Paul Isakson

Interview with Pedro Rocha / Will It Brand?

As I shared earlier, Pedro asked if I would be willing to answer some questions that he could then post as an interview on his blog. Seemed like a good way to share some thoughts since I've not been doing as much of it here lately. (Working on getting it going again.)

Overall, he had some interesting questions that made me think about some things I hadn't before and that's always a good thing in my book. He broke it out into three posts. You can find it all here, here and here.

If any of you are ever interested in doing something like this, just let me know. I've found them to be fun and thought provoking, not to mention a good way to get to know someone new a bit better.

Age Of Conversation 2 Available Now

In case you haven't read it on one of the other 237 authors' blogs, Age Of Conversation 2 has officially launched and is available to order on Lulu.

Get it in hardcover, paperback or PDF download. Either way, just get it. Maybe twice even. Not only is it filled with smart thinking on how to look at marketing today, but it's also supporting a great cause - all profits go to Variety, the children's charity.

If you're not sure yet, take a peek at what some of the authors wrote about and then place your order. (You can see a snippet of mine here.)

A big thanks to Drew and Gavin for getting this all edited, coordinated and pulled together. And a thank you also to all the authors who contributed along with me for helping make this a very enjoyable experience.

Conversation Agent Guest Post

For the month of September while she's visiting family and friends in Europe, and in celebration of two years of writing at Conversation Agent, Valeria Maltoni has been posting guest-authored posts each day. The posts cover a wide range of topics related to marketing and social media from people Valeria personally reached out to in early August.

Valeria honored me with with a request to write one of the posts, which went live yesterday. If you have a moment, jump over to Conversation Agent, give it a look, and while you're there read the rest of the excellent posts to date. The variety of topics and perspectives is inspiring and thought-provoking. And if you have thoughts on any of them, be sure to leave a comment or two. Valeria highly encourages and appreciates engaging in interesting conversation.

Lastly, thank you Valeria for allowing me to take part in this adventure.

Age of Conversation 2.0 Teasers

Last week, Ryan Barrett put out a request for the authors of the upcoming Age of Conversation 2 book to share a brief snippet of their chapters.

Greg Verdino has some critical thoughts on why this should have waited and I tend to agree him. Perhaps it is just the nature of many who blog to want to share what they write almost as immediately as it is finished.

Anyway... After reading what others have given her, I'm really looking forward to the book's eventual arrival so I can read the rest of their chapters.

Given that, and in the spirit of playing along, here's mine - based on a quote from George Bernard Shaw:

"The reasonable brand adapts itself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to it. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable brand."

The unreasonable brand is something I intend to start posting more and more things about without giving away my chapter as it's something I've been thinking a lot about lately and where I'm going to go with it won't encroach upon the specific sub-topic I chose to write on.

To see all of the bits Ryan has collected so far, jump over here.

Age of Conversation 2.0 Announced

Drew and Gavin have announced the theme and authors for Age Of Conversation 2.0. The winning theme was "Why Don't People Get It?"

I'm excited to be a part of this and I look forward to what lies ahead as it all comes together. Here is the complete list of contributors/authors with links to their blogs/sites. I'm sure many of these names will be familiar to you...

