First thing to do the ‘undercover work’ is to have some sleeping accounts. Just go to the sites listed below and register for an account. You better start making those on beforehand, even when you don’t have a clip to seed. You can put some ‘general’ funny clips on the account and pretend to be a regular user. It’s good to have a history on a site. The longer the better. It’s good to have some activity on that account as well, it will add up to your credibility. Write down all the usernames and passwords and then head over to the Hey!Spread website.

With a simple login, you get access to their service, name your movie, tag it and start the uploading. Hey!Spread will upload your movie to:

• Sclipo
• Sumo
• Sevenload
• Youtube
• Google
• Dailymotion
• Blip
• Metacafe
• Yahoo
• Facebook
• Myspace
• Vimeo
• Revver
• Veoh
• Vsocial
• Photobucket
• Putfile

All the links above go directly to the registration page of the sites, so in case you don’t have a username/password on that site yet, you don’t have to look for the signup page.

Hey!Spread also allows you to add a watermark to the video file, in case you want to brand it for an official release or something. As soon as you start uploading your file, all you have to do is sit back and relax. The only thing you have to wait for is the processing time of each individual video site. When everything is uploaded, you get the URL to the location of the uploaded clip. Just copy-paste that list, put it in an e-mail or a Word document, and go check the views if you need to harvest the results.

As a bonus, you can use the Hey!Spread API which allows you to propose Hey!Spread in white label as a innovative and addictive feature to your users or clients. Allow them to mass-distribute video content over the best video platforms at any time, but still be the solution provider that came up with this brilliant plan for your customer!

Have fun.

Then very recently, somebody said: hey did you know the tags on Spock for your name are [list of all tags here, going up to 30 tags], and that just pisses me off. If I choose not to be on a network, by which law has this network the right to add me and to add tags to my name? Seriously, this is becoming a dangerous precedent. I’d like to compare it with the telemarketing lists of companies that call you to ask for your valued opinion or to offer you an extremely exceptional product. This is wrong. Very wrong.

It appears to me, Spock scraped my linked-in profile and added every word of my work history as a tag. Not only do I think linked-in needs to file a complaint about this, because Spock is leeching on their network, I also think that Spock is violating my privacy by taking data from a site I enrolled to, who specifically promised to take care of my data very well. Spock breaks this promise by nicking my data.

To me, this ties the knot for social networking. Screw it. I’ve had enough. I’m going to make everything private and send emails to every service I did not sign up for that holds my data, to kindly ask them to remove it. Other than that, I think the time calls to have an organization of some sort where you can enlist, a little bit like we have the Robinson list for emails and marketing actions. If you’re on that list, nobody is entitled to add you to their service unless they have specific approval.

Which then brings me to another thing I’m kind of bothered about. I use social networks to add people I know, with experience in a certain field, so I can contact them when I need to. Facebook is ruining this for me. Last time I logged in, I had vampire invitations, zombie invitations, snowball fight requests, pillow fight requests and so on. As much as that seems funny, it’s totally useless and a waste of time. Other than the fact that most of the applications then ask you to invite all your friends to join, which I definitely don’t want to seeing the professional nature of some relationships, I still have my serious doubts about the sense it all has to make. Is social networking really all about recruiting a zombie army? About converting people to vampires? To me it isn’t. And I’m tired of it. I will kick out any entertaining application on Facebook and strip it down to a minimum, because the day this thing turns loco, I don’t want to bomb people I respect with a load of crap.

Today, when you look around, social networking is all about entertainment. The level of seriousness and of trust has dropped to the likes of an average show in NBC or Fox. Now people make lists of best friends, and when they did that, they invite you to compete to become bestest friend. And if you’re on the bestest friends list, you can go through a selection process and become part of an entourage… Jeez. I have better things to do. If you want to connect with me, you know where to find me. If you want to add me, sure give me a reason and I will add you. If you want to send me a private message with a question, go ahead and I’ll answer. But please leave me alone with all the other sideshows and gadgets. Really.

Netcamp is a premier event featuring a series of presentations and discussions about the global world of internet – its implications, opportunities and risks. We witness a new and interesting context as the online medium offers us more choices, an increasingly personalized living and even more interesting business opportunities. We are just discovering a new world ahead of us – join us for an interesting journey in exploring and learning about ideas, practices, people and trends!

NetCamp is the first event in Romania aiming to explore the new business context and opportunities that we are facing within the internet landscape. My keynote will be called: The Internet Reality Check. I’ll post the powerpoint as soon as I’m back.

