Edinburgh Book Festival: Alice Munro and Margaret Atwood virtually, really, meet Roza Nazipova. August 16, 2007
Posted by David Petherick in : Authority, Blogs, Emedia, Fun, Media 2.0, Networks, News , add a commentEdinburgh’s fantastic International Book Festival was buzzing last night, as a sell-out audience of 600 witnessed the first ever Canadian-Scottish translatlantic book signings, when Canadian Author Alice Munro, in the Bayfield Bookshop, Bayfield, Ontario, signed books for audience members in Edinburgh, using author Margaret Atwood’s amazing “Long Pen”.
The signings followed a hilarious and witty interview between the two authors, both from Canada, which included live questions from the Edinburgh audience.
Due to obvious time restraints, there were only a limited number of signings available, and high-tech met low-tech as audience members queueing for entry were handed raffle tickets for the chance to have a book signed, and Margaret Atwood, inventor of the Long Pen, and a distinguished novelist herself, drew the numbers from the hat.
Just 30 lucky audience members then were able to have their book placed on the amazing “long pen” device, and see and talk to the author signing their book from Canada - who naturally could see and talk to them - all of which was live, broadcast onto large screens, as part of the evening’s event. These tete-a-tete chats will also be added to the Long Pen web site, so that audience members will have the ability to share their chat with the author with a wider audience.
Roza Nazipova, my wife and business partner, asked a question during the audience questions sessions, which was largely, but charmingly, sidestepped by Alice Munro - as to her favourite Scottish or Russian authors, but she did confess to be working on writing about a Russian historical figure. Roza was lucky enough to have her number chosen for a book signing. In one of those odd coincidences in life, so too was a Canadian girl directly behind Roza in the queue, performing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, a lifelong fan of both authors, and who had the sequential ticket above Roza’s winner (103 just for the curious numerologists among you). Naturally, she had booked her ticket online… but due to a glitch somewhere, had initially received the wrong tickets - but still, here she was. Roza had queued for five hours in June to make sure she had tickets for this event. It all seems to have been worth the effort.
Here is the signing taking place, and Roza Nazipova talking to Alice Munro:
Here is the signature (the book’s action begins in Edinburgh):
And here is Margaret Atwood adding her signature and inscription:
And this is the full inscription, which reads:
‘Alice Munro
and Margaret Atwood
did via LongPen on
August 15 2007′
A big thank you to Catherine Lockerbie, Edinburgh Book Festival Director, and all of the technical staff, for a long anticipated event that will be long remembered - not just for its novelty, but also for the wit, charm and humour of these two amazing authors.
And just think of all those air miles saved… 
>> Edinburgh Book Festival
>> Edinburgh Festival (Pocket Tweetmap Edition)
Speaka No Evil: Help stop cyberbullies today with Speaka Points! August 7, 2007
Posted by David Petherick in : Authority, Blogs, Fun, Media 2.0, Networks , add a commentI hate bullies, bigmouths and know-it alls who bash people - especially those new to forums, social networks and community web sites. So you and I are going to gang up on those bullies! (And we’re also going to be nice to people who are good guys and girls).
If you feel someone has made a particularly good or bad contribution on a blog, forum or social networking site (or indeed anywhere online), why not award them ‘Speaka’ points?
Simply add the appropriate good or bad image by using the code
<img src=”http://speaka.org/minus3.gif”>
right the way up to
< img src=”http://speaka.org/plus3.gif”>
in your web comments. Simple.
You may also want to link to http://speaka.org/noevil as a reference, where you will find other tools, full codes for links, and other information.
We’re already planning Russian and Spanish versions. Sponsorship, if you are a non-evil corporation, is possible. Your suggestions are welcome.
“Try nice - you’ll like it.”
David Petherick | I am the Digital Biographer
(more…)
BBC News: Meet the digital biographer. July 16, 2007
Posted by David Petherick in : Authority, Digital Biography, Emedia, Networks, News, Online Communities , add a comment
Having been interviewed by the BBC last week, the results appeared online at the BBC website today. The article focuses on my work for Thomas Power at Ecademy who reveals that I am the “digital biographer” who helps to manage his online presence.
I am glad I managed to embed the term “digital biographer” in the mind of the interviewer, and was delighted it made its way into the headline. (Not least because I now own digitalbiographer.com)
It does sound a little more literary and glamorous than ‘blog butler’ or ‘cyberspace concierge’ I think!
>> Read the full article ‘Meet the Digital Biographer’ at the BBC Web Site
You’re a Nobody unless your name Googles well - Wall Street Journal May 9, 2007
Posted by David Petherick in : Authority, Emedia, Networks, News, Online Communities, Reports , add a commentIt’s official - well, it is if you rate the Wall Street Journal’s front page as authoritative - if your name doesn’t Google well, you can have problems with your credibility - and not just with prospective employers.
You’re a Nobody Unless your Name Googles Well published on the 8th of May 2007, cites the example of Abigail Garvey, who, when she adopted the married name of Wilson, began to be questioned on publications she listed on her CV (résumé) because they weren’t finding the publications in online searches.
In the age of Google, being special increasingly requires standing out from the crowd online. Many people aspire for themselves — or their offspring — to command prominent placement in the top few links on search engines or social networking sites’ member lookup functions. But, as more people flood the Web, that’s becoming an especially tall order for those with common names. Type “John Smith” into Google’s search engine and it estimates it has 158 million results. (See search results.)
Ask.com estimates about 7% of all searches are for a person’s name, and more than 80% of executive recruiters said they routinely use search engines to learn more about candidates, according to a recent survey by ExecuNet. ExecuNet published “Growing Number Of Job Searches Disrupted By Digital Dirt” in June of 2006, which found that “35% (of executive recruiters) have eliminated a candidate from consideration based on the information uncovered online - up significantly from 26% just one year ago.
So, aside from naming your children carefully after a Google search, and including your full name in all online postings, how can you reach the top of Google?
The answer is actually very simple: Join Ecademy for Search Success: - Just create an online profile at Ecademy, and within as short a timescale as a few weeks, by following simple techniques to add structured information to your profile, and adding blogs and marketplace content relevant to your expertise within Ecademy, Google will rank your name, link to your web content and web sites. The cost is minimal - £10 ($20) a month lets you raise your visibility, as well as become part of a strong business network that’s been growing quietly and organically since 1998, when social media really was not on anyone’s radar.
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Why Alan Johnston is here April 21, 2007
Posted by David Petherick in : Blogs, Networks, News, alan johnston , add a comment
There’s a picture of Alan Johnston appearing at the bottom of this blog, because he was courageously searching out truth in a troubled part of the world.
A picture on my blog won’t bring him home. But a picture on hundreds of thousands of web sites might just get the message through to his abductors. It’ll be staying there indefinitely, but I hope I’ll have the occasion to remove it very soon.
SEE YOU SOON, ALAN.
