CK's Blog

Bless his bike-lovin' heart ;-)

I wanted to take a post to inform those who might not yet know that Tim Jackson (aka "MasiGuy"), a beloved member of BOTH the online marketing community--and the online cycling community--had a very rough cycling accident this past Tuesday evening during a race.

While the prognosis is very good--and he should be home from the hospital soon--apparently he hit the boards in the 24th lap of a 25-lap race and sustained a concussion, broken ribs, a few of his neck bones are fractured, his thumb was badly torn and required surgery, and I'm not sure about his knee.

All told, he has quite a road to recovery...but a recovery he will make. And, knowing his bike-loving heart, the first chance he gets he'll be back on a bike (and yes, he always wears a helmet).

His friends have been nothing short of amazing in posting updates and creating a Get Well Fund that you can donate to: information is at this post right here. If you want to leave a comment for him, I guess the best place is at that blog, too.

Sending lots of love and prayers your way, Masiguy ;-).

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!

Please take a moment to send well wishes to Arun's Family (thank you)

I have closed comments on this post as I'm asking you to please go here instead. (And please apprise others.)

A valued member within our community, and treasured friend of mine, Arun Rajagopal, lost his mum this week and our hearts and prayers go out to him and his family. We have compiled a site right here for you to leave some comforting words, a prayer, a poem and even a donation.

To be sure, the only thing that Arun has asked for is that we keep him in our prayers.

Thank you for doing just that ;-).

And now a few words for my friend: Arun, you are high in my thoughts, heavy on my heart and within my prayers. I've told you this during happier times but I wish to underscore it now: your dedication and kindness just floor me. They also give me hope about the purity and goodness that exists in every corner of this world (and this community).

Even though you may be located a world away, your tireless, exhaustive work for the Age of Conversation book, Blogger Social and all other initiatives that you are the first in line to take upon your strong shoulders, always makes me feel like you're right "here".

I am better for knowing you and I only wish I had a magic wand. Alas, I only have words...but your words have lifted me on many occasions...so I hope these give you and yours even a moment of comfort.

PS: Readers, to see even an inkling of the mammoth work and community promotion that Arun has done, just go to this post. And I do so love that picture of him with his "pet" monkey up there (the monkey actually belongs to his friend, and, yes, it's a real monkey...and truly my favorite picture of him).

Going green for a good cause. Join in, won't you peas?

Full background and information here.

Full, really fun and heartening peapod slideshow here.

Seriously, check out the slideshow I just sent you to, it's so great and creative.

That's my dance partner Luc (Mindblob) and me. Now, we look like flies but, I assure you, we're dancin' peapods.

Why are we dancing and, more to the point, why are we dressed as peapods? The short answer is that we're dancin' fools for a good cause.

The longer answer is that there's a movement afoot and it's unlike any other cause...because it involves peas. And peas are a funny thing. In fact, a lot of people don't eat their peas (and carrots) but they sure like poking fun at this funny vegetable (legume? what are peas anyhow?). Personally, I've always liked peas and have no issue with them whatsoever.

And now I like them even more.

While a better explanation is right here, the 'gist of it is that we are creating these "pea-avatars" (pea-vatars?) in support of fundraising for breast cancer research and, specifically, in support of Susan Reynolds, a woman/blogger who is going through a tough battle currently, and bravely sharing this experience. Why peas? Because when she was going through discomfort due to biopsies, she used a bag of frozen peas for comfort in addition to ice and uploaded a pic of the peas. And then one of her friends suggested we all donate the cost of a bag of frozen peas to breast cancer research. And somehow, quite magically from there, "peaple" started running with it and now, a full fundraising site will go live on Friday...along with many people uploading pea pics to Flickr and to their twitter profiles.

And of course everyone is getting behind this--gender doesn't matter. Not only does breast cancer, in small percentage, affect men, let's face it, men make a far, far bigger deal about breasts than we women ever do. (That was my best shot at a pep talk, sorry if I offended anyone...I'm doing my best to get you to part with money at holiday time.)

What's the action point?

Please consider donating to this cause (the site will go live on Friday) and, do like so many of us are and make a pic of yourself with peas and send it to ringleader-and-cheerleader Connie Reece. And save a dance for me, wontcha?

Also, does anyone have any contacts over at Green Giant, Birdseye or another "pea" brand? I'd like for someone to ask them to donate to this worthy cause. I know in my holiday heart that they'd love to make a donation....they just need to know about it--and then it can be a Christmas Miracle. Alas, I know no one in the pea biz.