This context involves new applications, new consumer behaviors and expectations, new business opportunities and new infrastructure needs – a whole new set of variables opening a new paradigm.

TOPICS

The event will cover different principles related to internet, business development and marketing such as:
• User generated content
• The social web
• Communities
• New economic models
• Blogs and wikis
• New media
• Measurability – audience, traffic, return on investment
• Challenges & Issues
• Best Practice

UPDATE: Presentation Online:

| View | Upload your own

Download File

Note: The word FRAM, as used in the presentation, is a term that was coined to me by my colleague Kris, and it means: FRiend spAM.

Note: Even though you can do great stuff with it, I’m no fan of PowerPoints because they make you stick to a structure too much. The keynote was 45 minutes, and a lot more has been said than listed in the presentation. I’ll publish the recording, or link to it, as soon as the NetCamp folks put it online :)

UPDATE 2: Video Impression and ‘Aftertalk’ are online at MicroMiel

Speaker List:

• Niku Banaie, Naked Communications
• Mike Butcher, TBites
• Russell Davies, Open Intelligence Agency
• Regine Debatty, We Make Money Not Art
• Jeremy Ettinghausen, Penguin Books
• Karen Fraser, Ethical Index
• Santiago Gowland, Unilever
• John Grant, BrandTarot
• Tamara Giltsoff, OZOlab brand
• Jessica Greenwood, Contagious Magazine
• Hugh MacLeod, GapingVoid
• Beeker Northam, Bloom
• Steven Overman, Lowe Worldwide
• George Parker, Madscam
• Simon Sinek, Sinek Partners
• Stan Stalnaker, Hub
• Iain Tait, Poke
• Diana Verde Nieto, Clownfish
• Timo Veikkola, Nokia
• Johnny Vulkan, Anomaly
• Faris Yakob, Naked Communications

Check out the site for the full program and the list of attendees that have signed up so far.

• AdOfDaMonth
• AdPawn
• Advertolog
• Brainwash
• Brand Activation
• Glitterati
• Product Global
• PubADdict

Thanks for reading and blogging!

At Social Marketing University, you will move beyond the usual educational approach to changing health and social behaviors. Using social marketing, you will learn how to persuade individuals to take action for change by addressing the values, needs and desires that motivate them. It’s about understanding and connecting with your audience by applying the same effective marketing tools that companies like Nike and Apple use.

Join Nedra Kline Weinreich for this two and a half-day training in the epicenter of social marketing — Washington, DC. By the time you leave, you will have an effective social marketing strategy for your own program and the skills to implement it immediately

You Should Attend if You Are:

• Someone who wants to create health or social change
• A professional at a nonprofit/NGO, public agency or other organization working on health or social issues
• A commercial marketer who wants to apply your skills towards changing the world for the better OR
  A student interested in the field of social marketing

You Will Receive:

• Two and a half solid days of dynamic training in an intimate setting with noted social marketing expert Nedra Kline Weinreich
• Your own copy of “Hands-On Social Marketing: A Step-by-Step Guide” (a $51.95 value!)
• Continental breakfast and afternoon snacks
• The opportunity to purchase one-on-one consulting time with Nedra at a special discounted rate to help your organization implement your plan

You Will Learn:

• How social marketing uses commercial marketing tools to create behavior change
• How to think like a social marketer
• How to segment and understand your audience
• How to develop a strategy using the 8 Ps of the social marketing mix
• How to follow the social marketing process to develop an effective program
• How to use audience research techniques to build and test your strategy, including an in-depth discussion of focus groups
• How to design effective messages and materials
• How to work with the media to get your message out through news and entertainment programming
• How to use cutting-edge technologies to put the new media to work for you
• How to get the most out of your social marketing budget — even if it’s small

READERS OF THIS BLOG GET $75 OFF REGISTRATION IF THEY USE “COOL75″ AS DISCOUNT CODE !

Register here or send an email

Here’s a funny clip to support this project, which highlights alternative uses for laptops. Do not try this with your corporate equipment.

Links:

• Shutdown Day Blog
• Shutdown Day Site
• Shutdown Day Forum

A year ago, EuroBlog 2006 showed that interactive social media technologies – weblogs, podcasts, wikis, real simple syndication, folksomonies, social tagging, personal networks and other species of social software and services – were beginning to impact on communications in many different ways. The 2007 symposium will present insights from EuroBlog 2007, the second pan-European quantitative survey on the usage of social media by communication professionals, draw new theoretical insights and respond to industry feedback by identifying and presenting examples of best practice.

