Last month I celebrated (very quietly - in fact blink and it passed) 18 years of marriage!

One of the things that we all receive as a wonderful gift when getting married is the gift of parents in law and brothers and sisters in law. But how often have you thought that you chose your loved one but not their family.

So how would it be if your mother in law were your friend? In fact your mother in law may already be your friend. But if you are not enjoying the best of relatonships, I’ve got the answer for you.

Today is the book launch of  ‘The Daughter-in-Law Rules:101 Surefire Ways to Manage (and Make Friends with) Your Mother-in-Law!’.

Talented Jazz Musician and Composer Sally Shields is author of a new book called ‘The Daughter In Law Rules’.

To celebrate the book launch today, 6 May 2008, if you purchase the book at Amazon you can also access a number of gifts at no cost from friends of Sally. 101 to be exact - the same number of tips as are in her book.

And for my male readers - this is NOT the book to buy your wife as a present for Mothers Day in the US next week - you have been warned. I am not saying it’s not a great book, just that the mother to your children may not appreciate it in the spirit it was given! A wonderful bunch of flowers, a dinner in fancy restaurant or a day without the kids bickering would be much more welcome (just in case my husband is reading this).

Purchase your copy of ‘The Daughter in Law Rules’ TODAY ONLY (6 May 2008) and you can have access to the 101 gifts from relationship advice experts and success coaches from around the world, as well as 1-800-Flowers.com with a unique promotional code created specifically for this book.

In addition, 15% of the proceeds of this book go to the charity ‘Much Love’.

I definitely recommend you visit Sally’s website - it’s a very engaging design. And take a look here  at how she is using the social media platform of YouTube.com to share her video with tips from The DIL Rules book - and yes she composed and plays the background music herself - how’s that for talent!

And don’t forget that if you would like to know more about how you can create, promote and market your book online with social media, you can join me at the forthcoming workshop in Dublin for authors - check details here for how you can avail of a special discount as a reader of Biz Growth News.

UPDATE AS AT 11 MAY 2008

Please note that the comments on this post are closed due to some disputes relating to this book and I do not plan to engage in any email or online conversation about the publishing of this book or it’s contents.

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Did you miss the conversation in the blogosphere last year about The Age of Conversation - the collaborative book project that brought together some of the leading names in blogging and social media?

One of the fantastic things about the book project is that all the monies raised from the sale of  ‘The Age Of Conversation‘ go to Variety, the Children’s charity.

Well this year, ‘The Age Of Conversation: Why Don’t People Get It’ has almost 300 authors contributing who will be covering the following subjects:

• Manifestos - Declarations, up front, on the Age of  Conversation and why don’t people ‘get it’
• Keeping Secrets in the Age of Conversation - With  everyone talking so much, why do we need secrets and what is the role of privacy?
• Moving from Conversation to Action - The practical steps that businesses and brands can take  to move from conversation to something more valuable to their business
• The Accidental Marketer - What is the attraction of marketing and are there company’s or brands that happen into marketing success? 
• A New Brand of Creative - With the changes in the way  that people communicate and collaborate online, marketing and advertising  companies are needing to reach out and work with a new type of creative team.  What do these “creatives” look like and what are the challenges that they face?  
• My Marketing Tragedy - covering projects that have failed and what was learnt from the failure?
• Business Model Evolution - Just as the markets and  people are changing, so too are the business models around both clients and  agencies - this chapter will explore the implications of the new business model 
• Life in the Conversation Lane - Bringing it all back to  the individual and  how is life in a digitally connected, social world impacting us all?

I can’t wait to read what the contributing authors of ‘The Age Of Conversation: Why Don’t People Get It’ will be sharing - I’ll keep you posted on the progress of the book as I’m one of the contributing authors along side these tremendous people:

Adam Crowe, Adrian Ho, Aki Spicer, Alex Henault, Amy Jussel, Andrew Odom, Andy Nulman, Andy Sernovitz, Andy Whitlock, Angela Maiers, Ann Handley, Anna Farmery, Armando Alves, Arun Rajagopal, Asi Sharabi, Becky Carroll, Becky McCray, Bernie Scheffler, Bill Gammell, Bob Carlton, Bob LeDrew, Brad Shorr, Bradley Spitzer, Brandon Murphy, Branislav Peric, Brent Dixon, Brett Macfarlane, Brian Reich, C.C. Chapman, Cam Beck, Casper Willer, Cathleen Rittereiser, Cathryn Hrudicka, Cedric Giorgi, Charles Sipe, Chris Kieff, Chris Cree, Chris Wilson, Christina Kerley (CK), C.B. Whittemore, Clay Parker Jones, Chris Brown, Colin McKay, Connie Bensen, Connie Reece, Cord Silverstein, Corentin Monot, Craig Wilson, Daniel Honigman, Dan Goldstein, Dan Schawbel, Dana VanDen Heuvel, Dan Sitter, Daria Radota Rasmussen, Darren Herman, Darryl Patterson, Dave Davison, Dave Origano, David Armano, David Bausola, David Berkowitz, David Brazeal, David Koopmans, David Meerman Scott, David Petherick, David Reich, David Weinfeld, David Zinger, Deanna Gernert, Deborah Brown, Dennis Price, Derrick Kwa, Dino Demopoulos, Doug Haslam, Doug Meacham, Doug Mitchell, Douglas Hanna, Douglas Karr, Drew McLellan, Duane Brown, Dustin Jacobsen, Dylan Viner, Ed Brenegar, Ed Cotton, Efrain Mendicuti, Ellen Weber, Emily Reed, Eric Peterson, Eric Nehrlich, Ernie Mosteller, Faris Yakob, Fernanda Romano, Francis Anderson, G. Kofi Annan, Gareth Kay, Gary Cohen, Gaurav Mishra, Gavin Heaton, Geert Desager, George Jenkins, G.L. Hoffman, Gianandrea Facchini, Gordon Whitehead, Graham Hill, Greg Verdino, Gretel Going & Kathryn Fleming, Hillel Cooperman, Hugh Weber, J. Erik Potter, J.C. Hutchins, James Gordon-Macintosh, Jamey Shiels, Jasmin Tragas, Jason Oke, Jay Ehret, Jeanne Dininni, Jeff De Cagna, Jeff Gwynne, Jeff Noble, Jeff Wallace, Jennifer Warwick, Jenny Meade, Jeremy Fuksa, Jeremy Heilpern, Jeremy Middleton, Jeroen Verkroost, Jessica Hagy, Joanna Young, Joe Pulizzi, Joe Talbott, John Herrington, John Jantsch, John Moore, John Rosen, John Todor, Jon Burg, Jon Swanson, Jonathan Trenn, Jordan Behan, Julie Fleischer, Justin Flowers, Justin Foster, Karl Turley, Kate Trgovac, Katie Chatfield, Katie Konrath, Kenny Lauer, Keri Willenborg, Kevin Jessop, Kris Hoet, Krishna De, Kristin Gorski, Laura Fitton, Laurence Helene Borei, Lewis Green, Lois Kelly, Lori Magno, Louise Barnes-Johnston, Louise Mangan, Louise Manning, Luc Debaisieux, Marcus Brown, Mario Vellandi, Mark Blair, Mark Earls, Mark Goren, Mark Hancock, Mark Lewis, Mark McGuinness, Mark McSpadden, Matt Dickman, Matt J. McDonald, Matt Moore, Michael Hawkins, Michael Karnjanaprakorn, Michelle Lamar, Mike Arauz, Mike McAllen, Mike Sansone, Mitch Joel, Monica Wright, Nathan Gilliatt, Nathan Snell, Neil Perkin, Nettie Hartsock, Nick Rice, Oleksandr Skorokhod, Ozgur Alaz, Paul Chaney, Paul Hebert, Paul Isakson, Paul Marobella, Paul McEnany, Paul Tedesco, Paul Williams, Pet Campbell, Pete Deutschman, Peter Corbett, Phil Gerbyshak, Phil Lewis, Phil Soden, Piet Wulleman, Rachel Steiner, Sreeraj Menon, Reginald Adkins, Richard Huntington, Rishi Desai, Beeker Northam, Rob Mortimer, Robert Hruzek, Roberta Rosenberg, Robyn McMaster, Roger von Oech, Rohit Bhargava, Ron Shevlin, Ryan Barrett, Ryan Karpeles, Ryan Rasmussen, Sam Huleatt, Sandy Renshaw, Scott Goodson, Scott Monty, Scott Townsend, Scott White, Sean Howard, Sean Scott, Seni Thomas, Seth Gaffney, Shama Hyder, Sheila Scarborough, Sheryl Steadman, Simon Payn, Sonia Simone, Spike Jones, Stanley Johnson, Stephen Collins, Stephen Cribbett, Stephen Landau, Stephen Smith, Steve Bannister, Steve Hardy, Steve Portigal, Steve Roesler, Steven Verbruggen, Steve Woodruff, Sue Edworthy, Susan Bird, Susan Gunelius, Susan Heywood, Tammy Lenski, Terrell Meek, Thomas Clifford, Thomas Knoll, Tiffany Kenyon, Tim Brunelle, Tim Buesing, Tim Connor, Tim Jackson, Tim Longhurst, Tim Mannveille, Tim Tyler, Timothy Johnson, Tinu Abayomi-Paul, Toby Bloomberg, Todd Andrlik, Troy Rutter, Troy Worman, Uwe Hook, Valeria Maltoni, Vandana Ahuja, Vanessa DiMauro, Veronique Rabuteau, Wayne Buckhanan, William Azaroff, Yves Van Landeghem.

And here is a thought for Drew and Gavin who are leading the book project - why don’t we create an audio version of the book, with each author recording their contribution over at Utterz and then posting them to ‘The Age of Conversation Website’ - they would have enough podcasts for almost a year!

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A couple of days ago you might recall I invited you to read the interviews for the book launch of ‘Personality Not Included’ by Rohit Bhargarva.

Well Rohit has created a short list of the top 12 interviews and you can vote on your favourites - and by doing so are in with a chance of winning a copy of the book yourself.