PS: Thank you to my dear friend and colleague Gavin Heaton for making my pea picture dance. I'm too much of a photoshop idiot to attach my head to a peapod and he was happy to do it at 3 in the morning (which is something like 2pm to him in Sydney, Australia). And thank you to Luc for dancing with me, I was feeling a little self-conscious dancing by myself at the holidays--and it was bringing back bad memories of my prom.

PPS: Thanks to my friends here that hopefully won't mind my using part of their logo. It's for a good cause.

A lot of our Africa-centric marketing is (way) off center. Lucky for us, we have Kofi.

Kofi Annan is both a new friend and a new read (no, not THAT Kofi Annan). I'm not sure how many of you readers know of his blog but I'm really benefiting through it.

Why?

Because he's teaching me so much about that which I know so little (I find that to be one of the nicest things anyone can do for another).

Covering African style and business trends, his blog is also teaching me about advocacy initiatives and, most important, how to get our African-aligned marketing right.

Why?

Becuz we're getting a lot of it really, really wrong. (For some very basic reasons.)

Take that t-shirt up there--it's just one of the business-meets-advocacy efforts his clothing co. put together. According to that initiative's site:

"The Bling is Dead project is a part of the Demand Details! initiative which encourages a global community to demand details from the diamond industry. Details about the sale history of diamonds and details that will ensure that the diamonds we purchase do not support wars in African nations. Through key programs and partnerships Demand Details! gives Annansi Clothing Co. customers and the public at large the proper tools and facts to make educated decisions about purchasing diamonds while pushing retailers to become more responsible in their business practices."

Efforts that push for more responsible business practices are music to my ears. But Kofi's blog has many facets. Here are some of my favorite posts so far:

Celebs visiting Africa "effect"

Mud-faced African Advertising blunders

Telling the story right by starting with the best storytelling medium (movies)

On the website he just launched Kofi says, "The future of design and innovation lies in emerging markets." I agree...but would add "emerging markets AND emerging mediums."

PS: That's a pic of me with Kofi, Carolyn and C.B.

This blogosphere's going to hell in a handbasket

Who the heck lets Tangerine Toad blog at The Daily Fix? Rumor has it he starts up there Monday (rumor indeed has become reality). David Reich has moved from debating licensing tooth and nail and is now taking on academia (readers, when I nagged him to "get a darn blog already!", I did not know this firecracker side of him. I swear.). The "other David", David Berkowitz, is berating us for too many memes and other abuses (next he'll be blaming us for Global Warming).

And Mack has a wish-list that includes hearing me on a panel. Mack, thanks for the support, but the last thing this world needs is anymore of my yapping. Especially when I'm hooked up to a mic.

Matt Dickman's gone all hip and is not only featuring Bob Dylan but some kinda new "mood lighting" going on in his most recent "Buzz Fridays" video briefing. Meanwhile, Paul has gone seriously unhip by posting a public apology/promise.

And our alien friend Luc has gone all literal and recruited actual aliens for his blog (Luc, please tell the alien to return the hip Paul, he's missed).

Mark Goren is posting about a better balance and give + take in our lives, is Dr. Phil next? It's gotten so bad that even Cam Beck, in a moving piece, is telling us that the public distrusts marketing and marketers. Since Cam said it, will you folks now believe me about how essential trust is? Jeez.

All the while, we've got the MidEast's banner boy for blogging, Arun Rajagopol, who, having gotten ink for the Age of Conversation's 103 authors in every single Oman paper has now landed a 6-Page FEATURE in a major Dubai newspaper. Look at him over there donning the "cool tech celeb" look. I suspect by 26 (he's all of a 24 year-old whippersnapper) we'll see him on the cover of Fortune.

Arun, can you stop making us all look so darn lazy?

Greg Verdino--and a very savvy video (well done, in fact hot girls do sell products well)--has convinced me to actually, um, watch ads on purpose--and a pic of he, me and a stuffed animal (!) are featured in that Dubai article.

Yup, just when I had all but assured my corporate father that "this blogging stuff" is actually good for business development he's treated to a pic of me holding a Curious George doll in a major media outlet.

Hell in a handbasket, I tell ya.