A must for every communication professional !

The EuroBlog conference, which will be held on 16 and 17 March of 2007, is to take place during a larger event, starting on the 15th of March already: the Chair Jos Willems, organised by the Communications Management and Journalism departments of Artevelde College in Ghent (Belgium) and named after the man who started the college over 40 years ago. Artevelde College and Euprera are organising the EuroBlog 2007 Conference together.

If you’re interested in social media and the impact they have on the field of communications (be it in pr, marketing communications as well as journalism), the EuroBlog conference is a must, especially considering the fact that on 16 March the results of the EuroBlog 2007 survey, conducted in co-operation with Euprera, will be made public.

Participants and top speakers from across Europe

Participants at EuroBlog 2007 are expected, as last year, to consist of researchers from all over Europe (including many involved in the Euprera network of academics from more than 30 countries) as well as communications executives from major companies, institutions, agencies and service providers specialised in the field of online campaigns, interactive media, digital communication and issues monitoring.

Speakers include a wide variety of top researchers and practitioners from nine countries. Keynote speaker at the Chair Jos Willems on Friday is Neville Hobson, managing partner of crayon (the first virtual communication agency), podcasting guru (For Immediate Release) and blogger on www.nevillehobson.com.

Register today!

The number of seats at the Chair Jos Willems is not unlimited. So register quickly and make sure you do not miss out on this unique opportunity to sharpen your knowledge on social media as well networking with a fine selection of people with whom you share professional interests.

English speaking people, go to the page ‘Information in English’ on the site where you will find more details regarding the programme, the location, the registration fees and so on.

Keynote speakers on Thursday and Friday

• Tom De Bruyne
  Senior Strategic Planner i-merge
• Clo Willaerts
  Marketing and Communications Manager Skynet
• Luc Van Braekel
  Entrepreneur and famous blogger
• (pdw)
  Former journalist, tv producer and blogger
• Neville Hobson
  Blogger, podcasting guru and co-founder of crayon, the first virtual communications agency

About Jos Willems

Jos Willems is the man who started the college which, almost forty years later, would bring about the Communications Management and Journalism departments of Artevelde College in Ghent (Belgium). He was also one of the founders Euprera, of CERP Education and CERP Education & Research.

See you there!

Mplanet, which will take place in Orlando, Florida from November 29-December 1, 2006, will explore today’s top marketing issues such as performance marketing, new customer reality, morphing media and channels, brand relevance, disciplined innovation and new organization reality. Mplanet will offer marketing leaders a chance to learn about new concepts, strategies and solutions that will drive actionable results within their organizations. A galaxy of innovative industry thought leaders (including representatives from P&G, Wharton, GE, AT&T, McKinsey, and comScore) will be conducting sessions at the event. A full schedule can be viewed here (pdf, 574kb)

Mplanet will bring together the world’s most creative thinkers and decision makers—they’re aiming for around 1,000 attendees—to discuss the top issues facing the marketing community today. Content will revolve around six core topic themes that marketers tell us are the most important and most pressing:

• Performance Marketing/Measuring ROI
• New Customer Reality
• Morphing Media & Channels
• Brand Relevance
• Disciplined Innovation
• New Organizational Reality

Mplanet will feature more than 50 senior marketing leaders from companies such as GE, Procter & Gamble, Nokia, Yahoo!, Hershey, Best Buy, Sony and Emerson. The event will be held at the Walt Disney World Dolphin Resort in Orlando, Fla.
With Mplanet, AMA (American Marketing Association) will create a new definition of “trade show.” Each element of Mplanet has been strategically and creatively planned. The result is an event that is new, exciting, meaningful…and a bit different.

The American Marketing Association created Mplanet because consumers and businesses are holding marketers to a higher standard of effectiveness. According to research done by AMA in the past few years, marketers seek an event that delivers more than talking heads and Power Point presentations. To help marketers succeed, the AMA is providing personally relevant insight and tools from experts and their peers.

The AMA is the largest professional association for senior marketing practitioners, researchers and academia in North America with more than 38,000 members. No other marketing association has the depth and breadth of resources, education, training and knowledge to convene a conference as ambitious and unique as Mplanet. AMA created Mplanet in partnership with McKinsey & Company, The Wharton School and SpencerStuart, all of whom provided key input into the program direction and content.