Adam Crowe, Adrian Ho, Aki Spicer, Alex Henault, Amy Jussel, Andrew Odom, Andy Nulman, Andy Sernovitz, Andy Whitlock, Angela Maiers, Ann Handley, Anna Farmery, Armando Alves, Arun Rajagopal, Asi Sharabi, Becky Carroll, Becky McCray, Bernie Scheffler, Bill Gammell, Bob Carlton, Bob LeDrew, Brad Shorr, Bradley Spitzer, Brandon Murphy, Branislav Peric, Brent Dixon, Brett Macfarlane, Brian Reich, C.C. Chapman, Cam Beck, Casper Willer, Cathleen Rittereiser, Cathryn Hrudicka, Cedric Giorgi, Charles Sipe, Chris Kieff, Chris Cree, Chris Wilson, Christina Kerley (CK), C.B. Whittemore, Clay Parker Jones, Chris Brown, Colin McKay, Connie Bensen, Connie Reece, Cord Silverstein, Corentin Monot, Craig Wilson, Daniel Honigman, Dan Goldstein, Dan Schawbel, Dana VanDen Heuvel, Dan Sitter, Daria Radota Rasmussen, Darren Herman, Darryl Patterson, Dave Davison, Dave Origano, David Armano, David Bausola, David Berkowitz, David Brazeal, David Koopmans, David Meerman Scott, David Petherick, David Reich, David Weinfeld, David Zinger, Deanna Gernert, Deborah Brown, Dennis Price, Derrick Kwa, Dino Demopoulos, Doug Haslam, Doug Meacham, Doug Mitchell, Douglas Hanna, Douglas Karr, Drew McLellan, Duane Brown, Dustin Jacobsen, Dylan Viner, Ed Brenegar, Ed Cotton, Efrain Mendicuti, Ellen Weber, Emily Reed, Eric Peterson, Eric Nehrlich, Ernie Mosteller, Faris Yakob, Fernanda Romano, Francis Anderson, G. Kofi Annan, Gareth Kay, Gary Cohen, Gaurav Mishra, Gavin Heaton, Geert Desager, George Jenkins, G.L. Hoffman, Gianandrea Facchini, Gordon Whitehead, Graham Hill, Greg Verdino, Gretel Going & Kathryn Fleming, Hillel Cooperman, Hugh Weber, J. Erik Potter, J.C. Hutchins, James Gordon-Macintosh, Jamey Shiels, Jasmin Tragas, Jason Oke, Jay Ehret, Jeanne Dininni, Jeff De Cagna, Jeff Gwynne, Jeff Noble, Jeff Wallace, Jennifer Warwick, Jenny Meade, Jeremy Fuksa, Jeremy Heilpern, Jeremy Middleton, Jeroen Verkroost, Jessica Hagy, Joanna Young, Joe Pulizzi, Joe Talbott, John Herrington, John Jantsch, John Moore, John Rosen, John Todor, Jon Burg, Jon Swanson, Jonathan Trenn, Jordan Behan, Julie Fleischer, Justin Flowers, Justin Foster, Karl Turley, Kate Trgovac, Katie Chatfield, Katie Konrath, Kenny Lauer, Keri Willenborg, Kevin Jessop, Kris Hoet, Krishna De, Kristin Gorski, Laura Fitton, Laurence Helene Borei, Lewis Green, Lois Kelly, Lori Magno, Louise Barnes-Johnston, Louise Mangan, Louise Manning, Luc Debaisieux, Marcus Brown, Mario Vellandi, Mark Blair, Mark Earls, Mark Goren, Mark Hancock, Mark Lewis, Mark McGuinness, Mark McSpadden, Matt Dickman, Matt J. McDonald, Matt Moore, Michael Hawkins, Michael Karnjanaprakorn, Michelle Lamar, Mike Arauz, Mike McAllen, Mike Sansone, Mitch Joel, Monica Wright, Nathan Gilliatt, Nathan Snell, Neil Perkin, Nettie Hartsock, Nick Rice, Oleksandr Skorokhod, Ozgur Alaz, Paul Chaney, Paul Hebert, Paul Isakson, Paul Marobella, Paul McEnany, Paul Tedesco, Paul Williams, Pet Campbell, Pete Deutschman, Peter Corbett, Phil Gerbyshak, Phil Lewis, Phil Soden, Piet Wulleman, Rachel Steiner, Sreeraj Menon, Reginald Adkins, Richard Huntington, Rishi Desai, Beeker Northam, Rob Mortimer, Robert Hruzek, Roberta Rosenberg, Robyn McMaster, Roger von Oech, Rohit Bhargava, Ron Shevlin, Ryan Barrett, Ryan Karpeles, Ryan Rasmussen, Sam Huleatt, Sandy Renshaw, Scott Goodson, Scott Monty, Scott Townsend, Scott White, Sean Howard, Sean Scott, Seni Thomas, Seth Gaffney, Shama Hyder, Sheila Scarborough, Sheryl Steadman, Simon Payn, Sonia Simone, Spike Jones, Stanley Johnson, Stephen Collins, Stephen Cribbett, Stephen Landau, Stephen Smith, Steve Bannister, Steve Hardy, Steve Portigal, Steve Roesler, Steven Verbruggen, Steve Woodruff, Sue Edworthy, Susan Bird, Susan Gunelius, Susan Heywood, Tammy Lenski, Terrell Meek, Thomas Clifford, Thomas Knoll, Tiffany Kenyon, Tim Brunelle, Tim Buesing, Tim Connor, Tim Jackson, Tim Longhurst, Tim Mannveille, Tim Tyler, Timothy Johnson, Tinu Abayomi-Paul, Toby Bloomberg, Todd Andrlik, Troy Rutter, Troy Worman, Uwe Hook, Valeria Maltoni, Vandana Ahuja, Vanessa DiMauro, Veronique Rabuteau, Wayne Buckhanan, William Azaroff, Yves Van Landeghem