At least Sean Howard has discontinued his nudity campaign. Though it was for a worthy cause. If I've missed any other marketing mischief of late please let me know in the comments. I'd hate to present an incomplete report.

Disclaimer: For those reading this blog that might not know my snappy, jokin' style, I'm being serious. (Though all of these people are dear colleagues and friends of mine and the links I've provided are well worth checking out ;-).

Manhattan + Marketers + Martinis = MeetUp

My colleague, fellow marketing blogger and dear friend Toby Bloomberg is coming to town next week (up from Atlanta) so that means a meetup--and a martini--is in order. Now I've done two meetups with Toby before (one time in D.C., the other time in NYC) and I will say that each time is better. Plus the third time's a charm.

And we already have C.B. Whittemore, David Reich, David Berkowitz and Greg Verdino joining us.

Update: I understand Ann Handley--coming in from Boston!--will be joining us, too. And yet another update: And Tangerine Toad is stopping by...and Kofi Annan, too!

So there will be toads, lizards (see below) and some of the smartest and most fun marketing bloggers present. So come join us for a martini. Or two.

Where: Cafe Iguana (yes there is a lizard outside but he's not real), 240 West 54th Street between Broadway & 8th Avenue.    212.765.5454       .

When: Thursday, September 20th.

What time: We'll start at 6:30pm. Not sure when we'll end. (life's better left a mystery, eh?)

What to wear: No dress code. And you needn't wear a dress (nor need you be female)...you can go trendy, sexy, sporty, hippie, breezy or just plain casual.

What to do? Drop me a comment or email me if you think you can stop by. Or surprise us. Like I said, life's better left a mystery.

Reich hits 100 (in posts that is, in years he's only like 90)

So my pal David Reich a man who first scoffed at "all my blogging as a waste of time," and then finally launched his own wildly popular blog, has hit his 100th post (woo-hoo!).

And in return he asked me to guest blog for his 100th post.

Um, that's lame.

If I write your 100th post then it's not YOUR 100th post. So David and I compromised and we've written a post together. It's over at his blog.

Go give him a big hug for hittin' 100...alternatively, you can give me a big hug for kickin' his butt into the blogosphere in the first place. (It's a better place with him in it.)

PS: Even at 100, David dances far better than Britney.

Monkeys, martinis and how males are different from females

I had the pleasure of meeting up with Greg Verdino, David Berkowitz and Curious George last night. You see, in promoting the Age of Conversation book, Steve Woodruff dreamed up a mascot (that's where George comes in) and a worldwide tour.

According to Steve, "A short while back, I contacted the 103 authors of the Age of Conversation book about the possibility of a worldwide tour, by a famous figure. The goal is for this mascot to visit every one of the authors on their “home turf,” completing a global circuit within one year’s time or less."

Why meet over martinis? Well, in the course of the "tour," Greg Verdino needed to hand-off George to me and then I needed to give him to David Berkowitz. Instead of mailing him around New York we figured...why not make a party out of it? And George was game.

Whatever did we do? Took pics with George, drank dirty martinis at one of my favorite vodka rooms, discussed marketing, life, upcoming weddings (congrats David!), took more pics with George, discussed the Age of Conversation book, chatted God and drank more martinis.

What's a monkey meetup without wild NYC wildlife stories? Being that George is a monkey, we shared our own wild stories of NYC wildlife:

• About 8 years ago, while walking home from work, a very large owl, perched atop a 35-story building, fell to its demise--all but one foot in front of me. It nearly scared me to death and I'm like, "What is that majestic creature doing in NYC?!" Apparently, owls are more common than you think and live above large buildings. Then, in the natural course of events, they die and fall. Sad, but true.
  
• David Berkowitz had a real occurrence with a real monkey. Yep, he was scratched across the cheek by one while minding his own business just walking through NYC streets (the monkey was sitting on his owner's shoulder, then reached out and swatted David). As city dwellers, we do expect to get bumped and bruised by people running into us, but not by monkeys.
• Greg had a pigeon poop on him (Greg: please get a better story soon, k?).

Why wasn't David Reich at the party? Unfortunately fellow New Yorker David Reich--whom George is being handed-off to next--couldn't join us as he was at an event where he was saving his town from evil politicians. Denzel Washington, whom is also from David's town, was scheduled to make an appearance. David, having given it some thought I concur Denzel is a supreme weapon to rid the land of evil politicians...so please send him to D.C. next.

