Looking for Advertising Gurus

We're spending some time this week sorting through various nominees inthe ad world. Having logged some serious time there, we have some candidates but want to expand the choices.

If you have a nominee (or are one) please comment on this entry.


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GuruTrack preview: Wine experts worth quoting

In all our time tending to the joys of running SaucyJoes, we have had the great fortune to meet some extraordinary wine professionals. And, interestingly enough, we've found out we're wine snob snobs. We don't just hang out w/ the experts because they know more than we do. In fact if they know a lot more, and act like it (characters not exclusive to wine, mind you, but abundant in the field) we're running the opposite direction w/ hands cupped over ears -- I can't hear you I can't hear you lah lah lah lah.

Pretty savvy no?

Okay, so not the most mature approach, but we know many would approve.

All this points to the real point which is we currently have four very favorite wine experts, three of whom we'll introduce briefly here as an entree to our upcoming wine guru review coming in December.

First is our all-time favorite, David Borzo. A 30-year food & beverage guy whose expertise in running everything from small bistros to large corporate dining operations has earned him choice positions serving major corporations' fine dining service, David has a fine wine pedigree. His background also includes having well-versed (and well-connected) wine connoisseurs in his family. It makes for great (for us) sibling rivalries when we visit his little portion of heaven in Des Moines. He's a regular blogger, a very accomplished artist and is well known in Midwest wine circles.
To top things off, he often collaborates with his web guru spouse Sherry (more on her later) and we're excited to know he has several reviews upcoming for SaucyJoes this year.

Our second expert is Mr. James Doutre. Jim teaches several wine appreciation classes in Dallas/Fort Worth, and has a large and enthusiastic following among students and professionals because of his warm and engaging approach to fruits of the vine. Having been a wine buyer for many years, his know-how stretches beyond the wines, and on into the people and personalities found in all stations in the wine hierarchy. He regularly travels to pursue his passion and connections in wine regions, and brings that ongoing knowledge to his classes and events.

Natalie MacLean, our third and newest guru is perhaps one of the best known wine pros spreading the gospel of great wine and wine practices. Her book, Red, White, and Drunk All Over: A Wine-Soaked Journey from Grape to Glass is a highly lauded guide to what she calls her "last three years sipping, spitting and slogging her way through the international wine world to visit some its most evocative places and to meet some of its most charismatic, obsessive and innovative characters."

She is warm, funny, charming and ultimately tireless in her pursuits (she answered one of our queries in the wee hours of the morning) which is exactly what you want in an expert.

So, Now you have a brief preview. We look forward to sharing more about what makes these three (and our fourth mystery guest) such compelling people to follow on the road to wine expertise and enjoyment.

LinkedIn Experts coming this week

We're putting finishing touches on an article on LinkedIn experts we know, and find that in our zest for a better story we need more resources. Do you know any truly great LI gurus?

Reply with a comment recommendation, or email Ski @ skissullivan@gmail.com

Can we lead with compassion?

As we prepare for the GuruTrack launch, we're seeing more and more opportunities to add life to the living we do on a day-to-day basis.

For every gross of self-promoting wannabees (oh yes, Virginia, there are PLENTY) we spot a true light, and are immediately compelled to share the info.

One such light was sent to us by our friends at TED, Chris Anderson, TED Curator and Amy Novogratz, TED Prize Director who wrote:

At TED2008 in March of this year, TED Prize winner Karen Armstrong was granted a wish to change the world. This is what she asked for:

"I wish that you would help with the creation, launch and propagation of a Charter for Compassion, crafted by a group of leading inspirational thinkers from the three Abrahamic traditions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam and based on the fundamental principles of universal justice and respect."

Since then support for idea has built among numerous religious groups, spiritual leaders such as Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan, and Britain's first female Rabbi Julia Neuberger have joined a special Council to oversee the Charter, and Kluster, a collaborative decision making platform, has built a groundbreaking site that will allow anyone to contribute to the Charter.

Regardless of your religious inclination, the message of driving belief and action via compassion seems so very poignant for those who wish to find the right track to follow, and most importantly, for those who wish to lead.

I agree with Moolies editors that it shouldn't take holding up organized religion as an example or bellweather for this type of movement to gain traction. However, it has to start somewhere, and these folks have huge mailing lists ;)

Please take a few moment in your day today to visit, and contribute your thoughts and energy to this vital process.
And by all means, comment here or link to this to further spread the word.

The Search for Entrepreneur Blogs Begins

So as we ready the roll out of GuruTrack.com, we're HEAVY into research mode, and wanting to really deliver the experts that give your ideas and efforts traction.

One quick reference we found was courtesy of Keith Robinson at LifeHacker. His review directs you to About.com's Entrepreneur page run by Scott Allen. Scott is an old hand at tech and all manner of things online (including a nifty blog on using LinkedIn) plus he's a THE University of Texas grad so extra points there.

He filtered through tons of sites and links to distill it to the best active blogs. Here is his Top 10 Most Practical Blogs for Entrepreneurs:

• Small Business Trends
• Just for Small Business
• WorkHappy.net
• Duct Tape Marketing
• The Entrepreneurial Mind
• BizzBangBuzz
• Business Opportunities Weblog
• Go BIG Blog
• Young Entrepreneur Journey
• Startup Spark

NOTE: Keith's comment string also contains a bevy of reader suggestions well worth a late night read so we recommend you read his blog post too.

Obama's brilliant social media effort

Here is the content of an email I received from Michelle MacPhearson, who is one of my favorite social media gurus. Listen to the podcast asap if you're interested in online marketing.

Hey Ski!

Webspace is buzzing with commentary on the election of Obama and
his team's adept use of social media during his campaign.

It's a lesson we all can learn from - regardless of our political
affiliation.

Politics is old school, as old school as it gets. If social media
is working there, it WILL work in your market as well.

Today, Ed Dale, Paul Colligan, Lynn Terry and I got on the phone
and talked about the ways in which the election's adaptation to
social media can apply to your business.

It's actually a weekly podcast we're doing called "Internet
Marketing This Week". It's totally issues based - no product
pitches - just solid info and discussion.

Download the MP3 and subscribe to the podcast with Itunes so you
get new episodes automatically - you can do both here


Best,

Michelle MacPhearson
http://www.30minutebacklinks.com

Welcome to GuruTrack

Coming Fall 2008, a comprehensive review of great gurus ... what makes them tick, why they've been successful, why you can learn something from them, and how to best leverage their know-how and teachings. Visit us @ gurutrack.com too for the monthly features, updates and archives of our profiles of the finest to follow.