I talked about The Age of Conversation back in November here. It was required reading for one of my Drake classes taught by the Macintosh-loving Tim Johnson.

Well the good folks who brought us Age 1.0 (Drew McLellan and Gavin Heaton), are teaming up again to bring us Age of Conversation 2.0. The original book brought together 100 bloggers from around the world talking about, not surprisingly, the revival of conversation through blogging and social media. All of the proceeds go to Variety, the Children’s Charity.

Well this time around you can participate in the next endeavor by going here. Complete the surprisingly short survey then email Drew to get on the list of contributors.

The story of the first edition is proof positive of the adage “the more you give, the more you get”.

Check it out!

The first edition contributors are:

Gavin Heaton
Drew McLellan
CK
Valeria Maltoni
Emily Reed
Katie Chatfield
Greg Verdino
Lewis Green
Sacrum
Ann Handley
Mike Sansone
Paul McEnany
Roger von Oech
Anna Farmery
David Armano
Bob Glaza
Mark Goren
Matt Dickman
Scott Monty
Richard Huntington
Cam Beck
David Reich
Luc Debaisieux
Sean Howard
Tim Jackson
Patrick Schaber
Roberta Rosenberg
Uwe Hook
Tony D. Clark
Todd Andrlik
Toby Bloomberg
Steve Woodruff
Steve Bannister
Steve Roesler
Stanley Johnson
Spike Jones
Nathan Snell
Simon Payn
Ryan Rasmussen
Ron Shevlin
Roger Anderson
Robert Hruzek
Rishi Desai
Phil Gerbyshak
Peter Corbett
Pete Deutschman
Nick Rice
Nick Wright
Michael Morton
Mark Earls
Mark Blair
Mario Vellandi
Lori Magno
Kristin Gorski
Kris Hoet
G.Kofi Annan
Kimberly Dawn Wells
Karl Long
Julie Fleischer
Jordan Behan
John La Grou
Joe Raasch
Jim Kukral
Jessica Hagy
Janet Green
Jamey Shiels
Dr. Graham Hill
Gia Facchini
Geert Desager
Gaurav Mishra
Gary Schoeniger
Gareth Kay
Faris Yakob
Emily Clasper
Ed Cotton
Dustin Jacobsen
Tom Clifford
David Polinchock
David Koopmans
David Brazeal
David Berkowitz
Carolyn Manning
Craig Wilson
Cord Silverstein
Connie Reece
Colin McKay
Chris Newlan
Chris Corrigan
Cedric Giorgi
Brian Reich
Becky Carroll
Arun Rajagopal
Amy Jussel
AJ James
Kim Klaver
Sandy Renshaw
Susan Bird
Ryan Barrett
Troy Worman
CB Whittemore
S. Neil Vineberg

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There’s been a lot of blog activity around the topic of video marketing this week.

Drew McLellan has tackled the topic twice in a week here and here. The rise in viral videos is evident here. His main questions: What is your business’s purpose for creating the video? Name recognition? To educate? What types of business would benefit from such a campaign? B2C? B2B?

Meanwhile, Beth Kanter is discussing the importance of non-profits developing a Web 2.0 presence that includes videos. She in turn links to an excellent article by Ken Goldstein here. One of Ken’s readers asked if there should be any worry about donor backlash from using viral media. Will it be perceived as too expensive? Just as a business, a non-profit needs to figure out what their purpose is? Name recognition? Highlight a program/cause? Raise funds?

I would argue the costs of making a video could be kept minimal and still be effective. Some of the best videos on YouTube are successful because they lack the fit and polish of a typical television commercial. Check this one out:

Short, sweet, to the point.

YouTube has even established a page with tools specifically for non-profits to get going with videos at www.youtube.com/nonprofits.

What do you think? As a donor, would you be comfortable with your charitable giving being used to fund a video or viral campaign?

And in the end
The love you take
Is equal to the love you make. – The Beatles

Do you agree or disagree with Sir Paul? How are you putting this philosophy into action?