The cool thing about Mplanet is that in fact it’s an “un-conference”. Attendees will be immersed in a podium-free environment, and they’ll participate in free-form talks, town hall forums, talk shows…engaging formats. Secondly, the content is new and fresh. This is not information you’ve heard at previous events. Lastly, attendees will not be thrown into a drab conference room and talked at. The moment you enter Mplanet, you’re in a new world. From an inviting registration area infused with orange essence that immediately stimulates the senses, to a blue sky and sweeping, grassy landscape providing no barriers to explore new ideas, Mplanet comes to life through an innovative and interactive program.

Again, thank you so much for the invite and the press pass, Rachelle. I really wanted to be part of this and I really appreciate you thought of me to be amongst the bloggers to cover the event. It’s really a shame I live so far away.

The full press release is posted after the jump.

AT&T COO Randall Stephenson Joins Impressive Line-Up Of Speakers at Mplanet™

Innovative Event Tackles Critical Industry Issues and Delivers New Concepts, Strategies and Solutions

Chicago, Sept. 19, 2006 – The American Marketing Association (AMA) today announced that Randall Stephenson, chief operating officer of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T), joins a powerful roster of speakers at the first-of-its-kind marketing event, Mplanet™, held November 29 – December 1, 2006, at the Walt Disney World Dolphin Resort in Orlando, Fla.

Mr. Stephenson will be a featured keynote speaker and will share his thoughts on current trends in the telecommunications industry and how emerging technologies can be used to market products and services in new and more effective ways. As Chief Operating Officer of AT&T, one of the world’s largest telecommunications companies, Stephenson has a unique perspective on how the convergence of wireless, broadband, video and voice is changing how businesses operate, as well as how consumers receive information and entertainment. Stephenson has been with AT&T for more than 20 years, and previously served as a senior vice president of consumer marketing and as chief financial officer.

“At AT&T, we’re not only enabling telecommunications convergence, we’re also adapting our strategies to take advantage of the opportunities this new era presents,” said Stephenson. “Our new suite of IP-based television, broadband and voice services will provide new opportunities for marketers to better reach potential customers. Multiple evolutions, both within the company and in the industry itself, provide many marketing insights into the changing nature of this field and point toward successful strategies in the future.”

“Mr. Stephenson has seen the communications industry go through several major branding and marketing initiatives, none more prominent than at his own organization,” said Dennis Dunlap, CEO of the American Marketing Association. “Mplanet’s goal is to create a unique, interactive and educational program that successfully provides insight into the topics most important to marketers. We are thrilled to have drawn keynote speakers, like Mr. Stephenson, to share their views and perspectives on the industry.”

Mplanet, created by the AMA in partnership with McKinsey & Company, The Wharton School and SpencerStuart, will enable marketing leaders to explore new solutions and resources, learn new ways to effectively connect with partners and customers, and understand the future trends that will transform their marketing organizations.

Stephenson will join Samuel J. Palmisano, chairman and chief executive officer of IBM as keynote speakers. Mplanet will also feature more than 50 senior marketing leaders from companies such as GE, Kraft, Procter & Gamble, Nokia, Yahoo!, Hershey, Best Buy, Sony, Emerson, comScore Networks, GfK NOP and others, in sharing innovative ideas and practices with the world’s most creative thinkers, decision-makers, influencers and academics.

Mplanet Program

Mplanet sessions will explore today’s top marketing issues such as performance marketing, new customer reality, morphing media and channels, brand relevance, disciplined innovation and new organization reality. Mplanet offers marketing leaders a chance to learn about new concepts, strategies and solutions that will drive actionable results within their organizations.
Mplanet’s “podium-free” and interactive environment will submerge attendees in content that is tailored to their interests and focuses on current and future trends, and the introduction of takeaway tools and techniques. Sessions include:

“Connect + Develop: A New Model for Innovation,” by Larry Huston, VP Innovation, Procter & Gamble. This interactive session will be driven by Huston’s insights into P&G’s business model for driving innovation that has been instrumental in turbo-charging innovation output. Attendees will learn about collaborating with suppliers, competitors, scientists, entrepreneurs and systematically scouring the world landscape for proven concepts or ideas that will lead to better, less expensive products faster.

“Succeeding In A New World of Media,” a talk show hosted by Tom Hernquist, SVP Global Chief Growth Officer, Hershey. This highly energized, multi-media session will share strategies for developing marketing communications in a world of convergence of media and channels. Hernquist will talk one-on-one with senior marketing executives and new media experts about how they’re leveraging new media/channels to reach their customers and determining the right marketing mix.

