CK's Blog

It's here! It's here! Blogger Social is (finally!) here. Yippie times infinity. And then some.

It's here. Really and truly here. It is officially the week of Blogger Social. Yippie (!) times infinity.

Amazing to think that an idea launched to the community on June 1st, 2007 is actually here. And that over 80 marketers--who just happen to also blog--spanning 8 countries and 20 states will be converging on New York City for one simple, but altogether powerful reason: to get to spend some much-needed social time together. Yup, that's what Blogger Social is about--and that little difference makes all the difference in the world.

Note to outside world: Blogger Social is NOT a conference, trade show or seminar. Nor is it a summit or workshop. It's a Social...and we're really taking that seriously. (But that's about the only 'serious' part of Social.)

Note to ALL attendees: In fact, we're taking the "social" part of Social so seriously that we've added yet ANOTHER event. I mean, what's a Social without a Social After Party? Please forgive us our momentary lapse in judgment, but all is right now ;-). Worry not, we'll have the details for you when you get here and the After Party runs directly after the Saturday party ends from 2am until 4am on Saturday night (um, Sunday morning?) at a place that is ultra convenient to our Saturday night event.

Action point to all attendees: Do rest up this week. Really. Sleep is not particularly Social or in plentiful supply this weekend. But just look at all the great-lookin', smart, fun and also sleep-deprived people you'll be socializing with.

I'm going to include links to a lot of "stuff" on Social here but, rest-assured, all these goodies can be found at the official Blogger Social site:

• For full Event Guide (8 pages): go here
• For an OVERVIEW of events (1 page only!): download here
• For FAQs go here
• To see Attendees here
• For Photo Fun: go here
• For a full packet of attendee profiles and another series profiling attendees: go here
• For an OVERVIEW (2 pages only!)of attendees by name, location and blog URLs: download here
• Press go here
• Press release (PDF format) can be accessed here
• To learn about the Meetups that you can attend in-between the 3 official events go here
• To join the Blogger Social Twitter Group: sign-up to follow right here
• To view an event map of where all we'll be just go right here
• For a full map of where everyone is coming from go here

I'm going to end on this video (RSS and email subscribers, click through to the blog to view). Otherwise, see you at Social...this weekend!

To sleep...perchance to dream of all things Social

Dear Reader or Dear Recipient of this URL in a response to the email you so graciously sent me:

Hi! As I'm letting all my clients, colleagues, friends and dear family know--I'm going to be rather consumed over the next 10 days. I've done my best to warn all of this "CK quiet period" for 2 months now (a period that is not at all quiet for me), but I just want to give you a nice little metaphor. Because I value you. And because as marketers we know how much a metaphor can drive the point home and help it take shape. It's that "aha!" factor enabling our audiences to really grasp, fully understand and run with an idea.

So, on that note, for the next 10 days--with the exception of the 80+ rockin' folks who are coming to NYC from 8 countries and 20 U.S. states--I am like sleeping beauty.

Asleep am I.

Being at slumber, I won't be getting back to emails, voicemails or even snailmails like I regularly do. Nowhere near. Why? Because I am unable to do so in my sleep.

Instead I'm dreaming of netherworlds brimming with wonderful, smart, fun and rockin' people from near and very, very far...who need for me to do several things for them so that I can make good on my commitment.

Because even while I sleep a promise remains a promise.

While ironic indeed that I'll be working most of my "vacation," you want to know what's even more so? That between Friday night's party until 4am, Saturday night's event until 2am...and the just added (!) Social "After Party" until 4am...and all the tasks before Social even gets started...I actually will not be getting much sleep at all. (full schedule here)

And that's just as it should be ;-).

But I promise that I'll wake up and get back to work, regular programming, and life around April 9th,as NYC plays host to many Socialites until then. I will post here one more time but, otherwise, I thank you for your patience.

Because this Socialite so very much needs her beauty sleep. (yawn)

Note: Have no idea what I'm talking about? Best for you to go right here then!

Socialites: We've sent you plenty to read and it should cover everything...a TON of info on schedules, bios, FAQs and more is all at the Blogger Social site. We'll be sending one last mailing but if I'm hard to reach please just know that I am running around with all our other volunteers getting things just perfect for you. Oh the magic we have planned!