And finally, how, praytel, are males different than females? Well, besides the obvious, females take a lot of pics in order to post a FEW good ones...males, curious as it is, take a lot of pics and then upload EVERY single one of them to their Flickr accounts.  Um, thanks guys ;-).

BIG thanks: I want to thank Steve Woodruff for giving us this great promotion. And I want to once again thank Gavin Heaton and Drew McLellan for spearheading the Age of Conversation book. It's a great read, written by 103 "in the know" marketers with all proceeds going to charity.

So buy the book and then I'll buy you a (dirty) martini, too.

Pics: At the very top we have George and his drink of choice, followed by David and me, then Greg and me and the last shot, which is my fave, of David drinking with George.

Everything old still applies (at least stuff from a year ago)

I still get a steady stream of search inquiries and new links to this collage that aired last November. But the poll supporting it ran a year ago this month. Yup, a year ago August I asked you folks what the value was in all this blogging and then I compiled the results into a pretty collage.

Why? Cuz I like making pretty things for you cool bloggers--especially when those pretty things communicate the value of this conversation.

I find it funny that people still check this out since I thought, "Hey, that rush is over." And then it occurred to me...new people are joining this conversation all the time (um, duh!).

So--for anyone who has not yet seen this collage--you can read the story here (and yes I will update the collage with the new comments when I can).

You might find it helpful to show this to your companies, clients, friends, marketing departments, or use it in presentations. Basically you can do...or not do...whatever you please with it. Why? Because it's not mine, it's everyone's (it's the Share Economy after all). 

The above graphic is a snapshot of the collage and the PDF has the full-size collage (easier to read) as well as full answers to the question. And, thanks to NXTbook media, you can see the rich media version here, as I understand they're hosting it for life (for free).

Um, why not go and tell the ENTIRE country already?

Being that Arun Rajagopal is the Age of Conversation's only author from Oman, I think he--and he alone--should be responsible for publicizing it all over the country.

Oh wait...he ALREADY did.

Taking a few moments to catch-up on my blog reading I am ASTOUNDED at the amount of press Arun has generated for the book. The clippings on the right are but a few of the placements in print and broadcast that he's secured.

Um, WoWsa.

Some bloggers people just amaze me. And by some people I most definitely mean Arun.

Please do review his post here as I'm not doing the work he's done nearly enough justice.

Oh, and when Arun was not busy publicizing the Age of Conversation? Yeah, he was busy writing bios for all 103 authors.

Yep, some people just amaze me. And yes, when I'm in Oman I'm just gonna tell people, "I'm a friend of Arun's."

Why yes, I bake homemade cookies for men who get naked for me (doesn't everybody?)

The things you learn, do and see through social media. I officially love Sean Howard...not love in the biblical sense but love in the naked sense--and definitely in the "don't ask what your community can do for you, ask what you can do for your community" sense.

For those who missed it--Sean Howard and his splendid team created a brave, bare-all video to promote the Age of Conversation (see vid below).  Now my southern momma taught me a whole lot--not the least of which is that sugary, carbed-up cookies are a "ladylike" way to thank good people who do good things for good causes (proceeds from the Age of Conversation go to charity). 

Actually pies are a good way to thank people too but they don't travel as well--though I should mention that Drew McLellan sent me not one but two pies earlier this year...but no, the deliveryman was not naked (apparently he didn't get Sean's memo).

So, when I witnessed the great lengths that Sean went to I needed to thank him so I sent him cookies--and that cutie got naked. Again (see pic above). It should not go without saying that Sean is one of those weird people who cannot eat chocolate so I sent his team chocolate-chip cookies and Sean some oatmeal raisin cookies.

Which just goes to prove that naked men are indeed high maintenance.

Here's the video of Sean's bare-all in case you missed it the first time (RSS readers go here)...and here's how you buy the Age of Conversation. Thanks again to Sean and his entire team for reminding me just how proud I am to be part of this brainy, ballsy community.

Brains + Blogs + Beauties (you go, girls)

These are such nice graphics compliments of Chris Brown (thank you, Chris!). It includes the Top 20 Female PR & Marketing Bloggers (to be sure, I'm not in the top 10). On the left is the top 10, followed by the following 10 on the bottom right. I understand this comes from Todd's "Power 150" List (to be sure, I have no power) and that Kami Huyse highlighed the females (thanks Kami!).