“Connecting Marketing Metrics to Financial Consequences,” a panel discussion led by David Reibstein, professor of marketing, Wharton. Join Reibstein and panelists Paula Sneed, EVP Global Marketing Resources, Kraft Foods, Cammie Dunaway, CMO, Yahoo! and Michael Linton, EVP Consumer & Brand Marketing, Best Buy, as they share their success in measuring marketing and integrating ROMI within their overall organization metrics.

“How Worldclass Organizations Innovate in B2B Markets,” a roundtable discussion led by Dan Henson, CMO, GE. Learn how successful BtoB marketers like GE, DuPont and Emerson define and successfully leverage innovation in their companies. Henson will provide an inside view of how GE successfully integrates innovation into its business strategy process and will share specific examples and lessons learned.

“Profiting from Proliferation,” by Tom French, Director, Head of North American Marketing & Sales Practice, McKinsey. A case-study based look at proliferation in market segments, customer offerings, customer touchpoints, communication vehicles and how organizations can use new solutions to capitalize on this explosion of alternatives.

“Elevating Your Brand in a World of Choice,” by Jennifer Dorian, SVP, TBS and TNT Branding and Network Strategy, and Katherine Johnson, VP, TBS and TNT Promotions & Marketing. In a world of fragmentation, full of products and media choices, brands are essential to rising out and above the competition. Attendees will learn how to elevate their brand by using tools such as psychographic segmentation, image campaigns and memory devices to gain higher results and heightened success.

“The Digital Age: Implications for Marketers in an Era of Consumer Control,” by Gian Fulgoni, Chairman & Co-founder, comScore Networks. An up-to-date overview, fresh insight and marketing interpretation of the key trends, both current and future, in how consumers use the Internet. Gian will look at trends in online shopping, use of search and streaming audio/video, emergence of social networking sites, growth of global Internet usage patterns, the effectiveness of online messaging and much more. He also will examine the role of consumer-generated media in marketing communications, the issue of consumer trust and adapting to a consumer-controlled environment and what all of this means to marketers.

Those who wish to register for Mplanet can visit www.mplanet2006.com or by calling 800-AMA-1150.

About the American Marketing Association:

The American Marketing Association (AMA) is the largest marketing association in North America. It is a professional association for individuals and organizations involved in the practice, teaching and study of marketing worldwide. It is also the source that marketers turn to every day for information/resources, education/training and professional networking. AMA members are connected to a network of experienced marketers nearly 40,000 strong and include leading marketing academics, researchers and practitioners from every industry.

AMA offers highly acclaimed seminars, workshops and Hot Topic events focused on the immediate needs of marketers, as well as trends shaping the future. AMA’s website, MarketingPower.com, is the everyday connection to marketing data, articles, case studies, best practices and a robust job bank. The AMA also is the source for the field’s top magazines and journals, including Marketing News. AMA local chapters keep members in touch with the best people and the best practices. For more information on the AMA, please visit www.MarketingPower.com

Simon McDermott from Attentio.com will be your host, and he’s inviting Belgian bloggers to attend. If you have nothing planned or are able to switch some appointments, you’re welcome to join the group at the Strofilia restaurant, which is near Place St. Catherine (Brussels).

Check here for restaurant info

Drop a line to Simon asap if you’re planning to come. [simon at attentio dot com]

Yes, in come the media. Reuters and BigBrother have made their moves, now it’s time for the another tabloids to follow. Axel Springer, the publisher of Germany’s top-selling Bild newspaper, is poised to launch a weekly paper designed to sate the virtual population’s appetite for news and gossip.

Due to be launched in December, the paper will be written in English and is estimated to cost between 10 and 15 Linden dollars. It will likely be sold by subscription – posted into mailboxes across the virtual parallel universe. Mr Springer plans to construct an online editorial office for SL News. A real editor-in-chief will then recruit a team of roving reporters from among the avatar community.

It’s a good thing they’ll be scouting for stories within the community and that in fact a lot of the news will be produced by residents. It’ll be only a matter of filtering out the junk. Oh no wait. That’s exactly what a tabloid is going to publish. How long ’til we have paparazzi that’ll be stalking ‘famous’ avatars to take snapshots as they enter nudie bars?

“It will be a colourful tabloid, with snippets about showbusiness and human interest tales from the avatar world,” explained Dirk Meyer-Bosse, a spokesman for the German publishing giant.

