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Who I want to meet at Social Slam, and why.

by Jonathan Barrick

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Ok, so the title of this post is a bit deceptive because ideally I would like to meet everyone at Social Slam because it sounds amazing, but that’s likely not possible in the span of a one-day event. So, here’s a handful of brilliant speakers that will be dishing out the awesome in Knoxville in April, and why I want to meet them face-to-face and shake hands.

Dino Dogan – Dino’s the founder of Triberr, a tool founded on the principle that awesome bloggers helping other awesome bloggers distribute awesome content is a great thing. Triberr is a brilliant way to expand the reach of your content. I’d like to ask Dino what the future might hold for content sharing tools like Triberr, and what he thinks about the negativity surrounding automated sharing methods.

John Morgan – John literally wrote the book on no-BS branding. ‘Brand Against the Machine’ is an inspiring read. It provides real-world examples of what it takes to build a powerful and distinct brand with passionate advocates. I’d like to ask John what his opinion is on the power of small brands vs big brands in the age of social. Does he believe the passion of small brand advocates can overpower the big dollars of major brands?

Kim Garst – Do you recognize the hashtag #youcandosocial? If so, you’ve most likely seen it attached to tweets from @kimgarst. Kim is a content machine, producing & curating tons of smart marketing and social business articles. I’d like to ask Kim what she believes the core social strategies should be for unknown or obscure business types that don’t necessarily have thriving or passionate customer bases.

Mark Schaefer – The guy who founded Social Slam, author of {grow} blog and the books ‘The Tao of Twitter’ & ‘Return on Influence’. He’s wicked smart and a class act. I was fortunate to have met him at an event in Toronto in 2012, and I’d like to shake the man’s hand again. I’m not sure exactly what I would ask Mark at this point. His thoughts on the ongoing ROI debate? His premonition on the fate of the ‘new’ MySpace? His views on who the up-and-coming superstars of social business will be? Perhaps by April 5th I will have it figured out.

I look forward to seeing what Social Slam delivers. By the look of the speaker lineup, it should be a pretty incredible day of great content and intense conversations. I would love to hear from any other people headed to Social Slam who they’re looking forward to meeting, and why! What has you fired up for the event?

Brand Against The Machine – A Book Review

by Jonathan Barrick
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After years of relentlessly being inundated by business books overflowing with textbook terms like ‘brand equity’, ‘value proposition’, and ‘positioning statement’, this book was incredibly refreshing and rejuvenating. It cuts through the BS and gives you the tools you need to build a powerful brand TODAY.

‘Brand Against The Machine’ isn’t like any other brand book you’ve ever read. Its chapters are short, and free of fluff. Each one is like an espresso shot of inspiration. The language style is conversational, and injected with humour. Author John Morgan @johnmorgan wastes no time in getting right to the point: Brand-building is going through a metamorphosis, and things are never going to be the same.

Now that communications between customers and brands have evolved and are far more powerful, far faster, and far more widespread, the branding methodology we’ve traditionally used is being shaken to its core. No longer are brands determined by the company’s positioning statement, but rather what your consumers say and think. They are the judge of what your brand is. You don’t tell them, they tell you.

Morgan’s book isn’t a preachy view from 30,000ft. It provides real-world examples of branding successes and failures using methods that are far from mainstream. One of the most poignant lessons I took away from BATM is to let go of our reliance on the ‘tried and true’. Take a chance, take a risk, and try something that’s never been done before. The most memorable and powerful brands are the ones who break from the mainstream and zig when everyone else zags.

Without a doubt, you will be inspired by this book. Each chapter attacks one particular branding issue or challenge, and will leave you with a simple concept that makes you confident that ‘Yes, we CAN try that’. Brand Against The Machine will undoubtedly be one of those books you keep on your desk or in your office and will be read and re-read time and time again. If you want to know what it takes to build a remarkable brand in 2012 and beyond, you need this book. Part roadmap; Part wake-up call; All awesome.

Find Brand Against The Machine on Amazon

More great stuff from John Morgan

Note: This review was not solicited in any way. My copy of Brand Against The Machine was purchased personally.


This review originally written for http://crowdshifter.com