This serves two purposes: it honors a lot of brainy, beautiful women who contribute a lot of smarts and sense to this medium and it introduces me (and you!) to some blogs worth reading...blogs whose authors just happen to be females.

I'm not sure why there aren't more women bloggers but I can say that this one gets so much value out of doing so. But I think I'm most happy that neither males nor females treat me any differently because of my sex (at least I don't feel I'm treated differently in the 'sphere). We've discussed, debated and done a lot of good--and that knows no gender. Best of all, we're just getting started.

I always get a kick out of people assuming I'm male when I comment on other blogs because of my "CK" initials (nope, all girl). And my favorite "female" question came from Philippe who, in our interview asked, "Does it make a difference to be a woman?" To which I answered, "I can't answer this...being I've never been a man." Now it's time for me to be traditional and get in the kitchen...I've got some cookies to bake ;-).

As said above I really want this post to serve to introduce you to new blogs--so here are the blogs of these brilliant--and did I mention beautiful?!--female bloggers. You guys girls rock.

What's Next Blog B L Ochman
Diva Marketing Blog Toby Bloomberg
BlogWrite for CEOs Debbie Weil
Communication Overtones Kami Huyse
Forrester's Marketing Blog Shar, Charlene, Chloe, Christine, Elana, Laura & Lisa
The Origin of Brands Laura Ries
Branding & Marketing Chris Brown
Customers Rock! Becky Carroll
Conversation Agent Valeria Maltoni
Corporate PR Elizabeth Albrycht
The Copywriting Maven Roberta Rosenberg
CK's Blog (CK)
Spare Change Nedra Kline Weinreich
Marketing Roadmaps Susan Getgood
advergirl Leigh Householder
Brand Sizzle Anne Simons
Kinetic Ideas Wendy Maynard
Flooring The Consumer C.B. Whittemore
Presto Vivace Blog Alice Marshall
Email Marketing Best Practices Tamara Gielen

Note: Blogs that have both male and female authors aren't listed. So a BIG shout out to Jackie Huba (Church of The Customer blog) and Ann Handley (MarketingProfs Daily Fix blog). And while I'm at it, a BIG shout to more rockin' females you should know like, Lori Magno (Moda Di Magno blog) and Katie Chatfield (Get Shouty blog). I now fear I've left people out...I didn't mean to if I did.

Another note: I think the male bloggers are beautiful, too. And almost as smart as the girls :-).

New meaning to 'naked' conversations

Proud am I to know such a dedicated co-author that makes us look extra good by going the extra mile...and losing his pants in the process. He and his team are getting cookies (send me your addy Sean and I'll send over the goodies).

Enjoy the video kids (RSS readers go here). And don't forget to go here to buy the book.

Every week should start with a meetup

A BIG shout out to Kris Hoet (from Belgium) and Mark Goren (from Canada) for making NYC a destination of theirs this summer...last Tuesday I had the pleasure of hanging with these fellow bloggers/bookworms/co-authors and, most importantly, friends.

Friends indeed...they even (temporarily) got me over my fear of heights by getting me to go to the Top of The Rock in Rockefeller Center where we could see the city in all her glory. So perhaps bungee jumping is next (you never know what you bloggers will get me to do).

' Twas especially cool seeing these guys--and David Reich stopped by, too--during the week of the book launch for our collaborative work, the Age of Conversation. So of course you see us toting the book around with us in both pics. Having been fortunate enough to have met so many in this community I often say how bloggers are just like they are on their blogs. But I stand corrected...you just can't replace the value of face-to-face interaction. Should you guys ever have the chance to meet Kris, Mark or David, you'll be better for it. Yep, that claim comes with a guarantee.

So the question is, however will I have the chance to meet the rest of you rockin' bloggers? Yeah, I've got an answer to that question and will have more info. soon.

PS: The top pic (left to right), is Mark, CK and Kris. The pic on the right, (left to right), is Kris, CK, Mark and David. Thanks guys, for making my week!

Chattin' it up on ATS (take 1)

Just a heads-up that Jaffe has posted the podcast where Tangerine Toad, Joseph Jaffe and yours truly talk...and man can we marketers talk! Jaffe is splitting the convo into two parts since we covered a lot of ground.

What did we chat? Blogger outreach programs (including the Nikon D80 program, the YouTube/CNN debates and the Sci-Fi blogger junket). We looked at how best to target them, how best to offer value through them, the ups and downs of monetizing blogs and other stuff.

