Brian Solis is one of my virtual mentors.  I follow his work online in the new web and I think he is one of the smartest in the space.  I had the pleasure of interviewing him and to talk briefly about his latest book, “Engage”

Brian Solis is Principal of FutureWorks, an award-winning New Media marketing and branding agency in Silicon Valley. Solis is globally recognized for his views and insights on the convergence of PR, Traditional Media and Social Media. Considered one of the original thought leaders who paved the way for Social Media and PR 2.0, Solis is co-founder of the Social Media Club and is an original member of the Media 2.0 Workgroup.

Nuggets from our Interview

• Engage was written to help companies build, cultivate, and measure success in the new web.
• Engage is a book designed to scale with you as you grow whether you are a small business, non-profit or being a part of an enterprise organization.”
• Champions effect change.
• Being an expert doesn’t engender change being a champion does

Quote

“Who I am today and who I want to be tomorrow are separated by the things I do today.” – Brian Solis

How to Follow Brian

Twitter:  @BrianSolis

Blog:  www.BrianSolis.com

The poster child of corporate culture and the usage of technology to connect with customers is Zappos.  Zappos is ran by one of the smartest, most relevant CEOs on the planet Tony Hsieh.  What does Tony do?  Does he build brands, create corporate culture, deliver happiness or all three? I had the opportunity to hangout with Tony Hsieh and the Zappos Team in March 2010 in Austin, TX on the Happiness Bus at SXSW.  I experienced the Zappos corporate culture for a few hours and I will validate he is doing all three.

I am an avid reader and I am excited to share with you the latest book that I am reading, “Delivering Happiness:  A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose” by Tony Hsieh.  Tony is a proven leader who is living what he is teaching. He has developed two companies LinkExchange which was sold to Microsoft for $265M in 1995 and Zappos.com which was sold to Amazon.com for $1.2B in 2009. 

Be a part of the movement his book ships June 7^th purchase part of his brain for under $25, what a deal.

Zappos’ Core Values

The Framework of the Culture

1. Deliver WOW Through Service
2. Embrace and Drive Change
3. Create Fun and A Little Weirdness
4. Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded
5. Pursue Growth and Learning
6. Build Open and Honest Relationships With Communication
7. Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit
8. Do More With Less
9. Be Passionate and Determined
10. Be Humble

Follow Tony/Zappos
Follow: @DHBook (Delivering Happiness Book Twitter Account)
Follow: @Zappos (Tony Hsieh – CEO of Zapppos)
Blog: www.DeliveringHappinessBook.com

Hill Harper who most notably portrays Dr. Sheldon Hawkes on CSI: New York, he recently released his third book, “The Conversation” which is number two on the New York Best Seller list.  In his latest book he discusses the topic of conversations between men and women which has created a lot of buzz online.

Successful Brands Provide an Experience

One of the key characteristics of successful brands is that they provide customers with an experience.  I recently interviewed Hill Harper after a book signing in Royal Oak, MI.  Hill is a very grounded person with a magnetic personality, who makes every person in the room feel like they are the only one there.

After the book signing I saw how each person walked away with a personal experience after interacting with Mr. Harper, his command of the room is second to none.  I walked away thinking about the experience I provide those I interact with and what do they walk away with.  It was a moment of sobering reflection as I began to evaluate myself.

Hill Harper on Twitter

Hill is very active on Twitter, to follow him on the set of CSI: New York or to find out when he is coming to your town for a book signing or to extend the ‘”The Conversation” about his book follow him on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/HillHarper.

What happens when you get a collection of true thought leaders, entrepreneurs, storytellers, tweeters, visionaries and a world-class athlete in a single room?  You get the Brand Camp ’09 experience: engaging conversations with like-minded people that inspire change and transform gray matter with each spoken word and each character of every tweet.

Why Detroit?  Detroit is a blue collar, manufacturing town that was built on the back of the automotive industry which was the Silicon Valley of its day. The cheese has moved and Detroit is currently going through a brand crisis.  It is the perfect location to discuss how social media, personal branding and passion is changing the way we work and live.

Super Heroes/Professors

The list of Rock stars that rocked Lawrence Tech University providing nutrious content for attendees to consume for 7-hours and shared in short 140 character burst of information.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/manoian/4009145335/in/set-72157622580068302/

Mitch Joel, Ken Brown, Scott Monty, Rohit Bhargava, Hajj E. Flemings ,  Valeria Maltoni, April Holmes,  and Robert (Bob) Fish (Not Pictured)

What others are saying about Brand Camp ‘09

• Mitch Joel (@MitchJoel) -  SPOS #175 – Personality And Authenticity With Rohit Bhargava
• Mitch Joel (@MitchJoel) -  The Key to Your Personal Brand
• Nikki Stephan (@EstrellaBella10) – Personal Branding + Social Media = Brand Camp University
• Brian Ambrozy (@icrontic) – BrandCamp University 2009
• Mike McClure (@Mike KMcClure) – 10 Things I learned at Brand Camp `09
• Andrea Freile - Marketable Myself Through Social Media
• Chris Reed (@darealchrisreed) – Personal Branding, Live from Brand Camp University

Is Brand Camp a conference, an experience, or a movement? Only time will tell, but for now it is a passionate community of early adopters who are growing their personal brands and businesses with social media.

If you haven’t heard there is an incredible sale going on, Chris Brogan’s brain cost $24.95 (plus tax in the US), this is such a steal I wanted to share it with all my friends.

I am sure Chris has put in over 10,000 hours on his way to becoming one of the leaders of the social media movement, like Malcolm Gladwell talks about in his new book Outliers.

I follow his work like most people who endeavor to understand the social web better. If you haven’t heard by now that he has a new book out called, “Trust Agents” go purchase your piece of his brain today (News Flash: Either you live under a rock or you haven’t heard of this thing called the Internet if this is news to you. LOL.)

One of the great things about his new book is that it isn’t the “10-Tips to be the Guru Rockstar Expert Overseer of the Social Web with 10 Million Twitter followers in 30-days.” This book covers how to build influence, reputation, and how to make a little money while you’re at it.

I purchased my copy to support his work since I read his other stuff for free. I wish Chris Brogan and Julien Smith much success with their new book, which has just reached the New York Best Seller list.