Read more on The Guardian | via SmartMobs

Check out the “BigBrother in Second Life” site

Given P&G’s clients comprise A-list supermarkets like Tesco, J.Sainsbury Asda and Boots, the cave is able to recreate, in every detail, the interior of these high street stores, The FT reported.

Cave visitors can walk through and explore the aisles, ‘picking’ products that catch their eye, or turning them round to read labels or sell by dates before they proceed to checkout to ‘buy.’

As consumers explore their familiar shopping worlds, albeit virtual, watchful marketers at P&G are tweaking the store layouts, displays, product design and overall packaging.

Interesting as that sounds, P&G is once again giving it’s own interpretation on the theme that has been proven to be succesful for other web services. Just like the launch of Tremor, their own word of mouth network, The Cave is very similar to what is now going on in Second Life. It’s the idea that counts, but rather than following the other brands into the Second Life saga and creating the experience on location, P&G fights swims against the stream and chooses to create it’s own virtual world, of which they’ll have full control.

“In three months we have done work that would previously have taken us two years,” Gianni Ciserani, P&G’s general manager for UK& Ireland said in an interview with The Financial Times.

He added that before the virtual cave, the company would need to persuade one of their retail clients to overturn one of their stores for a pilot – an experiment that means time and money for both parties. (read more via CustomerWorld)

That said, the industry in Second Life is booming as never before. Three months prior to the targeted date, Second Life welcomed it’s 1.000.000th visitor. With all these new people streaming in to share the experience, it still requires quite some pc-savvyness to move around and explore what Second Life has to offer.

Very often, newbies find themselves lost in a place with no directions and they don’t know where to go to participate in social events or gatherings. That’s why an online travel agency sees its business booming by offering guided tours to new citizens of the virtual life.

Synthravels is based in Milan, Italy. The concept of Synthravels is by Mario Gerosa and by Matteo Esposito of Imille. Mario Gerosa is a journalist who has a long experience in travel. He has worked for many years as senior editor of Condé Nast Traveller Italy and for the most renowned travel magazines. He is a member of the GIST, the association of the Italian Travel Journalists, and of the OMNSH, a French association of video games researchers, and he has been organizing in-world meetings with famous Second Life residents for a project of the Indiana University. In July 2006 he launched the project for the preservation of Virtual Architectural Heritage.

After a quick registration procedure, you’re invited to list the parts of Second Life you wish to explore and one or two dates/time settings that best suit your schedule. Synthravels then promises to contact you and arrange the guided tour of your choice.

Apart from travelers, the organisation is also looking for guides, so if any of you know some nice spots and cares to make some money touring around newbies, sign up at Synthravels. Your digital red umbrella is waiting for you. So are the tourists.

If you think the story ends here, no, we’re not even getting started.

Dutch politicians Arda Gerkens (SP), Zsolt Szabó (VVD) and CDA-candidate Ad Koppejan (CDA) are following the footsteps of the American presidential candidate Mark Warner – who got interviewed in Second Life by Cory Doctorow from BoingBoing – and are trying to run a part of their campaign in Second Life.

In the next couple of weeks they’ll teleport theirselves to places which are frequented often by Dutch people, according to EPN’s director Tom van der Maas. On these hotspots, they’ll be flyering digital campaign brochures in the hopes to win the hearts of the geeks and somewhat more regular Second Life citizens.

Politics is one thing, you can also decide to move your social benefit organization to the world of Second Life. Why shouldn’t you? After all, Second Life has its own U.S. $64 Million annual economy, an independent media, its own currency, and a thriving virtual real estate market that allows you to purchase land and structures. It is reported that over 3,000 entrepreneurs are making more than U.S. $20,000 a year, selling not just real estate, but coding and distributing everything from clothes to body parts for your avatar in Second Life.

Social projects have found their way into the virtual game, like the American Cancer Society who has raised over $40,000 this past spring by conducting a virtual walkathon in Second Life, just by strawling around and making people aware of the organisation, asking them for donations.

To get a bit of an introduction, have a look at this short YouTube snippet of a visit to Better World Island, where you will find Camp Darfur and other social benefit organizations. These organizations are interacting with online visitors to provide education, raise money and offering an alternative way for people to learn about their efforts, all online.