In some places some of us agree, in others some of us don't agree, but in all places we held a truly productive discussion. That's the funny thing about conversation...it always moves the medium forward. Serious props to Jaffe for giving us a place to talk it out. So go here if you want to listen in.

I need to let you know that the first segment is probably 45 minutes (maybe an hour). I understand if you don't have the time but you can always skip around through it (and it's always available when you do have the time). We do address the questions that the community submitted, but not until part 2, which I believe will be posted over the next week or two.

PS: Should you want to use the podcast for some party fun, then I suggest taking a sip of your preferred drink every time I say the word "value"...never fear, you'll be buzzing big time (can't help it, I'm such a stickler for we marketers delivering oodles of value to our valued communities ;-). Cheers!

Worth my while (maybe worth yours, too!)

I'm so proud of Matt Dickman's new "Inside//Out" series. Now I know Matt and he's a lovable guy. But what  do I really love? Just how much work he's doing for me...and all of us.

According to Matt: "Inside//Out is a new series where I will take you on a video tour of what companies are doing in the online and social media spaces." This week he profiled Bud.TV and there are some shots of scantily clad women (being that males are Bud's target audience) so that might be a draw for you guys, too (ha!). Next week he's thinking he'll profile Facebook.

Yes, Matt, I will definitely give your series my time being that you've gone to great lengths to: show AND tell (the series includes video where he walks us through the property he's examining) and, most especially, because you've so clearly laid-out recommendations that we can use in our own work and projects (I know I'll use them in mine).

What else is worth my while?

The fact that my girl Ann Handley is penning for The Huffington Post. Ah, how that makes my (liberal!) heart so proud. We're talking "Weblish" over there...please come talk Weblish with us, too.

And speaking of all things Weblish, what's the best part of this thing we call blogging?

Watching you amazing folks experiment with new things, share more of your smarts, (and share more of yourselves), and, as a result, just come into your own. Yeah, that rocks.

(Is it any small wonder I watch such little TV anymore?)

Lucky Me

Why am I so lucky? Because I got two blogger meetups two nights in a row--and I didn't have to sit through a single seminar! While they were in NYC for the FOOA Conference I got the benefit of face-to-face time with some amazing people...

here's lucky me with Ann Michael (who has a personality that is OFF the charts!), Liz Strauss (who is just as smart as she is genuinely cool) and Sean Howard (whom I've hung out with two nights in a row; it's sorta like he lives here now).

Getting to meet such advancing people, it's no small wonder I'm so passionate about this community. Yeah, you guys rock. Come back soon, k?

Meet at the big 'E' (little 'e' but BIG sign)

For the great bloggers who are in this great town for the Future of Online Advertising (FOOA) Conference and are looking to meetup for dinner tonight, let's meet under the "E"--which is actually a lower-case 'e' but it's still a BIG sign--at 53rd Street & 9th Avenue around 6:30pm.

I know the amazing Liz Strauss will be there and she'll be bringing other greats. And, if we can track him down, the also amazing Sean Howard will be there. I was able to meet Sean Howard last night. That's Sean, me and Matt Semel over there at our 3-person party last night. Luckily, it only takes 3 (great!) people to have a great meetup.

Matt, I'm sorry that for 15 minutes I thought you were Matt Haverkamp, let's blame it on Sean, OK? I understand that Matt Haverkamp might be joining the dinner party tonight so I tell you what: I'll pretend to think he is you for a little bit. And then the world will be balanced again.

When you great bloggers are done learning about Advertising, Advertising in the Web 2.0 World and the Future of Advertising head for the 'e' at 53rd & 9th and meet for some chow and good conversation at 6:30pm.

P.S.: I looked at the program for the conference and the sessions looked great...except there's only like 3 female speakers out of 30. Speaking of balanced worlds, please tell the Future of Online Advertising organizers that the future of conferences has more brainy female speakers--and yes, you can tell them CK said that. To which they'll reply, "Who the heck is CK?" being I don't work in advertising. But just tell them it's best to listen to me anyway ;-).

Bad mood no more...

I awoke today in the grumpiest of moods. Between deadlines and migraines I just wanted to go back to bed (or better yet, fly to Bali). I have absolutely no time to blog today as the precious free time I do have needs to go to a zillion to-do's on my never-ending list of action points.

Yep, today just bites (grrr).

