In December I was invited to be one of 3,000 people to receive a free advance copy of Seth Godin’s book, Linchpin.

In exchange I made a contribution of $30 to a fascinating non-profit that Seth supports, The Acumen Fund.

Anatomy Of A Product Launch 2.0

Though I’m pretty sure that it’s not over yet, the Linchpin product launch is a case study ‘in-the-making’ of how  to create an integrated marketing campaign using influence and crowdsourcing. (I even have a few crude metrics for you…)

The books arrived hot off the presses in early January.

Like a nervous father, Seth suggested that after reading the book once, or better yet twice, we post our reviews to our blogs. Then if Seth liked the post, he would link his blog to ours.

In mid-January, Seth published a post on Early Linchpin Citizen Reviewers.

Besides sharing the early raves, Seth provided links for posting reviews, as well as links to various reviews. (A lovely reminder to get off our collective tails and get some work done…)

Seth took the opportunity to comment that:

” Bypassing professional critics and allowing real people to use the newly powerful platforms available to them is faster, more direct and gives you far more feedback on your work.

Not for the faint of heart though…”

Indeed.

The First 12 Hours

Finally  January 26th arrived and the campaign unfolded in a series of  three posts.

In Why Write A Book? Seth revealed that:

“I published a book today. My biggest and most important and most personal and most challenging book. A book that scared me. It took me ten years to write this book. I’m hoping it changes a few people.”

Phew.

The 2.0 Media Tour, arrived 3 1/2 hours later.

It contained short summaries of his interactions with 40 or so people who were in some way promoting the book…

“…Here’s what we talked about, organized by general theme and topic. There are some overlaps, but I figured rather than talking about my book on this blog, I’d let them lead the conversation.

Thanks to each of these big thinkers for sharing some time with me, and thanks to you for reading! If you find a blog you like, don’t forget to subscribe to it.”

Thoughtfully, Seth created a Squidoo site, The Linchpin Posts to house the love.

Jumping The Gun arrived 6 hours later and I held my breath as Seth crawled right out on a limb:

“I want to be the very first author to announce a new project for Apple’s tablet… I thought I’d let you know early that I’ve licensed Vook the rights to Unleashing The Ideavirus so they can convert it into a multimedia app.”

What a great way to extend your news cycle into Steve’s.

What an insanely great day’s work.

48 Hours Later

This morning,  Linchpin had 116 customer reviews on Amazon and was #18 with a bullet…

…along with the #1 spot for Business & Investing titles.

The book is already available on Kindle – I suppose that the iPad will have to wait for the second edition…

Googling for ‘linchpin’ returns 874,000 hits with the book receiving 4 of the top 10 positions.

If you’re wondering – a linchpin is a mechanical fastener found down on the farm. It keeps one thing from falling off another.

Keeping The Circle Unbroken

Today Seth sent out  a post introducing a new Squidoo site, The Linchpin Index where you can nominate your own linchpin.

The deconstructionist in me suspects that this is part of the launch strategy: the idea being to build on the initial burst of enthusiasm by providing the later-comers (if there is such a word) with new ways to celebrate the linch pins among them.

So far the product launch has been a remarkable tour de force.

I have no doubt that it will continue to delight, as it continues to refresh and renew itself.

72 Hour Update

Here’s a lesson learned about this kind of launch – there are still 116 reviews and the book has slipped to #29 – perhaps high initial velocity can be used to affect the Amazon algorithms?

The number of Google hits has dropped (odd), but the book has now garnered 5 of the first 10 spots. I am now waiting to see if it’s peaked, or if this is a predictable delay while the real grassroots gets, reads and posts.

What Is It…? Review

“It” is an unholy mashup of 21st century angst that invokes the artist as Godhead, Marx’s disaffected worker, Maslow’s actualized artist and Tom Peters.

“It” is delivered in a relentless, repetitive cadence wrapped up as a series of short posts in a big package.

“It” lacks the the easy rhythms, the hooks and the bon mots that make Seth’s posts mandatory morning coffee reading.

Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? plays on and to the terrible plight of people who are having their faces shoved into the crumbling world that they have spent their lives building.

Listen as Seth explains “it” to Gretchen Rubin in Psychology Today.

“The world” Seth told Gretchen, “wants you to be a faceless, replaceable cog in the vast machinery of production–but if you choose, and you work at it, you can become the sort of person we really need, an indispensable linchpin, a person who matters.

The marketplace needs and embraces artists, creatives, initiators, challengers and movers. You have that skill, the challenge is unearthing it.”

The Trap

The more-then-implied promise is that by “being the sort of person we really need”, your position will be secure from the vagaries of budgets, re-orgs and maybe even life.

Unfortunately many of us are not starting out; and “do-over easy buttons” are seriously hard to come by.

What then?

Congratulations, you’re a proof point?

Ten Years After

It makes sense that Seth and Tom Peters are friends. They are both huge believers in human potential.

In fact, Tom contributed to the Linchpin launch.

In 1997, The Brand Called You spoke to Boomers already giddy with easy credit and the exploding dot.com boom.