Susan Tenby, the Online Community Manager at Tech Soup, has taken the lead in involving her organization and in forming an ongoing non-profit discussion group on Second Life. She is currently in discussions on an effort to setup a free nonprofit office complex, and is developing a directory and Frequently Asked Questions for nonprofit newcomers in Second Life. (read)

That’s quite a remarkable twist, but not at all unexpected. Where people flock together, a social feeling always occurs, and online communities are very well known for their cooperation to benefits and social events.

Posted earlier on i-wisdom

So what is it all about? “It’s all about the story. It always was.”

Chaos 2006, Future of Advertising Conference is – as the name might indicate – all about marketing.

The lessons of the past ­ and even current best practices ­ may not contain the answers agencies, advertisers and educators need to address the challenges of today.

Technology and cultural shifts have produced new communities, new media and delivery. The fundamental concepts of creative dominance and media planning has been redefined with advent of consumer content and targeted delivery. Clearly, what once was radical is now commonplace.

Chaos will present a series of speakers – some of whom have established the practice of advertising and others who are now initiating the thoughts and methods that are changing it.

Key speakers of the event:

What more do you need to know? Sign up today and save your future.

I talked to Shel about the book he ghost-authored with Scoble (Naked Conversations) and about the benefits it has to offer to companies that still need to define a good and transparent blogging policy. Shel has some really great insights. I’m glad I had a chance to talk to him. I also met Simon McDermott from Attentio and we had a really interesting talk about the brand rumor tracking tools. Too bad I didn’t end up next to Rick because I think that would’ve been interesting as well… Time, as always, flew by way too fast.

Check out the Belga Queen Club

I finally met Veerle Pieters, the godess of CSS and design and probably the best known blogger outside the Belgian borders. In all honesty, she rocks! Also there and in for some good conversation was Jean Philip De Tender who’s currently working as program manager and content coordinator at ‘één’, the Flemish TV and radio broadcasting company. After dinner I also talked to Geert Desager. Last time we met over e-mail he was still working for Tagora (an ad agency), but he’s now working for Microsoft on the trade department.

© Pietel

Some of the usual suspects were there as well, and we had some good talks. Networking kicks butt. I’m so glad I went. I’m so glad I was invited. There’s only one word left: Awesome. No wait: Cool.

Thanks Bea, Kris and Simon for putting this together. I had a great time!

More pictures on Flickr © Pietel
Also see my pics, on Flickr too :)

Update: More pictures from Veerle and Peter

Visit Advertlover.com

I shared a table with next to me Bruno from B.V.L.G. and the guys from the Tech podcasting crew Absurdnet.com. At the same table where Dries (i think) (who used to work at i-merge before they moved to the place where I work at now) and a nice lady who blogs at a fruity place called GeleBanaan (yellow banana). The other head of the table (I sat on one end) was Pascal Van Hecke, who sat right in front of me. [There were some other folks at our table as well, but I didn't get the chance of talking to them, which is way too bad.]

Jeroen organized it quite well, again, and maybe it’s time someone else did a third BlogCom in another city so he could actually enjoy it as well instead of running around like a madman, trying to get it all worked out. Great job dude!

I had a nice talk with some people I already knew like Robin, Clo, Luc, Rik and James, and I got the chance to meet some new bloggers like tantieris and the blokes from Appelogen, an arty project featuring Doctor Wolf, YourMama and Chris Dust. Doctor Wolf, as his name might indicate is ummm… an impressive man to say the least. Those three guys… :) Really :) Wow.

I also met the team behind TenderFeelings and HungryFeelings, and I’m quite impressed about the results they made with their out of control hobby project. I’ll try to keep an eye on that more often.

Somewhere later in the evening, Kris Hoet from MSN managed to drop in on his way home from his trip to Amsterdam and also the most famous chest in the blogosphere, Schenkr, and the sophisticated Mister Druppels arrived to have a little chat.

Amongst other people that were there were also the Netlash team, MouseOver, Asfaltkonijn on a marketing frenzy with balloons and Pietel.

Last but not least, I had a really interesting chat with Stefan Kölgen about how f*cking hard it can be to produce something that Coolz0r would blog [not hard at all, just send email :) ] and about the importancy of the upcoming event they’re organizing next Friday, which I’ll have to pass on to my colleague Tom over at i-merge, because someone should really be there.

I’m really glad I went to BlogCom to network and meet some new people. That’s the good part of it: you come home with a bunch of links and you have a few extra feeds to start reading (or podcasts to listen to). Fresh input, new opinions… That’s a really positive thing.

