Getting to know you and you (and you, too)

I feel so out-of-the-loop not knowing of this grand series. Especially since the author coined me "hip, hippie and happenin'." And MOST especially since he said my "momma was rooting for me from her place among the stars."

Um, say good things about me it gets you pretty far...but say good things about my momma and we'll get along swimmingly!

All fun aside, Arun Rajagopal has done an amazing thing based on share and people--which, consequently, are two of my fave things. You likely already know about the eBook with over 100 authors submitting a chapter each. But Arun--a contributing author to the book--didn't focus on the thought leadership. Nope, he's focusing on the people producing these great thoughts by profiling them. Like, every single one of them.

Even better? The profiles are all very human: for instance, if you didn't know I'm a die-hard fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, that I love (good clean) debates and (very dirty) martinis, you do now--thanks to Arun's great profiles. Oh, and for the record, I've never understand the draw of sunset when sunrise is the sky's finest moment.

Here's his words on the series (and do please take note of the way he says "small effort"- I can't imagine what he considers BIG!): "Here’s a small effort to get to know the club better. I’m going to dedicate some time every day to visit the blogs of my fellow authors and dig some interesting stuff on them. After all, the Conversation Age cannot bloom unless the conversationalists from far and wide get to know each other better."

Because of Arun, we get to know the people behind the book. And--just as in marketing--when we focus on people we can never go wrong. Thank you Arun. It's mighty nice to 'meet' you :-).

Here are the 8 parts to this series: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7 and Part 8

PS: Drew and Gavin...is there some way these profiles can be a companion piece to the eBook? Or just a link to it somehow? You're likely far ahead of me here.

Update (about 8 hours after I posted): Son of a gun...it's the wildest thing but Arun has thanked me for thanking him. Arun, you're welcome, but you did the work, silly! Yep, kindness is the thing that wins me over--and just melts my heart--way to make my weekend.

Comments

[Connie Reece]

I've been bowled over by Arun's work in profiling all of the e-book authors. I've read every one of them, and as a result I've added quite a few blogs to my feed reader. I'm like you, CK. If this is a "small effort," I can't imagine how much work he would put into a big project.

And did you know he's originally from India but now lives in the Sultanate of Oman? And that we have at least 3 authors from Belgium involved in the project? So this e-book project that Drew and Gavin thought up went global, and Arun really personalized this very diverse group of authors.

I'm more eager than ever to get my virtual hands on the finished e-book ... and humbled that 400 of my words will be included in this collaboration.

[CK]

Heya Connie: Yup, he's done amazing work. Have you seen his writing and photos on India? Really impressive. I just love that he focused on the authors behind the book...when you focus on people you just can't go wrong ;-).

[Nathan S]

Didn't know you were a Buffy fan!

What'd you think of Angel?

I remember seeing this before (I think Drew mentioned it). Definitely an awesome task he completed!

[CK]

@Nathan: Yup, huge fan of the Slayer. To those who've never watched the (amazing) series, it wasn't about vampires...it was a complex, character-driven show. You know how we say companies "don't get" social media? It's hard to "get" Buffy unless you watched it...but some of the top academics at Oxford University have written books on the show's tremendous writing and how the arcs mirror that of society. Again, you had to be watching to appreciate it. Nathan, Angel was just a substitute for when the show was no longer on. Good writing but not the real deal (although Lorne rocked).

[Tim Jackson]

What a cool project. I am more than slightly embarrassed to admit that I've only read about a quarter of the writers previously. Makes me realize I need to get off my butt and start following a few links.

Excellent work by Arun (he even noticed my daughter's blog... makes a daddy proud).

[Bob Glaza]

Arun did an amazing job tuning into conversation and sharing -

[Rosie]

These comments have been invaluable to me as is this whole site. I thank you for your comment.