ThinkTank makes it easier to connect people who care

Delighted to say this post, which includes my user-is-the-destination now slidedeck and a video of me presenting it at widget web expo (London) has been short-listed for post of the month in Neil Perkins ThinkTank.

I hope you'll spare the time to go cast a vote for any of the very worthy candidates.

Neil's ThinkTank is a great way of connecting communities of purpose: People who care enough about something to make change happen.

The first step is discovering and connecting with people who share your purpose: People you didn't know you needed or needed to know.

Blogrolls (which in a disaggregated one-post-only kind of way is what ThinkTank is) perform this introduction extremely effectively.

It works as a distributed network of trust. Trust me and it's likely you'll trust my advice to check out ThinkTank.

Trust what you find there - and who knows how much value you will find in the new connections that leads you to.

You are on a journey to seek others who  have the same issues and challenges to solve.
If I can be part of that journey, great. If we join together on that journey, even better.
We are the eighth mass media.

Bonus link: Alan Moore on why brands need people and people need brands.

Get my book: The Power of the Network, free

Finally, I've got round to completing the production of my first book: The Power of the Network.
It's a compilation of my white papers and is available as at low a price as I could set via lulu.com. When it arrives at Amazon I'll share, too.

The download is 49p, the print paperback is £3.98.





The small amount of each price that finds its way back to me I'll pledge here and now to donate/loan via social bank kiva.org

It is never intended for profit, but rather to share and evolve ideas.

To that end, if you are a blogger yourself and would like a copy to review, I'll send one to you free, provided you are prepared to publish a review (good, bad or indifferent).

All you have to do is drop me an email (subject line: book review) with the url of your blog, a description of your regular subject matter (you don't want to be sharing your review if its not relevant to your community, do you?). And I'll need your postal address of course.

I'll send out as many as I can afford (this is entirely self-funded so numbers will be strictly limited at first. Promise to let you know if you are successful or otherwise!). So if you feel you can spare the 49p for a download of £3.98 for a paperback and both buy and review, all the better.)

When and if you do review, please let me know, so I can link back to you.
I'll also be linking to all those who apply to join the free review copy list.

You can preview the book here. Many fine folks are thanked inside. My apologies if I've missed anyone.

The Power of the Network is made available under a creative commons licence.

The name was chosen by crowd via some healthy tweeting. Neil Perkin suggested: "The User is the Destination - one of my favourite Cushmanism's." And while the book does delve into that concept, I thought, on balance, The Power of the Network was a better summary of the whole.
And as @simonfrank suggested; "The Power of the Network works as a philosophy/brand."

The cover artwork is by fasterfuture regular Gregory Lent. Love his work and thrilled that he agreed to allow its use in this project.

In short, we did this together. So please join me in sharing. Review where you can, rate where you can, share where you can. If you find it useful...

All feedback welcomed with open ears.

Best Practice in Social Media? Best practice being human

The estimable Neil Perkin just tagged me as part of a 'Best Practice in Social Media' meme.
Trouble is Neil has said much of what I would have.

Actually, that's not a problem - it's a great thing that so many of us are converging around similar conclusions: Seth Godin, David Armano, Mark Earls, Jackie Danicki, Alan Moore, Euan Semple and seminally Doc Searls and the rest of the Cluetrain gang, to name but a few...

So yes I'll agree with Neil, once again, that human interactions are critical. (Image by dotbenjamin via flickr)

They are exemplified in notions such as P2PR, Lean-Too Marketing, The Intention Economy (which Doc was referring to more than two years ago, so I'm a late comer on that!) and summed up as best as I know how in this slidedeck:

Adapting Brands To The Networked World

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: internet network)

If you want a case study; try this. The slidedeck above also refers to some great examples of the use of social media.

Quick guide? Well I wrote this for 'how to blog'. Seems much of it is appropriate to all social media.


Time to tag: I nominate: Neville, Christopher, David, Mark and Jonathan
Dan was already tagged by Neil! This meme was started by Mitch.

What's next in media? The Dead Fish bounce...

Neil Perkin, who writes the very excellent Only Dead Fish and also does something at IPC, has been kind enough to credit this blog as one of the sources of inspiration for the presentation you can share below. Frankly to be placed alongside the likes of Seth Godin, Clay Shirky, Joseph Jaffe, Jeff Jarvis, Mark Earls, Don Tapscott et al is the highest flattery I can think of. Consider me duly flattered... and not a little humbled.
Neil says: "...the story here is broader than just media and a lot of what I talk about applies to marketing and advertising as well. Unsurprising I suppose. After all, advertising is but a form of content, no? I hope you enjoy it."
Absolutely Neil: Ad as content, content as ad. And where they converge, you get a service.
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Eight things you (probably) didn't know about me

Eight things you probably didn't know about me... blame this on Neil Perkins (Only Dead Fish) who tagged me.

The trail so far goes (so far as I can ascertain...) me back to Neil Perkins who got tagged by Eoan from Thayer via Chris Hambly by way of Dan Hon (who apparently started it). If you get tagged, leave some breadcrumbs...

So here's 8 random snippets about me.

1. I support Leeds United FC. There is no locational or familial reason for this. I simply thought they were the underdogs in the 1972 Fa Cup final... they won and I've backed them ever since.

2. I used to turn up to work with long, crimped hair (chance would be a fine thing now)

3. I read philosophy and sociology at university. Sat the wrong exam thanks to an admin mistake at the end of my second year... and got a 2:2 in a subject I hadn't studied. Hmmm.

4. I hold a RoSPA Diploma in the tuition of advanced motorcycle riding.

5. I was lead singer, guitarist, idiot in a series of zero-success rock bands in the early 80s. Some memorable names: Kamikaze Moth, Earth City Survivors, Totally Impossible er, I think that's it.
There is a cartoon accompanying of one of the very badly recorded songs available on the internet. And if you think I'm pointing you at that...

6. Started my 'journalistic' career with a fanzine about David Bowie called Hunky Dory. Professionally it was with the Biggleswade Chronicle.

7. I have (essentially) worked for the same company since I left university in 1987.

8. I genuinely can't believe you were interested enough to read this far.

And so, I nominate the following eight:

Euan

Dan

Stowe

David

Alan

Ajit

Ivan

Joe