Making social media work

I'm a real neophyte when it comes to social media. I stumble around to discover paths that others have traversed easily for ages.  So I was surprised that American and former colleague Drew McLellan welcomed me as one of the authors for Age of Conversation 3, the third edition of a book he and Australian Gavin Heaton planned to produce.

Just released, Age of Conversation 3 (www.ageofconversation.com) involves 171 marketing blog authors from 15 countries who bring the online marketing conversation to print. The blog-length (only 400 words each) essays in the book address aspects of social media as a staple in the modern marketing toolbox.

My own essay The Social Networking Super Highway joins others in the section on Getting to Work. I draw an analogy between learning to drive and speaking a new language. Social media has been a new language for me. Learning to drive and speaking a new language both require practice. The more practice, the more adapt you become. Much of the social media learning comes from watching what others do and learning from them.

Even those of us who've been around the block more than once can learn the language of social media. I would argue that we not only can, we must. Age of Conversation 3 lets you listen in on voices worldwide as we discuss the what, where, and how of social media. I invite you to grab a cup of coffee and join us!