Do you remember how he cheered us on back in the day?

“We are CEOs of our own companies: Me Inc.

To be in business today, our most important job is to be head marketer for the brand called You.

It’s that simple — and that hard. And that inescapable.”

The Punch In The Gut

Seth’s hero is purer, Tom’s more of a shape shifter, still they seem more alike then different…

But seen in a historical context, the difference is sobering.

These two books delimit the demoralizing 12 year deterioration of the social contract into what we now call “the new normal”.

In 1997 it was about doing your best, so that you were positioned to cut the best possible deal for yourself.

In the Brand You world, if you weren’t diligent about promoting your brand, you weren’t penalized – you just “got less” of the stuff you wanted.

But in 2010 you have to do your best in order to even get to a position where you can hope to cut a deal for yourself.

If you can’t do that in the Linchpin world, you have no hope of getting anything at all…

Modern times.

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Ever been a linchpin?

Want to try it?

Like all of  you, I’ve read a lot of posts about the shape of things to come in 2010.

One “prediction” showed up on nearly every list: the increasing use of video in social media.

In this post I’ll fill you in on the staggering statistics that support the prediction. Look at the rapid growth of User Generated Content. And go out on the 2010 ledge with my ideas about how online video marketing will evolve over the next few years.

Online Video Rising

Larry Weber, Chairman of the Digital Influence Group, speaking to the IT Services Marketing Association recently commented that:

We are beginning Web 4.0—more emotive, more video, more real-time…The influence of opinion through content, connected through digital delivery, is the future of marketing.

• The latest Nielsen Online report states that online video streaming grew 12% over 2008, for a total of 10.7 billion videos watched by 137 million Americans.
• Viewers are watching for longer periods – 193 minutes is the average.
• YouTube streamed over 6.4 billion clips.

Up From The Grass Roots

An ever growing amount of this video content is being created and shared among fans, friends and followers.

It’s called UGC – User Generated Content.

The people creating it are brand advocates, brand critics and everything in between.

They are using low cost video tools to document their customer or product or service experience.

In a recent study, some 80% of all blog posts included video.

It is equally noteworthy that people are  sharing what they learn online… offline.

Shiv Singh, VP & Global Social Media Lead at Razorfish says that UGC is “our most important form of content”:

User-generated content — or content that we create as regular people influencing, entertaining and informing each other is the most important form of content.

It is what we create — our conversations, our thoughts, our opinions and our imagination expressed.

The notion of it being considered something risky, dangerous, damaging or a bit too voluminous is looking at user-generated content through the wrong frame.

It is time for marketers and individuals alike to realize that everyone else’s content (in all its forms) is the greatest asset that they ever had.

Stay Tuned – The Best Is Yet To Come

Here’s my swan dive off of the prognosticator’s perch…

This type of structure will map nicely to the sequence of information that is gathered and considered as a buyer moves through the social media funnel.

By definition, the B2C sites will be less formal. I can imagine a B2C scenario – led by a single manufacturer or an industry group – creating a community for enthusiasts – be they bass fishermen, off-roaders or musicians with home studios.

• The Community Center will be linked to key websites or a Facebook Page.

• The marquee attraction will be cataloged and curated UGC video forums – an ever evolving form of what has existed since UseNet.

• Sponsors will help to populate the site. In many cases the most prized content will be similar to what has been going out to Service Departments for years.

Because once you buy a motorcycle or a fishing reel or a fancy grill, you want to understand all the nuances of how it works…

The people who are good at interacting with the consumer will be invaluable to their companies – and they’ll have a great time while they’re at it.

TV Guide 2.0

New technology is making it easier for both B2B and B2C buyers to document their product experiences, and share tips and opinions with others with common interests.

Viewership is rising because these videos often tell their story in clever and entertaining ways.

Video SEO, viewer reviews and other filtering techniques will make it easier for individuals to find “good” UGC content.

These same  techniques will make it easier for businesses to target a vertical or niche market.

Gordon Plutsky posting in CMO.com paints a very compelling picture of the possibilities:

CMOs can improve the effectiveness of their marketing budgets by shifting dollars from advertising to more measurable content-based direct communications…. Why rent a media channel when you can own it–a channel that works just for you.

Taking The Show On The Road

What’s making this even more interesting is that the consumer is going mobile in a hurry.

Analysts are forecasting that in a few years, more people will be connecting to the Internet from mobile devices then from their desktops and laptops.

This migration is going to create extraordinary opportunities for differentiation, for customer service, and to build customer loyalty.

For the first time, mobility will make it possible for customers to bring the information to the location, the problem or the need. (No doubt aided by GPS and various augmented reality techniques.)

Content will be where you need it, when you need it… whether  that is a fishing hole, a jobsite, or the interior of your new car.

And make no mistake about it – the location where the product is used will also be the location where the UGC will be shot…

What it is going to come down to is: are you going to be there to support it and maximize the ownership experience? And reap the loyalty for your support?

Get ready for an unparalleled content explosion.

And whatever you do, don’t touch that dial!

How will you be using video in 2010?