepared to take a look at early drafts for me.

I really hope I've done you all justice.

The book is due out in January next year in the UK and February in the US.

I will be chairing a panel on Open Business during Social Media Week London in September with some of the contributors on the panel, so please keep an eye out for that.

And for a limited period there is a 20% discount available on the book if you use the following link (note the blurb you will find there is a little out of date. For a full and up to date contents list go here:

To get the discount, go here: http://www.palgrave.com/products/title.aspx?pid=685457 and quote "WORLDPALGRAVE20"

Second Update: I've just tested this myself and it worked (Aug 1, 4pm BST)

UPDATE: One kind early adopter has reported this route is failing for them. I have raised with the publisher and hope for a very swift resolution.