PS: Yes, sleeping beauty is my favorite of the "girly" fairytale figures. I always thought she rocked so much more than Cinderella and that silly pumpkin--what would Social be if I turned into a pumpkin at the early hour of midnight? Sheesh.

Get to know them...BEFORE you get to know them better (yes, there will be a quiz)

I think it's safe to assume that, being we're 10 9 days away from the BIG Event, this blog is going to turn into a bit of (or a lot of) a Blogger Social blog for a while.

Folks, there's just too much to share and only so much time between my client work and the many and myriad items I need to communicate given that over 80 marketing bloggers--from 8 countries and 20 U.S. States--are converging in one place for one very special reason: getting to know one another better.

So bear with me for a little bit while we gear-up for (and come down from) Blogger Social. Then this will turn back into a marketing blog.

(Well, until the next BIG idea ;-)

And speaking of sharing, this one's a WHOPPER: Check out the amazing packet of Profiles, an effort spearheaded by Arun Rajagopal along with Shankar T., Tim Brunelle, Gavin Heaton, Marianne Richmond and Toby Bloomberg who clocked some serious hours creating, compiling, designing, organizing and finalizing a wealth of information. All for your reading enjoyment. Fact is, you don't even need to be attending to enjoy this piece since it profiles many of the marketers behind the blogs you read...or may not know of yet. Again, just go right here.

What's that you say? With all this information you'd think we were going to give you a quiz or something? Well of course we are, silly.  Hop on over and start playing "Name that Socialite" right here!

PS: BIG thanks also to Luc Debaisieux for creating that graphic up there that truly reflects the gravity of this piece.

If I had my life to live over

If I had my life to live over again, I'd dare to make more mistakes next time.

I would relax. I would limber up. I would be sillier than I have been this trip. I know of very few things that I would take seriously. I would take more trips. I would climb more mountains, swim more rivers and watch more sunsets. I would do more walking. And looking. I would eat more ice cream.

And less beans.

I would perhaps have more actual troubles, but fewer imaginary ones.

Oh, I've had my moments, and if I had it to do over again, I'd have more of them. In fact I'd try to have nothing else. Just moments. One after another, instead of living so many years ahead of each day.

If I had my life to live over, I would travel lighter next time. I would start barefoot earlier in the spring and stay that way later in the fall. I would play hooky more. I would go to more dances. I would ride on more merry-go-rounds.

I would pick more daisies.

That was my momma's favorite poem. Not because she lived with regrets; because she always reminded her two girls to value the simple things that are so often taken for granted. Like time.

I still cannot rightly express what a beautiful job my sister Melissa did reciting this poem at my mother's celebration of life ceremony. In those moments, I was back to being a little girl again, completely and totally awestruck by my big sister's strength, and sheer radiance.  Fact is, Melissa still doesn't know how much she honored her mother through those words--and how good a care she has taken of her little sister over the past twelve months. Even putting my pain ahead of her own.

So as we soon come up on a year of missing our momma, and with my sister asking when I'll post on it again--a professor, she's not one for the marketing blogs!--this one is for her. The picture above is my most favorite of them. Because they're swinging, sure, but more so because momma is smiling at her happy daughter (just click on the pic to make it larger). Here are beautiful pictures and stories of my mother as well as this 60-second video below (RSS and email subscribers, just click through to view).

Hey, it won't bother me a bit if you never take a word of my advice. Except this one: all we have is time (or moments). No super-savings plan or shrewd strategy will buy you a moment more. It matters what you do with your time, how much you enjoy it and with whom you spend it. Because of the simple fact that we don't get those moments back.

(Which is the answer to why life is so precious.)

Diversely Black, White, Latino, Asian, Arab, European, Indian, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist...and Gay, too.

I know this is supposed to be a blog that discusses marketing, not politics. But the thing is, I'm not real good at following rules when it comes to blog freedom. And, more to the point, a person's sexual orientation isn't at all political.

Unless we make it allow it to be.

(Wasn't Global Warming a "political" argument at one point, too?)

