104 marketing bloggers from 10 nations
author The Age of Conversation, an e-book to benefit children’s charity
Cologne, Germany, July 17, 2007 — In what may be a first-of-its-kind collaboration via the internet, more than 100 marketing professionals who blog from 24 states and 10 nations joined online with other bloggers to write The Age of Conversation, a book that will be published July 16. In addition to the downloadable e-version, the book will be available in hardcover and softcover. All proceeds from sales of the book will be donated to Variety, the Children’s Charity.
The book has an unusual story behind it, involving online connections between people around the world who have never met each other.
Drew McLellan, who heads McLellan Marketing Group, an advertising agency here, has been writing a blog online for since September 2006. His blog, http://www.DrewsMarketingMinute.com is among the 25 most-read marketing blogs in the world. McLellan’s partner in this adventure is another marketing blogger in the top 25, Gavin Heaton. Heaton is the Interactive Director of one of the world’s leading marketing and promotions agencies, Creata, where he is Director of Interactive. Heaton blogs at http://www.ServantofChaos.com.
In March, McLellan wrote about Wharton’s effort to create a collaborative book and Heaton commented, “And it sounds like it could be fun … but you know what, Drew? I reckon between a few of us we could knock out a short book and publish it. All we need is a theme and a charity … “
“Three e-mails later, we had named the book and the charity. It just fell into place, McLellan said. “The Age of Conversation was the prefect topic. The marketing industry is abuzz about how the citizen marketers are changing the landscape. This book captures that new phenomenon,” he added.
McLellan and Heaton, through their blogs, invited other marketing professionals and other bloggers to commit to writing an essay about conversation. They set what they thought would be an impossible goal – 100 bloggers. They received commitments from 104 authors in less than 7 days.
“What began as a comment online has grown into a major collaborative effort by marketing professionals from 24 states and nations, beyond the U.S.,” said McLellan. “Gavin and I were overwhelmed with the response.”
“We heard from people, telling us what they planned to write about,” Heaton added. “We’ve been amazed at the variety of approaches that have been taken, and with hardly any duplication or overlap. This book really explores the art of conversation and how that is changing the face of marketing from virtually every angle possible.”
A fellow marketing blogger in New York, Christina Kerley, had just lost her mother and many in the marketing blogging community were looking for a way to comfort her from afar. McLellan and Heaton decided that they would dedicate the book to Sandra Kerley, their colleague’s mother.
