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I'd like to think that dozens of IAG readers have been wondering where Alane is, but I suspect--no, I am positive--that is not the case. Well, I suppose all of us, actually, have been posting infrequently and/or sporadically. I think there are several reasons for this.
One would be the obvious "we're really busy" because we really are. I think all of us have big projects we are managing or participating in as well as any number of the usual workplace busy tasks--and the latter are definitely not worth writing about.
The second is, perhaps, that the biblioblogosphere is a rich and varied place these days, full of interesting voices and writing, and increasingly, overlap in subjects addressed. In May 2004 when we began, there were far fewer people writing about library matters and things that matter to libraries which meant, quite honestly, less competition for eyeballs. We are generalists here at IAG and so appeal to all or no one. Also, when we began, we were the only OCLC staff blogging as OCLC staff and that is not so three years later. There are nine blogs* written by people who clearly or slightly less clearly work for OCLC. (And there are, of course, personal blogs written by people who work at OCLC.)
The third is....ennui? Februaryitis?
And fourth, for me, is that much of what I am reading and thinking about is related to our forthcoming report. So, while I am reading truly fascinating, thought-provoking stuff, I am loathe to share at this point as I, selfishly, want everything to be fresh when we publish the report. But, this is probably silly because not all IAG readers will read the report and it's also a really old way of thinking about writing. Chris Anderson basically wrote The Long Tail as his blog and this didn't dilute the resulting book a whit. There are other similar examples.
OK, I'll share....just not today.
Today, Ben McConnell from Church of the Customer is here at OCLC in Dublin to speak to staff and interested outsiders about his and Jackie Huba's new book, Citizen Marketers.
"A solitary citizen today with a broadband connection and a few cheap tools has a substantially better chance of influencing the public's perceptions of billion-dollar corporations than ever before. With a voice, a vote and a vocation, tens of millions of Americans are involving themselves in the cultural lives of business. The "social media" of blogs, podcasts and social networks are fusing pop culture with traditional marketing, and it's causing all manner of disruption."
Looking forward to this!
*That's not a test. They are Lorcan Dempsey's weblog, Outgoing, Weibel Lines, Hanging Together, BlogJunction, Walt at Random and Libraryman. Updated! How could I have forgotten 025.431: The Dewey Blog. Sorry, Dewey Manor dwellers!
"Today, Ben McConnell from Church of the Customer is here at OCLC in Dublin to speak to staff and interested outsiders about his and Jackie Huba's new book, Citizen Marketers."
Ooh! I'm envious! And I even have a library conference to go to this weekend. Do blog about what he has to say.
If you like the Church of the Customer, you might like the For Immediate Release podcast put out by Neville Hobson and Shel Holz. They are communication professionals who look at the intersection of pr, marketing and other business interests with new media.
It's an hour long show put out twice weekly. I think it lives up to its tag line of being both hefty and good!
Er. Make that Shel Holtz. Not Holz. My apologies to Shel if his alert services pick up this comment!
Hi Daniel....yes, Ben was great! He's a very engaging speaker and had cool shoes as well. Red patent leather Nikes with orange soles/heels.
His talk followed the book in structure, so the gist of his talk is represented there. What thta misses though is the Youtube clips and other eye candy. We did film it so it we make the link public, we'll post the link here at IAG.
"We did film it so it we make the link public, we'll post the link here at IAG."
Thanks Alane! I'm looking forward to it.
Actually need to follow up on this string: we filmed the event, but it was so that regional OCLC staff could also visually experience it.
Since Ben and Jackie make their living on their ideas--and book sales--they asked us NOT to post their presentation publicly.
Now I will say, we're supplying them with a master-level copy, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if Ben loads it onto YouTube, himself. (But it's his intellectual property to do so...not ours!)
So that's why you won't see a link here. But you may find some solace in "I'm into Nuggets Ya'll"