Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Back on Track after a Long Hot Summer


After several promptings from friends and colleagues, I am back on track and will now post here on a regular (at least once a week) basis.

Sorry for the long absence, and I won't bore you with excuses or reasons. Just know I'm back.

It has been, to say the least an AMAZING summer. iContact celebrated its 5th Anniversary in July with a party for 400 people in our parking lot, a new building sign and a hot air balloon. We never do anything subtle!

LinkedIn Live celebrated its 1st anniversary with 250 people at Mura - a great Japanese restaurant in Raleigh, NC. We also gave away $5000 (not a typo, friends, that's five THOUSAND) in door prizes - including two round trip tickets on Southwest Airlines.

I have been featured on the Biz Growth News podcast yesterday - August 4 - with my new best friend Krishna De from Ireland. An amazing social media pro who was a delight to work with. Of course I met her through LinkedIn! You can access the podcast here - wwww.bizgrowthnews.com

Now to the big news - for the longest time I have been encouraged by friends to write "the book." Conversations about LinkedIn Live, my work with LinkedIn for media relations for iContact, my success with branding using LinkedIn, have all prompted the next sentence:
"So, when are you writing THE BOOK?"

I finally took the plunge when a friend of mine approached me with an offer I couldn't refuse. He has a boutique publishing house that will publish the book. And so it has come to be.

I am hoping for a Fall release, with a possible eBook in the works as well. Stay tuned for more details.

With stories of LinkedIn successes and how others are using the tool with great success, how they have been able to pay it forward and other anecdotes, this book will have many contributors.

If you are a reader of this blog and would like to contribute a story, email me or leave a comment below.

Stay tuned for more details.

Finally, if you're in the Raleigh area, or if you want to come, I will be speaking at the Ragan Communications/SAS conference Corporate Communications in a Web 2.0 World. October 14-16 at SAS headquarters in Cary, NC. More info at www.ragan.com My topic will be Get "LinkedIn" to maximize your PR 2.0 Efforts (their title, not mine).

For now, stay well, stay connected and continue to pay it forward!

Chuck