Insofar as pressing political issues during an oh-so-political year, I see the economy as huge. No question. Along with foreign relations, healthcare and medical research. Many readers know that education reform happens to be my hot button, not only for the "long term" but for the "here-and-now" crisis that is dropout nation. I'm very concerned about the opportunities we're handing our kids, what that means to them and what that means to our country's future.

But I struggle with Same-Sex Marriage. Quite a bit. Not with whether, or with whom, people should marry (get hitched!). I struggle when people say, "With all our problems, gay marriage is waaay down the list, CK".

You see, this issue--which isn't an "issue" being we're talking the inability to legally marry and therefore falls under "rights"--is an area that is steeped in freedom. And freedom is what our country is steeped in. Freedom of speech, freedom to vote, freedom to pursue various careers, profits, land, American dreams and so on.

Let's look at it from another angle. Here's a question: What is so beautiful--and altogether unique--about America? That we're all different.

Nope, not much of the same homogeneous ties-that-bond here. Many races, many cultures, many classes and many beliefs are we. What binds us is not a common culture or race, what unites us is a set of of core values, with freedom ranking chief among them. It's something we all unequivocally agree on. We've fought for it "externally" at our nation's founding and we've continued to fight for it "internally" through movements both Civil and Suffragette.

Those fights were important. Fact is, once we're afforded 20/20 hindsight, we all wonder how these rights could have possibly required a fight, since it's so obvious they should have never been in question in the first place. In a democracy, one doesn't need a reason to make things free (or legal), only a reason to take away freedoms (or make them illegal). So perhaps, if we stopped making such an "issue" out of it, we'd not only be the better for it, we'd look back and find that we likely exhausted a lot of time stifling freedoms and diversity when what we needed to do was support these values. After all, these values are not only uniquely American...they are true to our country's unique brand (see, I did talk marketing ;-). 

Offering a clever take, here's R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe who has been in the headlines the past few days for urging more public figures to be open about their homosexuality--now he's 'outing' his heterosexual band mates. RSS readers and email subscribers please click through to the blog to view.

But does it make you happy?

I'm being asked a lot lately if all this Wild-and-Webby 2.0 information overload is truly a good thing and whether all of these social media tools really make people more productive.

Or far less so.

(being there's only so much time in the day and still so many things to get done)

These are very good questions.

I get asked, "Does this make you more money?", "Doesn't it take a lot of time?", "Do you ever sleep?" and "Doesn't it stress you out having to maintain content?" And so on and so forth.

So instead of listing all the answers to all of the questions I do get, I'll pose the one that's hardly ever asked:  Does it make you happy?

Let's back up for a second and let me pose it to you, k?

If the time that you put into these tools and these talented professionals didn't bring you a single cent of business--be that business from referrals, readers or learning a new practice area--would you still invest the time? Or would the sheer notion of learning new technologies that broaden our horizons and make the world smaller be worth all the trouble? Would learning myriad viewpoints--whether they make you change your mind or make you shake your head--be worth the trade-off to less viewings of whatever ABC or NBC is serving up that night?

And is making new colleagues and friends worth the time you spend doing this...being that the time you spend doing this takes away from the time you spend doing that (whatever "that" may be)?

Now, to be sure, we have to prioritize. Families need to come first, work must be delivered and deadlines better be met. But I ask the happiness question since, well, happiness is my compass (I'm sure that's the same for many).  And if there's one thing I've learned in life and in business it's this: money comes, goes and flows; but time is something I'll never get back. It simply cannot be bought, borrowed or stolen.

So I better be enjoying what I'm doing with my time.

I've always (always as in before 2.0) gotten a heck of a lot of happiness from learning and so much joy from creating...and a ton more from sharing/connecting. Since stumbling into social media, I've certainly found there are some tools that rock (like blogging and Twitter) and some that I just can't support (that which won't be named). And there are some programs that I just can't pass up helping to push into existence (like Book Club and Blogger Social).

But the community of smarts, support, fun, debates and challenge that comes with the information overload?

Well, it might not make me richer.

And I likely won't change the world.

And I do get less sleep (yawn).

But it sure does make me happy.

Extremely.