Then I run across this post by Sean Howard. He talks about sharing ideas and sharing more of himself. And suddenly the day is just perfect. There is such strength in sharing and being authentic with our audiences...and being true to ourselves. And there are real relationships to be made from this medium--really advancing ones as a matter of fact.

Many won't understand how blogging sharing not only makes us better professionals, but better people (and my conservative father will think me absolutely bonkers and a hippie).

But just look at what Sean has shared and maybe it will make your day perfect, too. Back to my deadlines--but no longer the bad mood. Thanks, Sean ;-).

I don't need any more friends

I didn't launch a blog to make friends. Besides having a silly page over at MySpace I spend absolutely no time at that site. Nor do I care about the "friends" one amasses over there. It's a silly concept to have "computer friends" and, moreover, a waste of precious time--time that's best spent making precious money.

Hey, it's not like I'm anti-social. I have tons of friends offline...friends, mind you, who are griping at me for not seeing them nearly enough (and their gripes are well-founded, I work way too much and enjoy my work way too much).

I launched my blog little over a year ago, just to find out what this "blog stuff" was all about. I can't productively advise my clients about which programs--and which media--they should be exploring if I don't know the terrain myself. So blog I must.

After about a month of so-called blogging--I say so-called because I was spending most all of my time on my site trying to make it look right--I started venturing out. And that's when I stopped blogging and started building relationships. It's just so natural to me at this point that I really don't think about it. But two things happened this weekend (on top of all that happened last weekend!) that made me think about my friends, and realize how fortunate I am.

First, that picture up there shows two gifts I received from Toby Bloomberg; better known as the Diva. When you first hear the word "Diva," you, or at least I, think of someone who is unapproachable; high atop a pedestal. This is not the case with Toby and she redefines Diva for me.

I've had the pleasure of meeting Toby on two occasions. The one word I use to describe her? Warm. Toby is just bubbling with sincerity and a warm personality. She's just an itty-bitty thing and I tower over her (at 5' 10" in heels I seem to tower over most of my female friends!). And while this is a beautiful picture of her it doesn't do her justice. Trust me that she's even prettier in person.

The gifts Toby sent me are a "Friendship Ideals" book and a soft teddy bear. Yep, even in my 30s with a graduate-level education I love getting teddy bears (and I'm crazy over Mr. Potato Head, but oddly didn't start liking him until a decade or so ago).

Yesterday I was rifling through the fun poems and affirmations in the friendship book and that's when I found my favorite line of the book. What's ironic about the line? It wasn't even a line from the book, it was Toby's inscription in the front of it:

"For CK - who proves that a friendship is "Real" no matter where it's made!"

Folks, it's actually Toby who proves this, not me. But it applies to many of us. And I'll never forget those words. Matter of fact I made sure to remember them daily--I tore the darn page out of the book and framed it (the frame is up there behind the bear but it's hard to read the inscription, sorry).

And the second thing that happened this weekend? I had a commenter at another blog who (rightly) put me in my place. I was venting about doing right by the community and he was very blunt in his response to me. Basically, he told me that not every blog, or blogger, cares about community. The comment could have made me angry. But it made me so happy. (Btw, he is 100% correct and I've acknowledged it publicly and over email).

Silly me has been assuming that everyone has been building relationships. Sure, a lot of us do so in this rockin' community but it's hardly the case for all. The reason for my myopia? It's just so 'real' and obvious to me that so much can be gained through relationships that I can't understand why anyone wouldn't want to build them.

In fact, the number one piece of advice I have for any blogger is this: Don't focus on how well your blog is ranked, focus on the relationships you make through blogging. Rankings come and go, but relationships evolve into colleagues and friends (if you treat them with respect and care).

I don't expect everyone to understand or want to make friends through this medium. Let's be honest, it sounds really weird. And we all have enough friends offline. But to readers who are new to this blog--or new to blogging--I ask you to be open to it. Why? Because in being open to it I now have real friends (and have met nearly 50 in person so far, some at conferences for a few minutes, and many I've been fortunate to spend some one-on-one time with) from all over the U.S. and all over the world.

Friends I expect to have and treasure for life.

But hey, who needs more friends when your time can be spent making money? (psst: friends may not make you rich, but they'll make you wealthy in the ways that really matter.) Toby, I'm sorry that I ripped-up part of the book you sent me. But I need it on my desk where I can always see it. Hope you understand.