Lesson of the evening: good mothers always bring the power cables to the Nintendo DS gadgets when bringing along the kids. It’ll make sure you’ll get some peace and quietness, for as long as level one takes. :)

The full list of participants is after the jump.

Jeroen De Cock – http://www.lichtgeraakt.be
Michael Dierckx – http://www.7seconden.be
Rik – http://rikboey.be/blog
Bart Claeys – http://www.mouseover.be – http://www.creativeskills.be
Dieter Vander Velpen – http://www.asfaltkonijn.be
Anne – http://www.tenderfeelings.be – http://www.hungryfeelings.be
Frederick – http://www.frefre.com
Bart De Waele – OndernemerInGent – Netlash – Kopje Koffie
Valérie – http://www.flickr.com/photos/valeriew – http://www.inspiredlunacy.be
Bruno – tienvijftien – flickr
Tom Bernaerd – Schuppe.be blog
Stefan Kolgen – http://www.chipsvzw.be/ – http://www.KandL.be/
Kevin De Mulder – http://www.clopin.be – http://www.moofsbrothers.be
Tony De Telder – http://www.chipsvzw.be/ – http://www.KandL.be/
Ann Laenen – http://www.chipsvzw.be/ – http://www.KandL.be/
Robin Wauters – MarketingBlog.eu – Gizmodo.be
Wesley Cabus – http://about.pirho.be
dramoghe – http://dramoghe.wordpress.com
James – denjames – blogsaland
Iris – www.tantieris.blogspot.com
Iphi – http://www.iphimeda.be
Andy – http://blog.crowolf.org
Bert Pattyn – http://www.druivensuiker.be
Jurgen – http://www.ikbenpink.be
Vincent Latré – http://www.webstermc.be
Nick De Mey – http://www.mouseover.be
Clo Willaerts – http://www.bnox.be
Peter Dedecker – http://peterdedecker.net
Mark Creeten – http://www.gigadesign.be – http://www.gigastyle.be
nathalie – http://kleinekeizerin.blogspot.com
Jeronimo aka Lord CMS – http://cms.skynetblogs.be
Sven Marievoet – www.adhese.com
Matthias Vandermaesen – http://www.netsensei.nl
Luc Van Braekel – http://lvb.net
Frédéric De Vries – http://druppels.be
Karel Titeca – Webpalet
Christophe – http://www.voetbalenzo.be – Christophe3.0 – flickr
Thorgal – http://www.tenderfeelings.be – http://livelongandprosper.deviantart.com/gallery/
Dries – http://dries.ulyssis.org/rpm
yab – http://gelebanaan.blogspot.com
Bruno – http://bvlg.blogspot.com
Sofie Van Tendeloo – http://www.xulon.info
Pieter De Wit – http://pieter.blogsource.com
Wim Le Page – http://absurdnet.com
Olaf Muliawan – http://absurdnet.com
Johan Pauwels – http://absurdnet.com
Goya Bauwens – askatasuna.be
Chris Dust – appelogen.be
Dokter Wolf – appelogen.be
Uw Moeder – appelogen.be
Bjorn – www.outrospective.be
Pascal Van Hecke – http://pascal.vanhecke.info
Pieter Baert – Pietel.be & PieterBaert.be

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Commercial credits: T-Viral

Less than three months after launching its quasi-social-networking site aimed at teens, Wal-Mart has shut down the Hub. [...] “The Hub” was designed by Wal-Mart to allow teens to “express their individuality” but it screened all the content, informed parents when their children joined and forbade users to e-mail one another. [...] In August, the site attracted 91,000 unique visitors, according to ComScore Networks. Social-networking giant MySpace.com garnered 55.8 million unique visitors the same month.

Okay. So let’s put it in perspective: there are quite some cars out there, but I think there’s one missing especially for teens, namely mine. So I create a car, but it has no doors so you have to crawl in the way I tell you to. If you turn on the radio, I’ll make sure your parents know what station you tune in to, for how long and what music you listened to. You can only pick up people who have an RFID chip that unlocks the window, otherwise they won’t get in the car. For evey friend that enters to drive along, I’ll contact your parents and inform them who you picked up, where you picked them up and how long they rode with you. See how stupid that sounds? Yet still, WallMart thought it would work. I guess not.

From the start people have been saying that the WallMart approach isn’t the right approach. Teens don’t want you to talk to their parents about what they do online and who they know. It’s the reason the internet is so popular. You can be whoever you want, talk to whoever you want to talk and block anyone you don’t like. Why would anyone want to give up that freedom, when it’s only a click away?