Ian M Rountree

Copywriter, Project Manager, Digital Marketing

Trench Notes: Engagement

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If you’re looking for better observation on social media, look no further than Margie Clayman.

Margie’s a blogger, twitter fanatic, and marketer whom I first encountered in #blogchat more than a year ago. Since, she’s founded #tweetdiner, worked her way onto just about everyone’s radar, and produced some truly awesome stuff. Most recently, she’s been writing about engagement – one of the key issues in Social Media.

In the vein of Chris Brogan, who wrote 100 posts about using social media for business in 2007, Margie set out to write 100 posts about Engagement as a study of social media itself, among other things. As of this writing, she’s into the 30s, and still going strong.

Read through from the start, before the backlog gets overwhelming; there’s gold here.

The series starts with “The Engagement Series is Go for Launch“.

Find the archive at Margie Clayman – The Engagement Series.

The #ReadItAll week Challenge Begins Now!

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Today marks the beginning of the Read It All week challenge Justin Kownacki and I talked about last week. For more detail see either my post from last Monday, or Justin’s post about the challenge.

Here’s how it’s starting for me. At 9:47pm Sunday night, I marked everything in my reader as read.

I currently subscribe to 191 blog feeds through reader, as well as follow 24 people’s shared posts. Considering I hit Reader Zero on Saturday, and had to mark 49 entries read to begin the challenge, this may mean I have to read between 175 and 250 entries between now and the end of next Sunday. It’ll be a trip.

Are you participating? Let us know. It’s a big task, but it’s not about eliminating useless feeds. It’s about examining habits and necessity.

Book Review For a Cause – Trust Agents

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If you were around for the original Book Review for a Cause (I reviewed and auctioned off Mitch Joel’s Six Pixels of Separation) then you know the deal. If not, stick around, check out the video, and read on!

Today we’re talking about the wonderful Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith.

So here’s the review:

And here’s the deal.

Go to Skip1.org and get involved. Like their Facebook page if you want to share beyond just here. Skip something – heck, skip the book (reserve cost for this is $20 USD, which is what I paid for the book). Share your stories, and we’ll find a balance between the best story, and the biggest donation, and someone will get the very copy of Trust Agents that I read, along with a short letter from me.

Also, for bonus points, check out Invisible People.tv and get involved. If someone can share a really special story on their behalf, I just may buy you a brand new copy of Trust Agents – or skip the book on your behalf – and send you a letter saying so.

What kind of difference will you make?

Book Review For A Cause – Six Pixels of Separation

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Well hey there, this is book review number three on IanMRountree.com, and it also happens to be Book Review For A Cause number one – so let’s go!

At the start of every interview, Mitch Joel drops the line “So who are you and what do you do?” It seems like a simple question, but as the channels Mitch talks about in the book become increasingly important, formulating an answer to “Who are you and what do you do” is swiftly turning into a complex proposal.

The point of this post is two fold. First, it’s a video book review for Mitch’s book, Six Pixels of Separation: Everyone Is Connected. Connect Your Business to Everyone. Second, drawing from the inspiration of Joseph Jaffe and Mitch Joel, it’s also the announcement of a benefit auction for Haiti Relief. So, first the video, then the explanation of the auction.

If you look really carefully you can see the next two books I’ll be reading on the shelf behind me.

Now for the fun part!

In the spirit of Joseph Jaffe and Mitch Joel’s Keynote for a Cause auctions, I’ve decided to auction off my copy of Six Pixels of Separation, with the proceeds of the auction going to the Red Cross for Haiti relief.

So here’s how this works.

The winner of this auction gets the copy of Six Pixels of Separation I got for Christmas this year – with my name in the top corner of the inside cover (as shown in the video) and a shiny little card they can show off telling people how they came across the book.

If you’re interested in placing a bid, email me at “irountree” at gmail dot com.

I’m placing a reserve of $100 on this auction $35 (what I paid at McNally Robinson) because I want to make a splash. Don’t dally, I’m closing the bids on February 7th at midnight, central time when the book moves! No more deadline; until the donation is made. SOLD! See below!

Fine print? I suppose there must be some.

I’m recouping no costs from this; the book was a gift, so it will remain so. You don’t even have to send me the money – PayPall fees aren’t worth it. Make a donation to any Haiti-related charity you feel will do the best work, and email me the proof along with your address, and the book goes in the mail the following business day.(Updated Feb 6th, 2010)

Also, if once you’ve read the book, you find you’d like to do the same thing with the wood souvenir, be my guest – I’d encourage you to write a similar auction note, and sign your name in the cover to keep the chain of contribution going.

Finally, a Challenge!

If you’re a voracious reader, and have a mind to review books and share more than a few words about them, I challenge you to do the same. It doesn’t have to be for Haiti relief – further instances of this kind of review from me will be for other causes. Just keep the ripples moving forward, in every channel available.

Everyone is connected. Connect your cause to everyone.

Update – March 18th, 2010 – The book sold! A (currently) anonymous bidder finally took the book off my hands yesterday – we have success!

Six Pixels of Separation: Everyone Is Connected. Connect Your Business to Everyone.

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