« November 2005 | Main | January 2006 »
December 28, 2005
Wouldn't you like to be at WOMBAT too?
by David Binkowski
The Word of Mouth Marketing Association has 12 reasons (+ a $100 bonus coupon code) why you should attend the Word of Mouth Basic Training (WOMBAT) conference Jan. 19 and 20 in Orlando. I'll add one more: I'll be there, sharing knowledge and giving away a few free exclusive Bob Lutz/GM Blogs/BlogWorks T-shirts for attendees of my panel on "How To Create a Corporate Blog." To get a T-shirt, come talk to me after my panel.
12 Reasons + 1 unusual reason to attend the WOMBAT conference:
- Amazing feast at Disney's Animal Kingdom: We've taken over Disney's Animal Kingdom for you. Enjoy a truly magnificent African feast fit for a lion king (or any other wild beasts). The party is free with your conference registration.
- Nice take-home gifts -- not swag: A really great backpack, golf balls compliments of Taylor-made adidas, and more gifts you will actually use
- Free books from the keynote speakers: Every attendee will receive a copy of books from keynote speakers Fred Reichheld, Bob Garfield, and Scott Ginsberg absolutely free.
- New Yorker cartoons: Get inspired and laugh a little as famous New Yorker Cartoon Editor Bob Mankoff will present a unique collection of the best cartoons about word of mouth.
- Budget-friendly: Cheap flights, resort rooms for only $129/night, free airport shuttle
- Make it a vacation: Bring your family and make it a working vacation. You'll get deep discounts on theme park tickets, golf, and more.
- Free CD of conference audio: Miss a speaker or want to review a particular presentation?
Don't worry. Every attendee will receive a free CD with recordings of the entire event. - Small-group lunch with famous authors: Eat, chat, and learn with the people who literally wrote the book on word of mouth: Jackie Huba, Creating Customer Evangelists Ed Keller & Jon Berry, The Influentials, George Silverman, Secrets of Word of Mouth Marketing; Douglas Atkin, The Culting of Brands;
- Intense networking: Guaranteed real, deep interaction with speakers, experts and peers. No aloof speakers who walk out the door -- we're all here to learn together.
- 60+ expert speakers: There have never been more word of mouth marketing experts
in one place, ever. Everyone you've wanted to meet is going to be here. - 16 real-world case studies: Action, not theory. Hear about solid data, real results
and lessons you won't find anywhere else. - 16 how-to courses: Learn the nuts-and-bolts of actual word of mouth campaigns
from the real experts -- people succeeding in the field. - BONUS Top Secret Discount Code: Use Code "topsecretdiscount" to save $100.
Share it with a friend. Normal price is $795 for WOMMA members, or $1095 for non-members.
Sign up here: http://www.womma.org/wombat
Posted by staff at 03:14 PM
Comments (1)
| TrackBack | Permalink
December 22, 2005
Blogs Bring Us Closer, Sometimes Uncomfortably So
By Charlie Kondek
It's a strange era we're living in when you can read about something horrific in the news and then read blog entries, message board posts and other internet content by the people involved.
For example, in November a 19-year-old boy asked for advice about firearms at a message board forum. A few days after getting advice (and a lot of sarcasm), he shot two of his neighbors and himself. The amazing thing is you can go back and read the threads where he posted and feel oddly closer to the entire tragedy (registration required). (You might also try this.) The shooter, William Freund, left other traces of himself online as well.
More recently, a teen who caused a fatal crash by drunkenly pulling on the steering wheel of the car in which he was riding was caught and prosecuted for DUI manslaughter after prosecutors discovered a confession on his blog.
The latest has been the tragic story of Paul Berkley, a Navy reservist who just returned from duty in the Middle East only to be slain in a gunshot attack. The police have charged Berkley's wife Monique with the attack and her teenage lover as one of the accomplices. Berkley's daughter's boyfriend was also involved in the attack, police say. You can read Paul Berkley's blog, where he writes about the joy of coming home), his wife's blog, and his daughter's blog.
As this technology continues to progress and our society becomes more comfortable in using it, the barriers between real-time and cyber-time will blur even more than they already have. Sci-fi novelists have long envisioned an age in which everything we do will instantly be transmitted online for others to see and comment on, perhaps proving Andy Warhol's old notion of everyone being famous for 15 minutes.
We're seeing the first tremors of that happening, I think, in cases like these, grim reminders of how much the personal lives of people extend into the net. We in the Web 2.0 village spend tons of time figuring out how blogs and bloggers are pertinent to journalism, to PR, to business, but in the end it’s still all about people and people’s lives.
Posted by staff at 11:36 AM
Comments (0)
| TrackBack | Permalink
December 19, 2005
Bloggers, reporters can all get along
The Toronto Star has an amusing story about a reporter being scooped on her own story after interviewing some bloggers.
No sooner had I mailed an interview request to one leading mommy blogger than she posted the news that she'd been talking to "a reporter" on her site. And since my query about why she blogs had got her thinking, she decided to post a long and thoughtful answer, too.
At the end of the article, it says the reporter, Andrea Gordon, will be blogging at thestar.com in 2006.
And she should. A blog is a great way for reporters to communicate and even develop relationships with potential sources. With newspapers putting more and more resources into the Internet, turning reporters into bloggers is an easy way to gain readers who prefer interaction.
Posted by at 11:18 AM
Comments (0)
| TrackBack | Permalink
