Work on transparency book is underway
I’ve been wanting to make this official for some time, but now that the contracts are signed, I can let the cat out of the bag. I’m excited to be co-authoring a new book on the role of communications in promoting business transparency. I’m even more thrilled to be co-writing the book with John C. Havens, lead organizer for PodCampNYC, VP of Business Development for BlogTalkRadio and a well-known figure in the world of social media.
The book is tentatively titled “Media 2.Open: Tactics for Transparency.” It will be published by Jossey-Bass, a John Wiley & Sons imprint, as part of the series of books Jossey-Bass is publishing with the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC). So far, these books have included Mark Weiner’s “Unleashing the Power of PR: A Contrarian’s Guide to Marketing and Communication” and “The IABC Handbook of Organizational Communication.”
Our manuscript deadline is March 15. Between now and then, in addition to writing furiously, John and I are conducting a ton of interviews. We’re recording all of them and making them available as a podcast. Some of the interviews are being conducted live via BlogTalk Radio; others are being recorded offline.
We also have a blog where we’ll be publishing chapters in advance for reader feedback.
Finally, we’ll be setting up a wiki shortly where case studies and other content will be available for your input—and even for you to contribute your own. We’ll let you know when it’s available.
The book focuses on how businesses can communicate in a transparent manner, but it also serves as a primer on transparency, establishing some definitions and setting some boundaries. (Transparency does not mean giving away all your secrets, for instance.) We’ll make the case for transparency and balance it with the realities of conducting business in the real world. We think it’ll be a great addition to the library of any communicator or executive, along with a host of other audiences.
We’re excited to be writing this book and to be working together. I hope you’ll join us on the podcast, the live BlogTalk Radio broadcasts, the blog and the wiki as we progress through the journey of crafting what we hope will be an important work.
Our agent, by the way, is the remarkable Yvonne DeVita, who also repped Neville and me for our book, “How to Do Everything with Podcasting.”
Here are the various resources we have available right now:
12/04/07 | 9 Comments | Work on transparency book is underway