So maybe they're asking the right questions...or maybe they're missing the most important one (or just the one that's most important to me).

In fact, NYC truly is the city that never sleeps. We're too busy sleeping with our drivers, escorts and extra-marital lovers.

I heart New York. I really do.

A magical place, it's the city of constant surprise.

But this last seven days has surprised us even more than usual. In a nutshell (and I can't imagine there will be updates being we've now run through every Governor, ex-Governor and Lieutenant Governor in the greater metropolitan region):

First, New York's Governor goes all wild thing with the call girl formerly known as "Kristen". And now he's an ex-Governor.

Then, our neighbor state New Jersey's ex-Governor (who had to resign in 2006 for a sex scandal) reveals that he had three-ways with his wife and driver. Wait...that's not true; the driver reveals it. The ex-Governor admits to it. The ex-Governor's ex-wife does not. Whatnot.

Finally, our new New York Governor--new as in gave his inaugural speech YESTERDAY because of our aforementioned ex-Governor resigning last week--has admitted to extra-marital affairs a few years back. It's not so much a scandal because it's year's back; it's just that it's revealed on the very day he gives his first speech in the role as our squeaky-clean new leader.

The kicker? That in a city famous for its five-star hotels...he openly discusses meeting her at The Days Inn Hotel. (You've no idea what a field day New Yorkers are having with this disclosure.)

I really don't care what people do on their own time, be it with their own mates or paid playmates. But it is just a very, very weird week here with ex-Governors, ex-Governor's escorts, ex-Governors' wives, ex-Governor's drivers, and new Governor's ex-lives at budget-friendly hotels.

Dare I say...can we please just get back to governing? Pass a law. Scheme some strategies on fixing the economic meltdown. Assign a task force! Figure out a new literacy initiative. Something...anything...that smacks of actual legislation or socially advancing initiatives.

Speaking of advancing socially, I can't wait to see over 80 amazing marketing bloggers coming in 17 days for Blogger Social--yep, being held, right here in New York City, the best city on earth for socializing. Because we truly are the city that never sleeps.

But our government sure does get around.

The show--and the show's marketing--must go on

In my Friday reading, I came across an interesting piece discussing how the crew of the upcoming Batman movie, The Dark Knight, has decided to keep their movie and their movie's marketing on schedule and untouched. For those that may not know, this is the movie that stars the recently deceased Heath Ledger and is due out this summer.

To be sure, Heath Ledger's death was/is both a shock and a tragedy. I've been a fan of the actor since his 2001 role in A Knight's Tale--a medieval story about overcoming odds with a terrific supporting cast to Ledger's lead. But due to his passing--and specifically due to the extreme, psychopathic character Ledger plays in the Batman sequel (or sequel to the prequel?)--some think the marketing should not be as focused on him.

See, he doesn't play a silly-and-fun Joker like Jack Nicholsan did in the 80s version. Nowhere near. He plays a dark, sick-and-very twisted Joker. And he, not Batman, is truly the center of the movie's marketing campaign.

There's been plenty of talk that Ledger grappled immensely with the morally devoid character and that filming took a toll on him. To paraphrase, he wanted to do right by the part but found the character so deplorable that it gave him a raised level of anxiety and insomnia as he wanted to do right by the role.

But he was thrilled to play the part, no matter how hard the work. Because storytelling was his passion.

I agree with Director Christopher Nolan that neither the film nor any of its Joker-centric marketing should be changed. Because by NOT changing anything truly honors Ledger's tremendous effort and brilliant outcome--as well as the turmoil that the actor endured in telling the story. After all, it's more often the case that magnificent accomplishments are the result of very hard, dedicated work.

To soften it...or even slightly change it...would be to discredit the body of work, and the very talent that worked so hard to create it. And hey, we all know it's just a movie (not real life) and Ledger was merely breathing life into a character that would otherwise exist only on the page.

So in this case, I concur that Hollywood should not touch a thing. The show that Ledger dedicated himself to must go on just as he understood it would. And, as the article reports, after having seen the trailer, Ledger was amazed by his work (even asking to "see it again').

