Open (minds, finds, conversations)...

“Un-boxing” Me & My Web Shadow – flickr photos…

Antony Mayfield — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 06:50:37 +0000

My lovely publishers A&C Black sent me an advance copy of my book. It’s a huge moment for me personally – feels like getting exam results through a bit: the culmination of a lot of work over a lot of time and something tangible, real and useful in your hands.

In the spirit of all things geek, I thought I would have some fun and do an "un-boxing" set of pics, like people do whenever they are first to get their mits on a new iPhone or nice bit of kit.

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In my hands at last. :-) #webshadows

Antony Mayfield — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:44:11 +0000

Just got home from the CIM event in London and the first copy of my book was waiting for me.

Absolutely exultant…

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iCrossing client event #webshadows presentation

Antony Mayfield — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:37:44 +0000

via slideshare.net

These are the slides from a presentation about Me & My Web Shadow I gave to my company’s clients at an event on Friday.

There should be audio up soon on the iCrossing site too…

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People who bought Me and My Web Shadow also bought…

Antony Mayfield — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:21:35 +0000

…The Wire Series 2, according to Amazon.

Congratulations if you have pre-ordered the UK edition of the book – you have excellent taste

Since I took this screengrab, Anathem by Neal Stephenson and Blink by Malcom Gladwell have been added to the “People Who Bought” section. Me and My Web Shadow is in good company!

Use your forearm as a keyboard (and the rest of your body as a mouse?) [Video]

Antony Mayfield — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:00:07 +0000

via youtube.com

Oh my. Maybe if you get RSI you can do some speed-typing on your forearms as a kind of massage!

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“An open data movement”

Antony Mayfield — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:47:03 +0000

The video below is a speech at TED by?Tim Berners-Lee on how open data around the world is being used from bike lanes in London to elections in Afghanistan. Thrilling to watch…

Open-mapping visualisations and how, after the earthquake, the Open Street Map of Port-au-Prince in Haiti quickly became *the* most accurate map of city following a collaborative effort of people around the world to process satellite data.

The Open Street Map map of Port-au-Prince, Haiti

Thanks to my colleague, Heather White Laird for the point.

Neil Gaiman quote on writing (& life)

Antony Mayfield — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:58:14 +0000

The main rule of writing is that if you do it with enough assurance and confidence, you’re allowed to do whatever you like. (That may be a rule for life as well as for writing. But it’s definitely true for writing.) So write your story as it needs to be written. Write it honestly, and tell it as best you can. I’m not sure that there are any other rules. Not ones that matter.

via authorbobfreeman.wordpress.com

He’s right. More rules about writing at the link above…

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Ad creative as a revenue stream? Simples

Antony Mayfield — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 19:56:52 +0000

The fact that Comparethemarket.com’s Meerkat iPhone app is charged for rather than free is quite cool. That it is in the UK’s top grossing list on the iTunes store shows it is a revenue stream for the company in its own right.

That brand/creative/franchise is clearly taking on a life of its own… Other brand managers take note – advertising creative done this well can become a business opportunity in it’s own right.

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Book news: cover, US launch in June and other bits #webshadows

Antony Mayfield — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 07:40:58 +0000

Off to the printers!

It’s official: Me and My Web Shadow: How to Manage Your Reputation Online is in print production right now… H’rah!

Here’s a shot of the cover that the publisher shared with me…

US publication date is now June

Me and My Web Shadow’s US launch is now set for June, pushed back slightly from May. The reasons for this are all good – and the US publishers sound really positive about its chances.

(If you want to pre-order a copy in the US, it’s a steal at Amazon for just over $10.)

UK launch events

Contrary to my dreams of publishing glory, large and lavish launch parties are a thing of the past. I shall be celebrating the launch in Brighton with a knees up no doubt, but there are also plans afoot for some events in London – an iCrossing client event – and further afield. If you are interested in running a joint event or in having a Me & My Web Shadow briefing/primer at a regular event you run do let me know.

Review copies and competitions

If you are a journo or a blogger I have a handful of review copies available in the UK. Once these have run out, the publisher has promised me some for a competition, so I’ll do a prize draw!

But if you can buy one and expense it/write it off against tax/think of it as an investment that’s even better – it’s just under ?9 and you will boost the sales rank in Amazon (currently 112,000 – though we hit the heady heights of 19,000 on Thursday). Think of it as a slightly pricey vote in the X-factor finals of the Amazon charts with a free?entertaining?and informative book gift for every supporter…

The web shadow of #webshadows

Ironically the web shadow of #webshdadows the book is quite slight at the moment, so in the spirit of the book marketing maestro, Seth Godin, I’m practicing what I preach and establishing the book’s network presence.

Naturally there’s a Facebook group and a Twitter profile now – hurrah! Please follow/fan/connect, if the mood takes you…

The end of Facebook quiz spam?: Facebook continues to add privacy enhancements

Antony Mayfield — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 05:49:57 +0000

Facebook yesterday added a welcome feature to its privacy controls: the ability to control who sees different types of content you share via applications.

The example Facebook’s blog used was sharing a greetings card via an app like someecards – maybe you don’t want everyone in your network to see your hilarious design.

Perhaps it will also mean that people will be more likely to be selective in their updates about quizzes and social games like the massively popular Farmville. While many enjoy these Facebook apps, the stream of updates drive other people nuts and can become what one colleague of mine refers to as “functional spam”.

This development’s another good reason to invest the time in setting up different groups for Facebook friends, one of the approaches discussed in the sections on managing networks of contacts in Me My Web Shadow. While some people keep their Facebook network closed and restricted to friends and family, many of us have networks that include colleagues and acquaintances that we don’t want to share *everything* with.

This is a good move from Facebook: I hope there will be further development in making privacy controls easier to access, use and understand.