Do go over to read his article as Rohit also shares his learnings about doing a social media book launch. 

You see Rohit is going to present the 5 interviews with the most votes with a copy of the book - and as I wrote about earlier, if you vote for my interview with him, I’ll gift you my copy AND there will be a donation to charity too.

For all the details, mouse on over to the shortlist, of course take the time to read the other interviews Rohit did with the other bloggers about ‘Personality Not Included’ and if you think my interview is worthy of a vote, scroll to the bottom of his post and vote on the poll for ‘Krishna De’.

And for details of how you can then let me know you voted and to put your hat into the ring for a free copy of ‘Personality Not Included’ go here to my previous article and scroll to the bottom for the inside track.

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**SPECIAL NOTICE** - READ ON TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST TO SEE HOW YOU CAN GET A COPY OF ‘PERSONALITY NOT INCLUDED’ FREE

One of the books I am looking forward to reading in the  next couple of months is Personality Not Included: Why Companies Lose Their Authenticity And How Great Brands Get it Back by Rohit Bhargava who writes the terrific ‘Influential Marketing Blog’.

‘Personality Not Included’ was launched this week in the US (we have to wait a month or so for the European release date) and to accompany this, Rohit has used a couple of interesting social media communicaitons strategies.

Firstly check out the Facebook page for ‘Personality Not Included‘ where he shows the community the history of the book cover and shares information such as how to access to the introduction of ‘Personality Not Included’.

The second thing of note he has done to support his book launch is connect to his community who read his blog. He gave people the opportunity to ask five questions about personality or ‘Personality Not Included’ which they could then share with their own communities on their blogs. 

He has responded to 57 bloggers who took him up on his offer - yes that’s no less than 285 questions he has answered to provide more insights into ‘Personality not included’. Take a look at the questions people have asked and Rohit’s responses here.

I am one of the lucky people who Rohit has responded to - read on to see the questions  asked about ‘Personality Not Included’ - and don’t forget to read to the bottom to see how you can get your own copy of ‘Personality Not Included’ FREE.

Krishna: How do you define an organisations personality?

Rohit: I define personality as the “unique, authentic and talkable soul of your brand that people can get passionate about.

Krishna: How is personality different to defining the brand essence of your organisation?

Rohit: This is a great question.  Defining your brand essence is essentially about your key messages and what your brand will stand for.  There is also a creative element of this, but it is largely strategic. 

Your personality, in contrast, are the values that your brand lives every day.  It is the voices of the individuals within your company.  It is what your office space and your product design say about your brand.  It is a much bigger idea that encompasses not just materials, but also conversations and real people.

Krishna: What are the tangible business benefits for an organistion in expressing a distinct personality?

Rohit: The most tangible business benefit is customer loyalty.  The other benefit is the powerful effect of the word of mouth that comes out of customer loyalty, which any MBA finance professor will admit has a direct tie to increased sales.  

Krishna: How can we assess the personality of our business not in relation to how others perceive it?

Rohit: In effect, I spend the first chapter of the book talking about how to do that.  It involves conducting self assessments (including the “Are you Faceless” Personality Test and several other associated guides).  The main idea is that you need to look into your business from the outside and assess it.

Krishna: What are the three 3 ways that you recommend that business leaders/marketers can engage with social media communications to express their companies authentic personality?

Rohit: I knew you’d have a great social media question for me!  I think the biggest three things they can do are:

1. Have a platform for your voice - rather than just launching lots of things, you need to have a good single platform to aggregate voices

2. Remove the “employee silencing policy” - a made up term, this defines the very real issue of keeping employees silent even when they are in the best position to be vocal enthusiasts about what you do

3. Listen actively - to me, this means paying attention to what people are saying about you and then engaging in the discussion.

Rohit will be joining me for a podcast interview in a month or so’s time so if you’ve questions about ‘Personality Not Included’ be sure to post them here and I’ll ask Rohit your question.

WIN A FREE COPY OF PERSONALITY NOT INCLUDED

On Monday 31 March, Rohit is running a competition on his blog to let readers vote on the Best Interview. The winner will get a signed copy of my book and a gift certificate for $100 from Amazon.

If you vote for my interview here’s what I am going to do:

• Let me know if you voted for my interview by writing about the ’Personality Not Included’ interview series and do a track back to this article. If I win, I’ll put all your names into a draw to receive the free copy of the book. If you do not have a blog, then you can leave a comment here to let me know you voted for the interview here
• If I win and therefore have the opportunity to receive a $100 gift certificate for Amazon, I’ll ask Rohit to replace that gift certificate with a $100 donation to DonorsChoose.org, a charity dedicated to helping teachers do the most for their kids and one that Rohit supports with his Ultimate Marketing Bookstore - so that he gets someting back for a cause he is passionate about as he gifted his time and expertise in answering our questions about ‘Personality Not Included’.

So be sure to vote for this interview on Monday 31 March by visiting Rohit’s Influential Marketing Blog - you never know you could win yourself a FREE copy of ‘Personality Not Included’ which I am sure will be a great read.

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