I'm so glad that he was able to at least see a trailer before he passed on (once a movie is finished "production" it can be in post-production for months, even a year, as editing is a tedious and exhaustive, frame-by-frame process). A trailer featuring Ledger is below, RSS and email subscribers please click through to the blog to view it. It looks to be quite a movie with well-defined characters.

Indeed Southwest is Nuts! if they think that any ad campaign or email blast will ever convince me they care about my safety.

I originally posted on this here.

And I tried to keep my mind open.

No longer.

Sorry, I've tried to remain open about Southwest's (alleged) negligence--and forget any credibility I might have placed with the FAA--but Southwest's reputation is just shot (cracked?) with me.

They needn't send me anymore emails saying how they take safety seriously or post to that affect on their blog (thanks to Paul Soldera for the link). Be the cracks in the fuselage 3.3 inches, 3.7 inches or 4 inches, I just cannot comprehend how keeping their fleet in circulation--now to the tune of 60,000 flights without inspections not "just" 1,450 after they knew of the issues--trumps safety.

I get that people need to get where they're going. But the point is that they actually need to get there.

And, again, you get what you pay for (even when you pay bottom-dollar).

When it comes to mass transit, convenience, price and comfort are important. But safety is not only at the top of the pile...it needs to be the cost-of-entry. I can't imagine what it feels like to work for Southwest now knowing that while you were part of a flight crew taking care of passengers...your employer didn't care enough to take care of you, either.

As for the FAA? A very big, very sad joke of an agency--as they absolutely share the blame.

PS: Those inspections? According to Southwest they take 90 minutes per plane. Yeah, I'll happily check more email, stuff my face with (yet) another airport burrito and flip through another trashy tabloid for the 90 minutes while I wait for my flight.

Update (03.14.08): In today's Wall Street Journal, Southwest's CEO Gary Kelly concedes: "I am not satisfied we are as compliant with maintenance requirements or as safe as we could be." Article here.

Update (04.03.08): Now Southwest has hidden safety problems. And the FAA let them. Article here.

Best NY Post Headline. Like, Ever. (And now it's time to go away)

I have no say as to what people do with their personal lives (though it's probably best not to use government phone lines in so doing).

And, so long as a person is of consenting age and it is entirely their own choice, I don't judge as to what a woman (or man) does with their body or what line of work they practice. I honestly don't care.

I do have a problem with hypocrites.

And I've a MUCH bigger problem with a man not immediately resigning so as to use his position as a bargaining chip to avoid prosecution while our city, state and, um, country have MUCH bigger problems to deal with.

The true scandal? It's not illicit sex. It's the sheer arrogance of this man.

Resign. Leave. Go on Oprah, go find your faith, go write your ego-stroking book. Just go away.

And let us move onto more important issues--we have an economy, an educational system and a healthcare crisis to fix. And far too many soldiers to bring home. Oh, and our FAA might be useless to boot.

But in true New York--and New York Post!--style, at least we can enjoy mocking your hypocrisy (I've been enjoying mocking you all day). You deserve it seven ways to Sunday.

Btw, Steve Woodruff has a terrific post on botched branding and trust right here.

UPDATE #1: Now that he's got time on his hands, Spitzer has asked to attend Blogger Social in NYC. As we've had to tell others, we're at capacity and thusly he's been waitlisted.

UPDATE #2: Having found out that Blogger Social is a full weekend fee--NOT paid by the hour--Spitzer has removed himself from the waitlist. (I also needed to explain what we mean by "Socializing" as he was a bit confused).

Proud of you crazy kids, all 80+ of you

Proud to boast about the brainy, generous marketing bloggers who will be attending Blogger Social in less than 30 days. And a great lookin' bunch, to boot. To be sure, this event nets zero financial returns, but Drew and I--and the dedicated bunch of folks who have also put in many hours planning the event and creating promotional materials--already know how rewarding the experience will be.

Because it already has given us so much joy to breathe life into this amazing event that celebrates this stellar community. Yippie.

Who's attending the BIG event? We have "Socialites" (marketing bloggers) traveling from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Italy, the Middle East, the United Kingdom, East Coast, MidWest, West Coast, Down South and Up North...and many more places all over this big--but getting smaller!--world.

