Join me at the second launch event of Chat Republic.
Date: 15 Nov 2013
Venue: Gold Bar Espresso.
Address: 3141 S McClintock Dr, Tempe, AZ 85282 (map)
Tel: 480.839.3082
Time: 6:00 pm (Mountain Standard Time)
Live streaming video by Ustream
If you don’t see the video, click here: http://ustre.am/16VPC
I did a search of books on social media, and there are (get ready for this) 286,797 books out there on Amazon. That’s about 119,000 more people than the population of Tempe, Arizona.
No shortage of experts, too, in this vast field of social media. B.L. Ochman, writing for Advertising Age recently noted that there are 181,000 Social Media ‘Gurus,’ ‘Ninjas,’ ‘Masters,’ and ‘Mavens’ on Twitter.
She rightly suggests that we are on guru overload.
“The fact remains: a guru is something someone else calls you, not something you call yourself.”
I cannot agree with her more, and made this point when I was speaking in Sri Lanka earlier in June. The media like to call anyone who address an audience as a guru and I had to debunk the notion, much to the alarm of some.
You would imagine that, with so many experts and gurus, we ought to have found the perfect recipe for using social media. But we haven’t. And will never quite get it, for the simple reason that the goal posts are constantly being moved. There are no seven golden rules. There is no no lost manual
I address this because whenever I am asked what Chat Republic is about, I could come up with a pat answer that might fit onto the back of a business card, or make a nice elevator speech. But I try to resist this. I’m sorry, I don’t give that elevator speech, because:
(a) That would imply this is a one-size-fits-all book
(b) That something as wide –and murky–as social media could be given the Cliff Notes treatment, or be condensed into 140-characters
If someone is looking for that, I could refer that person to an afore-mentioned ‘ninja. There are plenty of them to outnumber the population of Belgium, Portugal and Greece combined!
Following last week’s launch and panel discussion I’m attending another book signing event in Tempe, Arizona.
This one will be at my favorite coffee shop, Gold Bar Espresso. The coffee is truly out of this world.
The owners Dennis and Karen Miller run a quintessential mom-and-pop business, where customers are friends. Dennis is also a prolific author, with some 6 books and counting.
PANEL DISCUSSION:
Join us for a panel discussion on the Digital Vs Analog lives we balance with our use of social media.
Address
3141 S McClintock Drive, Tempe, Arizona 85282
(NE Corner of McClintock and Southern – behind a Starbucks!)
Time:
6:00 pm
Stay on after that, for live Jazz with Jazz Alliance.
Two Irish ad guys found a novel way to raise money for a children’s hospital.
They turned the worst client comments into posters, and held an exhibition, taking orders for prints at 10 euros each.
Find more posters here!
One more way readers may get hold of Chat Republic.
This week, Chandler Public Library began carrying my book.
It’s finally happening. My book, Chat Republic, launches today at an event in Arizona.
Venue: Gangplank, Chandler
Time: 6 – 8 pm
A panel discussion on social media.
We will be live streaming the event here:Updated: Panel discussion on privacy and over-sharing in a social media era.
Panel: Dan Wool, Len Gutman, and on my left, Derrick Mains
I’m happy to announce that this month, Changing Hands bookstore is now carrying my book, “Chat Republic.“
Changing Hands, a community bookstore since 1974 has stood up to the big-box stores very well, and is the kind of place you would want to hang out at, with family or friends.
True to its community roots the store features ‘indie’ authors, and holds events such as poetry readings, music and foodie events, and something for tweens, freelance writers, and philosophers.
I like the deep selection of books and periodicals they carry, and of course they also have a terrific used-book section.
If you’re looking for a copy, and like to support your community, please pick up the book there.
I’ve used several Web conference platforms over the past five years, and many of them have had their good, bad and clunky sides. From Skype and WebEx and Adobe, to those with particularly odd names, such as Oovoo and DimDim. I recently used Join.Me when working on my book, Chat Republic, and its screen-share option was stunningly simple.
But today, for a project involving NASA, and my school, we connected 27 classrooms via WebEx, and I have to say it was one of the most relaxes web chats I’ve ever had. I was nervous, because so much was at stake.
Some 425 children were all agog about being able to ‘Talk to an Astronaut’ who happened to be not just any astronaut, but the first Native American in Space, Commander John Herrington.
Students would step up to the phone (we were dialing in on plain-old-telephones to make sure the line was stable; no wireless gizmos!) and ask their questions, and could see Commander Herrington break into a smile and respond. More about that event here.
I was really impressed with the WebEx platform. It may not have the look and feel as, say Adobe, but it does the job by keeping things simple.
Sure, astronauts deal with instrument dashboards that you and I will probably never come into contact with, but for the rest of us –non rocket-scientists– the simple interface works. Especially when all we want to do is chat, just like we were in the same room.
It has been a few months since I launched Chat Republic in Asia. It’s now time to roll it out, State-side.
So on November 7, Chat Republic will be launched at Gangplank.
Never been there? Gangplank has the fitting ambiance –a cross between a very spacious coffee shop and a technology incubator. I have previously written about it, conducted a live radio show from there.
If you like to attend this launch event, leave me a note here, or use this link to RSVP.
Address: Gangplank, Chandler
260 South Arizona Avenue, Chandler, AZ 85225
Time: 6.00 pm
This year I’m expanding Mars Day (an event I started last year) to the whole school, thanks to the Mars Space Flight Facility at ASU, and NASA.
Students can’t get enough of science. I’ve been amazed at the interest from students as early as in Kindergarten. They already know the name and the spacecraft that put the first American into orbit. Some of them have even begun giving me artistic rendering of the spaceship that will one day take a human to Mars.
Back on planet earth, we are lucky this year to get Commander John Herrington, the first Native American in Space, to speak to my kids via video hook up. It’s a complex set up, making sure we have a stable connection into the library where students will talk to an astronaut, while the rest of the classes watch the event on their smart boards!
If we could chat with astronauts on the space shuttle, or get a live feed from a robot on Mars, this should not be complicated.
Hoipolloireport 