Internet Geek Girl

Every week Lisa Picarille, the Editor-in Chief of Revenue Magazine and Shawn Collins, the Co-founder of Affiliate Summit host the leading affiliate industry podcast, Affiliate Thing . Last Wednesday, while Shawn was at Affiliate Summit London, I served as substitute co-host. Our guest was Heather Paulson, long-time affiliate marketing veteran, who recently launched her own company, Paulson Management Group. The Affiliate Thing Ladies Show was a blast to do. Please click here for a listen.

BTW – when deciding to pay homage to my favorite childhood show, Charlie’s Angels, I specifically went old-school. (A dedcication to my cute little twin sisters who spent years running around the house with me, dressed up in our mom’s cloths, with water guns in our little black purses. Yes, I ALWAYS had to be Sabrina). FREEZE!

I could start this post musing about the fact that some people I know are still not on Facebook. Can you imagine that? But I’ll save that rant for my next “state of the Face.”

The beauty of a blog is that it’s a quick and easy way to publish information – whether you’re planning your wedding, communicating with your top customers and stake holders or having a web2.0 birthday party (and unconference) in NYC next week. Here you go…..

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Stephanie Agresta is celebrating another year with a new partnership and a new networking event. You are cordially invited to join with business leaders in technology, media, and marketing to explore the latest developments in web2.0 and connect with “influencers” and passionate members of this exciting online community. Be part of the relationship economy and celebrate new beginnings.

You are cordially invited to attend the party on Wednesday, October 3rd at one of NYC’s hottest venues, 230-Fifth.

The cocktail party begins at 6 pm! Weather permitting, we will be up on the rooftop bar. With palm trees and fountains setting the scene at the 22,000-square-foot 230-Fifth, you’ll enjoy the view and the conversation. Otherwise we will be in the Penthouse.

Bring your geek stuff…as attendees will be pod-casting, video-casting and live blogging the event.

The Birthday 2.0 “unconference” begins @ 4:30 pm. Topics will be selected by members and small group discussions will be held in the luxurious and sexy 8000 square foot fully enclosed Penthouse Lounge. Come early and discuss the state of Web2.0 with cool “influencers,” like Chris Brogan, Howard Greenstein, Sanford Dickert and Brian Shaler.

About The Conversation Group:
(Stephanie Agresta, Partner)

The Conversation Group is a new global communications consultancy dedicated to the art and science of participatory media. We work with a broad range of business leaders to dramatically scale their ability to discover, engage and interact with their constituents, wherever they may be — online, offline, and mobile.

In lieu of gifts:
We will be collecting good-will donations for the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Unite and fight cancer!

Steve Rosenbaum of Magnify.net posted a beautiful remembrance of 9/11.

I will never forget that day. It is hard to put into words how I feel about 9/11, having lived a few miles away from Ground Zero and having personally lost friends. It’s also hard for me to think about all the anger and bitterness in the world and how violence begets violence. I understand anger, but I feel better when I see examples of people that took that anger and channeled it into something good. Someone like Amy Callahan and her family.

Amy Callahan, my best friend for 25 years, lost her fiance Scott Hazelcorn on that day. Amy is being featured on The Oprah Show today, highlighted for her hard work creating Camp Better Days, a camp for children that lost parents and loved ones on 9/11. On Oprah’s site, Amy stated:

“A few weeks before [the attacks], [Scott] and my brother and I had a conversation about starting a camp for kids in need,” she says. “I had no idea at the time that it would have been these kids.” To help ease her grief, Amy says she threw all her energy into the camp. “It gave me a purpose,” she says.

For Amy and the hard-working staff and supporters of Camp Better Days – It’s about the kids!!!

Since 9/11 I have come to believe strongly in the power of compassion, love and gratitude. I pray that each of us take small steps to incorporate more compassion, love and gratitude into our lives. I am inspired by the children who, despite the horrific loss of their parents, are able to forgive. If they can do it, can’t we?

I am very excited to announce my participation in the founding of The Conversation Group, a new global communications agency devoted to the art and science of participatory media – blogs, social networks, and other environments where people openly converse. Be sure to also check out Ted Shelton’s post (Managing Partner) and the full press release here.

I am writing this from Santa Barbara, CA where Commission Junction is hosting CJU 2007. At all of the affiliate marketing events I have attended this year, there has been a strong emphasis on understanding how new marketing channels like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter can increase sales and exposure for advertisers. Monetization of niche traffic sources has long been a focus in affiliate marketing. The Conversation Group will provide clients with products and services that help advertisers scale their ability to discover, engage and interact with their constituents, wherever they may be.

In other affiliate marketing news – CJU 2007 is off to a great start. As Shawn Collins reports, Commission Junction is breaking records for 2007! I’ll blog more later on the advertisers and publishers I”m meeting here in Santa Barbara. In a “relationship economy,” events like this are vital for enhancing all of our marketing efforts.

Why is it that CJ is winning business? What is it that makes this organization #1 right now in the space? What should an advertiser think about when evaluating the value of CJ, Performics and LinkShare? How will social media trends impact online sales and relationships with customers?

Stay tuned. Answers to those questions and many more, coming soon!

In Steve Rubel’s recent AdAge post, he highlights an emerging career path: The Geek Marketer. Working closely with the Fortune 500, Steve has seen the evolution of this role within the corporation:

With CEOs demanding accountability and time spent online climbing, chief marketing officers are on a push to embed technology into every facet of their strategy. But marketers and technologists are not exactly two peas in a pod. They speak different languages. Marketers like GRPs (gross ratings points). Geeks like APIs (application protocol interfaces). Dilbert mercifully pokes at these differences. It’s all very Mars and Venus.

Enter Geek Marketers. These cross-trained specialists are fluent in both worlds and bridge them. They are marketers by trade, yet they also have a hard-core interest in technology and social anthropology. As curious individuals, they are constantly studying how digital advances are changing our culture and media. Armed with these insights, they regularly apply them in a marketing context by working closely with brand teams to codify new best practices.

I’m quite familiar with this dichotomy. I’ve had the words “online” or “Internet” and “marketing” in my title for the last 12 years. E-Commerce companies inherently need staff to bridge these worlds, and have had large departments of geek marketers for years. ROI analysis is built into the DNA of those that play in the search and affiliate sandboxes. The intersection of brand marketing, online community, social media and open technology platforms make this world so much more interesting. And to Steve’s point, this new synergy is having a large impact on how corporations are structured and how they serve the needs of their customers.

For all those young college students out there, listen to Steve. It’s a great field and one I have been proud to be a part of for many years – through the ups and downs. I’m not alone. Jim Kukral likes being a geek marketer. Michael Fassnacht named his blog Marketing Geek. This is an dated list, but there’s some good info here: Geek Marketing 101.

I was walking down the street in NYC last Wednesday and I saw a guy wearing this T-Shirt. Well, his was black. But I chuckled and gave him some street props.

Hope all my geek marketer friends are having a good Labor Day 2007. Remember to step away from the keyboard, even just for a short while.