All told, we hail from 8 countries and 20 U.S. States (just click on the above graphic to view it at full size, or right click and save to feature it on your own blog).

Also, in the video below you can catch a glimpse of everyone...links to all the blogs of our Socialites available here. Get excited and we'll see you in the "City of Blinding Lights" in LESS than 30 days! (Big thanks to Mark Goren for creating the collage and video)

Yes, those (cheap) tin tubes carry (priceless) lives--not just vanishing commodities.

I just cannot shake this despicable story from my mind. The worst part for me is that I keep hearing about the "record fine." I don't give two cents about a ten million-dollar fine (though I understand the economic incentive of doing so).

What I care about are the priceless people inside those tin tubes. With something like safety called into question, I feel like passengers have unknowingly been flying blind.

While it appears that fault is certainly shared between BOTH Southwest and the FAA--as both allowed lapses on very old, cheap planes--I can't help but think that this safety violation wasn't conveniently overlooked due to the low-cost airline needing to stay low cost by staying in heavy flight rotation.

I'll be glued to the TV on these hearings and I'm really working to defer judgment. While my trust has precipitously dropped in both Southwest and the FAA, I really am trying to wait for the information to be delivered and investigated until I better understand the facts (but I admit it's very hard for me as my perception has definitely been altered). That said, this appears to be a mighty egregious error in judgment. And an even bigger one in ethics. Will it be that Southwest becomes the low-cost, low-ethics airline and that the FAA does not have a zero-tolerance policy? We'll see.

In any case, on thing is certain: you get what you pay for--especially when you pay less.

See, the reason that Southwest can be the low-cost airline is that it hinges on volume (lots and lots of people in those tin tubes). We learn this time and again, just look at all the "hidden costs" to outsourcing. Cheap is a BIG gamble, folks. And with lead paint in toys being distributed en masse to innocent kids and planes that have small cracks that could lead to large loss of life...cheap may wind up being the BIGGEST gamble of all.

Because those tin tubes don't just carry freight, they carry people.

Folks, if you see any oral statements by Southwest, can you send me the links? Thanks so much.

Update: Besides fuselage cracks, Southwest might have missed rudder checks, too. As for the FAA's whistle-blowers? It appears they were ignored for some time--three years' worth. Despicable indeed.

Another Update: President of American Consumer Council finds this to be criminal intent on the part of Southwest and FAA inspectors.

PS: Just to clarify as I've had several ask me about the "vanishing commodities" term--a vanishing commodity is a revenue opportunity that you can never get back--as it's contingent upon time--like vacant hotel rooms or vacant seats for an event (or flight). With products, like books or cars, you certainly don't want to hold onto merchandise too long but you can always still sell that merchandise...but you can never go back in time to recoup missed revenues for a vacant flight, event, hotel room, advertising spot during a particular first-run TV program, etc.

Durex's new play on sex play

I've always found it odd how conservative this country (USA) is about sex. Take selling sex toys, that's a big no-no on broadcast TV (yet we can still push plenty of booze and bogus pills).

But, um, here's a BIG ol' reality check: sex toys are the safest type of sex one can have.

(I know, I know, "abstinence is the safest sex, yadda, yadda," but this blog doesn't hold such unrealistic discussions. People surely abstain for their own reasons and I respect that. But the masses do not abstain because of a safety message.)

In fact, I've never seen reports of unwanted pregnancies or contracting STDs from, well, going at it alone. And not for nothin', sex toys don't get tired and are not selfish partners...OK, OK, I'll stick to the "marketing angle" (yawn).

Durex has launched a new line of "massagers" and it's a smart move. Because they're the first mainstream condom company--to my knowledge--to do so and I do not see this line extension as cannibalizing their condom cash cow (for obvious reasons). And it just underscores Durex's plight to be known for "pleasure"--a word/positioning that Durex has long been going after--so it doesn't dilute their branding.

According to the "Durex Play" site: "We believe in sexual freedom. And in playing. And not taking sex too seriously, accepting that we are human beings, and experimenting with what feels best. We hope that through our wide range of products we can give people the confidence to fully enjoy their sexuality, and to develop happier, healthier, more fulfilling sexual relationships."

