What's on Page 123?

Tag! I'm it!

Steve Roesler over at All Things Workplace recently hit me up for this fun and interesting book meme.

The idea is to share what we're currently reading or what's on our reading list in the near future.

Part of the gig is to share the sixth through eighth sentences on page 123 from the book I'm currently reading.

Guess what? Page 123 of my book doesn't have six to eight sentences. It has five. And they're not connected to one another.

Hmmm...I'll play along anyways :-)

On my plate is "Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six Word Memoirs by Famous & Obscure Writers."

Here's the entire page 123:

"Happy child, wild teenager, adult anarchist."
"Right place, right time, good lawyer."
"To paraphrase William Faulkner: I endured."
"To make a long story short..."
"Famished, I had seconds...and thirds."

Looking for inspiration? Want to change up your writing a bit? Six word stories are a ton of fun. Especially if you're on Twitter.

So...what's on my reading table? How about 20+ books. (Yikes!!) Here's a few I'm anxious to dig into...

GameChangers
Lead with Your Heart
Life After the 30-Second Spot
Presenting to Win: The Art of Telling Your Story

Thanks to CK and Drew for the following books from Blogger Social:
Stopwatch Marketing
Media Rules!
Now is Gone
Step Into the Spotlight!
Powerlines
Personality Not Included

I'll pass the torch. My turn to tag some folks. How about some Tweeples Twitter friends?

Scott Monty
Chris Cree
Christina Kerley
Mack Collier
Tammy Lenski

---Tom

What's On Page 123?

The Other Half of My Soul

It was just a train ride. Like any other train ride. But different.

You know how it is.

Something happens to you. Something unique. Something that comes along once in a lifetime.

And it changes you. Perhaps forever. Perhaps half of forever. Whatever.

You're different. Stronger. Better. Clearer. Bolder.

You've defined your place in life.

Just a little bit more than the week before. Or month. Or year.

I know.

That train ride leaving New York's Blogger Social told me something happened.

Wasn't sure yet what was different. But something changed. I needed time. Distance.

So I got to thinking about stories.

So many stories were shared. At the speed of light. Well, kind of.

Do the math. 80 people. 20 hours. Or more. 2 days. That's a lot of talking. That's a lot of stories.

17,200 stories I figure. Told. Shared. Laughed at. Listened to.

Heck, I'm a filmmaker. The number may be off. Never mind. Forget the number. Here's what you need to know.

Thousands, and I mean thousands of stories were told.

And lives changed.

So I got to thinking about the power of stories. Our stories.

Here's what I believe about our stories. I've believed this my whole life. But here's the thing.

Blogger Social manifested and crystalized that belief in few hours.

BAM! Just like that.

So here's my DNA of last weekend. My mini-manifesto of Blogger Social '08. And life.

• I believe in the power of story.

• I believe our stories outlive us.

• I believe we were all witnesses to something greater than ourselves.

• I believe our stories bear witness to creating new realities.

• I believe we changed the world just enough to create a new story.

• I believe I discovered the other half of my soul.

Thank you CK.

Thank you Drew.

Thank you for creating a new story.

A story that will, no doubt, be looked upon as visionary and historic.

A new story not just for 80 people to believe in...but thousands more.

Not bad for just gettin' a little social, huh?

---Tom

The Other Half of My Soul

Getting Social at Blogger's Social

It's time to be social in the "real world" with 80+ brilliant bloggers , I mean, marketing people from around the world.

Don't go away...I'll be back soon! :-)

---Tom

Getting Social at Blogger's Social

"Bringing Brands to Life" Added to Guy Kawasaki's "Alltop"

This just in...

"Bringing Brands to Life!" has just been added to Guy Kawasaki's latest adventure, Alltop site. It's listed under the Work/Small Business section.

Alltop is "the best of the web" in a variety of topics.

What an honor to be among such incredible folks, like:

• Copyblogger

• Seth Godin

• Andy Servovitz

• Duct Tape Marketing

• Chris Brogan

• Dosh Dosh

• Drew McLellan

...and many more!

Thanks, Guy! Another dream come true, for sure.

---Tom

Bringing Brands to Life Added to Alltop

Wanted: Your Ideas! Why Don't People Get It?

Well, I certainly have a few ideas why people don't "get it."

But I'm turning to you first for your ideas on why some people don't "get it."

Let me explain.

Drew McLellan and Gavin Heaton were the driving force for the first edition of The Age of Conversation which recently hit #36 in Amazon's business best sellers list.

This dynamic team is at it again.

The sequel to "The Age of Conversation" is titled "The Age of Conversation: Why Don't People Get It?" and is now beginning to take shape.

Hopefully, the 275 authors contributing to this sequel will shine a light on a subject many people are still grappling with: new social marketing.

The call for authors to contribute to the second edition of The Age of Conversation is now complete. As one of the authors for the first edition, I'm thrilled to be one of the selected authors for the sequel.

The sequel will be divided into three sections:

• Marketing Manifesto

• Why Don't People Get It?

• My Marketing Tragedy (and what I learned)

This is where you come in!

My contribution will be under the Marketing Manifesto section.

The question to you is this:
what ideas, themes, issues, concepts would you like me to write about relating to marketing and corporate videos?

As a director who is always behind the scenes, I'm seeking your help for material which would benefit the reader from a client perspective. What is important for you to know about the world of corporate video and marketing?

I'd appreciate any thoughts you'd like to share by leaving your comments here.

Thanks!

---Tom

Wanted: Your Ideas! Why Don't People Get It?