P.S.: Speaking of newfound friends...over the next month (and some in the next week!), I have Sean Howard (Toronto, CA), Liz Strauss (Chicago, US), Kris Hoet (Brussels, BE) and Mark Goren (Ontario, Montreal, CA) coming to town. Mark Goren is really coming to meet Kris Hoet, but hey, I get to hang with them, too! Thanks for making time for me while you're in the Big Apple folks; that's the mark of a true friend.

The world gets smaller (mindblob, me & NYC)

NYC really is the city of dreams. Some dreams are inspired here, others are imported here. And speaking of imports: last Saturday, one of my dearest blogger friends--Luc Debaisieux from "Mindblob" blog--hopped a jet from Belgium and showed up to surprise me as part of the "momma tree" dedication.

Was I surprised? I was in flat-out shock. My hands flew to my face and I was gasping like I won the darn lottery and I kept turning in circles. I remember saying "are you in town on business?"..."are you here for vacation?" I couldn't comprehend that he came in for me. I just couldn't process it. Heck I'm still processing it.

Folks, he hopped a flight (16 hours round trip in 3 days!), missed work and went a weekend without seeing his beautiful family to be able to meet me along with Drew, David, Valeria and Lewis.

The thing is, one of my blogger dream meetups came true. (But I'll get to that in a minute.)

After I stopped screaming when I first saw him and was semi out of shock I asked him, "So how many times have you been to NYC?" Luc has lived in the U.S. before...but he never spent time in New York. And he was leaving the next day as he could only come in for a quick stop. So after lunch I went into tourist-guide-on-steroids mode...

We saw Rockefeller Center and I showed him the art deco of the period (and where they covered-up Diego Rivera's artwork those darn capitalists!), St. Patrick's Cathedral, Bryant Park, The NYC Library, Madison Square Garden, The Old Post Office, Times Square, Hell's Kitchen area, Columbus Circle, one of my favorite sushi restaurants (yum) and one of my favorite Russian Vodka Rooms (yum x 2).

And we did all that in about 8 or 9 hours.

Funny thing, even though we took a lot in, it wasn't at all like we were rushed--and it was like we were such good friends. Why? Because we ARE such good friends. We've been reading each other's blogs and corresponding for about a year. He's not only a thoughtful, thought-provoking marketer and creative professional...Luc can "see" and identify things that would otherwise miss my radar entirely.

I'm so much better getting to see the world through his eyes. (And so many of your eyes, too.)

Luc is just as dashingly handsome, genuine and brilliant as he is on his blog. And his mother really loved the post I wrote on momma--and you know how happy that made me (Mack's mom also loved it!).

Luc explained he made the decision to meet me a reality. And that's all it took. Decisions and realities are actually a lot easier than we make them out to be. Who'd a thunk it? Told you I learn a lot through his eyes. The lesson the blogosphere taught me? It's a small world. The lesson Luc's visit taught me? We need to start acting like it.

Luc, you totally friggin' rock the world for all the lessons you've taught me--but you kick some serious butt for getting yours over here. Thanks for making one of my dreams come true.

PS: Kris and Philippe, being that you both live in Brussels, how weird is it that I've met Luc but you guys haven't? Yeah, it's just wrong. Please consider this a formal invitation (action point?) for you guys to do a coffee (or martini) hour over the next month. And Kris is coming to NYC in July, so Philippe better get with the program and visit soon ;-).

A (momma!) tree grows full of joy.

I was thinking this Memorial Day Weekend had a Meetup in store for me with the likes of such groovy bloggers as Drew McLellan, David Reich, Valeria Maltoni and Lewis Green. What's most neat is that I've met them all before so we get to meetup again...and they get to meet one another for the first time (except that David and Valeria had met previously at our Manhattan Blogger Meetup a few months back).

Yep, a fun lunch on Saturday in the Bryant Park Area--right behind NYC's famed library--is the treat I thought I was in for. Um, no...you bloggers sure are sneaky! As the case turned out, I was in for the most giving act of human kindness I'll likely ever witness. Best of all, I can witness it again and again. (So can you when you're in NYC).

Thanks to the boundless grace of many bloggers (listed below), my mother is now commemorated and honored in New York City with her own tree (for those new to my blog, my mother died suddenly 8 weeks ago--a tribute with pictures of her is here). But it's more than a tree. It's a sanctuary. More than that, the tree has been planted in a park in Spanish Harlem which is in a part of the city that is