Their packaging? Pretty, fun and graceful (see above). You can choose from "wands", "gems" or "charms". With copy like that, me thinks they should come with a "tiara", no? And their ads? Phenomenal and true to "not taking sex too seriously". I doubt you'll see these in the States, btw, as we're way too conservative to talk about something as risque as safe sex.

But what I like about the following two ads is that they focus on women of different age groups. RSS and email subscribers please click through to the blog to view these and, yes, it's totally worth the trip. Here's both of them. Also, if Durex is reading this...please scroll down to my disclaimer. Thanks!

PS: I've written about another ad by Durex before--and it's absolutely charming.

Disclaimer: If Durex contacts me with a promotional goodie, I might just have to re-think my "NO SWAG for Ink" policy. Oh wait, since I've already written about them--from a purely authentic standpoint--I'm in the clear. (Phew!)

Hold on...have I forgotten I'm a marketer?

Dear Durex: I'm part of a committee that is spearheading a  groundbreaking (!) "social" event happening in NYC in 30 days with nearly 90 TOP marketing bloggers from 8 countries and 20 U.S. States traveling to NYC boasting a jam-packed event schedule. While we're not featuring any corporate sponsors, we are lavishing our attendees with special goodie bags filled with items ranging from technology gadgets...to brainy books...to cool apparel. These items are all donated by various companies because they get the rare opportunity to make a great impact on today's top thought leaders--who, consequently, are also known for generating "buzz". So make a smart marketing move, along with all the other smart companies, and please put a little 'love' in our goodie bags. We'll need 90.  (Does CK look out for her community, or what?)

The Media Wizard is in: a seasoned voice provides a 'fresh' perspective.

There's a few things to know about Gene DeWitt. You see, Gene is a "name" in the media industry. He's been cited in the leading trades many times over, and he's been the chief of some very formidable media agencies.

But what you most need to know is that Gene doesn't flaunt any of that. Nope. Not even at his newly relaunched (and newly redesigned!) blog, where he has every right to list his myriad accolades...he mentions only his love for media.

Why? Because his passion for his craft is what drives and delights him. So you can imagine that we two get along great (no fake smiles in that picture taken right before last year's holidays).

Flash back to 2000 when I met Gene. We were both speaking at a conference for the American Marketing Association and I had the good fortune to go on after him...and I really do underscore good fortune because most of the reason the entire reason I had an audience for my session was because they were already in the room to be sure that they didn't miss Gene's speech.

And while many attendees were lining up to speak with him after his segment, he wanted to ensure that he didn't miss mine.Why? Because even though he didn't know me nor did he have to learn anything new to get ahead, he wanted to learn more about the interactive world (my speech centered on BtoB opportunities in interactive, way back in Web 1.0 days).

And I think that's why Gene has been, and will continue to be, so wildly successful: even though he's an expert, he forever relishes his role as student. 

Check this gem out from his about page: "In blog years I’m probably 6,000 years old (turned 65 in February 2008). And I’ve worked in the advertising media business for a bit more than forty years. So why don’t I just dry up and go away?

Well, the constantly changing nature of the media world has kept me engaged professionally for all of these years and the current turmoil makes it even harder to disengage. Luckily for me I love to learn new things: technology things, art things, media things."

So it provides me such joy to introduce you not only to a new member of the online marketing community, but a much-needed voice on "all things media". Want to know how the writers' strike will forever change the TV business? He's got that covered. Want to know what's holding digital video advertising back? He's covering that, too. 

Want to ask a question of The Media Wizard? Ask away! (I ask stuff of that Wizard all the time.)

And yes, Gene will be at Blogger Social. I can't wait for so many of you to meet a dear friend that has soared to dizzying heights and yet remained very grounded--a balance that not all New Yorkers are particularly known for (um, just trust me on that one). And even if you can't make it to the event, never fear...Gene's blog is right here.

PS: Besides getting me an audience for my speech, Gene also did another nice thing for me years back: he introduced me to my dear friend David Reich, another valued member of this community who just recently celebrated his first blog anniversary. Gosh they sure do grow up fast!