What My Brush with Fame in Naples Taught Me About Engagement

I arrived in Naples in late July 1990 as a minor celebrity.

My article on Italian-American novelist John Fante had just appeared in the Naples daily, Il Mattino, in a translation by my friend and editor Francesco Durante.

Wherever we went in Naples it seemed everyone I met had read the article, had an opinion about it, and wanted to discuss it with me. 

I met more people who had read something of mine in those few days than I ever have, at least, until the Internet made it easier for me to reach a large, global audience.  What was so interesting about that experience was not the brush with fame..

No, it was how engaged people were with the writing, and not just my writing.  Mine was one of many articles about which they held and shared their opinions.

I wonder whether, more than 20 years later, newspapers in Naples still engender that kind of engagement and dialogue.  And I wonder how we can better capture such engagement on the Internet.  Disqus helps.  Twitter does it occasionally, although dialogue is hampered by that service's forced "retweeting" without commentary.

Some bloggers such as Fred Wilson, who blogs at AVC is a master of fostering such community; whereas another popular blogger, Seth Godin, does not allow comments on his posts.

Within a few days the talk had shifted from my article to the invasion of Kuwait and the first Persian Gulf War, just as we had moved on from Naples to Capri.  I realized those Italians I met were newspaper readers; it was the medium of their day and they formed a community of readers around their reading.

How are you encouraging community among your readers? What kind of reader engagement metrics do you use for your web site?  How are you encouraging dialogue among your readers or your customers?

   

Green Skeptic Friday LinkFest - 04/01/11

No, the infographic above is not an April Fool's joke.  It comes from Seth Godin and compares deaths per terawatt hour of energy produced by nuclear, oil, and coal. The data comes from the World Health Organization. 

We found several interesting pieces on nuclear energy over the past week:

Author and environmental activist Mark Lynas explains to China Dialogue Why greens should support nuclear energy. 

Nuclear engineer Margaret Harding ponders Nuclear: The Optimist’s Conundrum.

While George Monbiot shares How the Fukushima disaster taught him to stop worrying and embrace nuclear power: Going Critical.

In the Navy

Timothy Reuter of IdeasOnEnergy reports on Secretary of the US Navy Ray Mabus's Council on Foreign Relations talk about the Navy’s efforts to transform how they use energy and their intention to become a catalyst for changes in overall energy consumption: Can the U.S. Navy reform how America produces and consumes energy?

On China

Derek Scissors, a research fellow on Asian economic policy at the Heritage Foundation, writing on Steve LeVine's Foreign Policy blog, explains why he expects China won't move off coal any time soon: Coal From Here to Eternity.

The BBC reported on a new Royal Society study that indicates China will overtake the US in science by 2013: China Syndrome.

A new Nature Conservancy study postulates that a Billion-plus people to lack water in 2050.  

Josie Garthwaite of Earth2Tech offers several reasons Why A Company Would Ditch A DOE Loan Guarantee.

A bill in South Carolina suggests federal light bulb restrictions are violation of states' rights: Bill would keep bulbs burning in Palmetto State.

Have a great weekend everybody.

2009 MAC Conference to Include Cleantech Track, Zandi, and Godin too

Image via CrunchBase

The Mid-Atlantic Capital (MAC) Conference is the premier venture conference in the region, bringing together the private equity and entrepreneurial communities. Over the years, it has been the catalyst for billions of dollars of venture funding and entrepreneurial activity.

The day-and-a-half event offers both sponsors and attendees access to emerging companies from the Mid-Atlantic region; networking opportunities with the movers and shakers from the community; and educational panels and content sessions.

The 2009 MAC Conference, Hosted by Blank Rome LLP, will be held on November 3 & 4 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia.

And this year, the MAC Conference, will feature a cleantech track, signaling the arrival of the sector as a significant component of the region's economy.

Cleantech companies from the region featured at the conference include Benefuel, BG Automotive Group, Clean Water Resources, CogniPower, Confluense, Enersol Inc., Green Badge, Primet Precision Materials, SRS Energy, and TerraCycle.

Rob Day of Black Coral Capital and Enertech Capital's Tucker Twitmeyer will be among the panelists addressing cleantech investing opportunities in the current environment.

Keynote speakers scheduled to appear are Mark Zandi, chief economist and cofounder of Moody’s Economy.com and the incomparable marketing guru Seth Godin

MAC Alliance is offering a special $200 registration rate for the full MAC Conference to the first 200 qualified entrepreneurs. This is an exciting opportunity for young entrepreneurs to get in front of some of the key players in the region. Spots are almost gone, so register today: entrepreneurs.

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