Blogfather Seth Godin is getting up close and personal with friends and foes alike this month in a Skypecast due to take place on August 22.
Godin is holding the Skypecast in part as a promo for his new book, Small is the New Big, a collection of articles and essays drawn from different publications including his column in Fast Company. The book has been hailed as "the next in a string of bestselling marketing guides" by Publishers Weekly and as "excellent" by Booklist.
The famous author and marketing guru, who came to prominence in May 2003 with the publication of his book Purple Cow - which admonished marketers for having just an exciting marketing pitch and suggested that first one needed to start with an exciting product - is one of the most prominent voices of the blogosphere and a champion of businesses using blogs to get intimate with their customers.
Not all may be fans at the Skypecast however, which is being organised by blogging service Typepad, the platform he uses to write his popular blog, Seth Godin's Blog. Godin's controversial statements have inspired as much vitriol as they have eulogies in the past.
Still, Godin is unfazed by criticism. "What sort of ego do bloggers have? We spend time and energy and money to post our opinions to the world, and we do it daily, or even hourly, often on topics on which we have no obvious authority," he says. "I think that blogging requires you to have a healthy respect for your opinions, as well as the generous desire to share them with others. That's not a negative social trait; if you don't respect your opinions, who will? And if you don't share the ideas you value, you're being selfish, aren't you?"
The Skypecast will take place on Tuesday, August 22 at 2:00 PM (PDT), the discussion will be recorded and released as a downloadable podcast on Everything TypePad a few days later. An interview with Godin on TypePad Featured Blogs will also be available on August 19.
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1 - Megan
Writer Michael Connelly is also doing a Skypecast!
The best selling mystery writer will speak about his newest book, "Echo Park," which has hit stores this week. The Skypecast, a live, moderated discussion with voice on the Internet, will allow Connelly to read an excerpt from his newest thriller and then will take questions from the audience. Be one of the first 25 people to sign in to the Skypecast and get a signed copy of "Echo Park" free! Please join us at 17:00 UK time, 12:00 US time. To participate, create a free Skype account on www.skype.com and visit at the designated time the Michael Connelly skypecast page