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To get Ben’s first book, click here: Save the Pixel

P.S. the facebook t-shirt is ironic

Nifty fella, Ben Hunt. He wrote the excellent web design book “Save the Pixel”. We first met a couple of years ago when he had his epiphany about building websites designed to convert higher, rather than just looking splendid. We share a love of internet marketing, English comedy and a plethora of children. He was a guest speaker at my Art of Blogging seminar in 2009 and he was brilliant. A lovelier man you could not wish to meet.

I have been following his progress with this book since he got commissioned to write it. Ben is extremely thorough and very entertaining. I haven’t read the book yet, but I have seen a few preview chapters. Bottom line: if you have any interest in IM, treat yerself this Christmas and get it.

Only question I’ve got for Ben now is why he styled the title after a 1980s musical. “Convert!” reminds me of the excellent parody “Elephant!” – the musical version of the Elephant Man in the underated film, The Tall Guy with Jeff Goldblum and Emma Thompson. In fact, here’s a clip to amuse you (and Ben)…

I’ve just seen a guy called Alex Bellos on BBC Breakfast talking about his new book: “Alex’s Adventures in Numberland“.

And what a marvelous book it looks. It’s all about the beauty of maths and numbers and I’m chomping at the bit to read it after Alex talked with such passion about numbers, the Golden Ratio (it’s 1.61803399 – google it; it’s mind blowing), the fibonacci sequence, numerate Japanese monkeys..his demonstration of a multiplication sum using a diagram to get the answer was fantastic – I just have to learn this and teach it to my kids.

What really resonated with me was his point about the way in which Maths is taught in schools is uninspiring and puts a huge amount of us off the subject. I know first hand because of the work I had to put in following being relegated to CSE class when I was 13 by a moronic teacher who had written me off mathematically. I went on to GCE success at O and AS Level success and found a lot of inspiring mathematics in my Economics degree.

Maths is really the stuff of life. It holds the key, in my opinion, to the structure of the universe, the Earth and ultimately us. Anything, like Alex’s book, that brings it to life like this should be applauded. I’m off to buy my copy now

Reading this made me cry this morning…

“To laugh often and love much; to win the respect of intelligent persons and the affections of children; to earn the approbation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to give one’s self; to leave the world a little better whether by a healthy child, a garden path or a redeemed social condition; to have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exaltation; to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived..that is to succeed.”

This is credited to Ralph Waldo Emerson by Alexander Waugh in his book “Fathers and Sons”.

‘Nuff said.

How does one review this book?

If you are in business, my message is simply this: take your finger out of your backside, buy this book, read it, implement what you learn as fast as you can.

Drayton is the dog’s bollocks. He’s erudite, funny, brilliant.

David Ogilvy said Drayton knows more about DM than anyone else on Earth.

Ogilvy knew his onions (literally, as he used to peel them for a living in a Parisian Restaurant in the 1930s before he became the “King of Madison Avenue”).

This book is about as definitive as you can get on the subject of direct marketing. You know, the kind of marketing where results and profits are actually measured. The kind of marketing that does not get taught at Universities. The principles of which form the basis of all successful internet marketing.

I first met Drayton when we both spoke at The System Intensive in London in 2008. We met again in 2009 and regularly exchange jokes and advice by email. You can see how good the old goat is here (in fact, that’s my developing bald spot you can see in the foreground):

So, go and get “Commonsense”, then whilst you’re at it, get this as well:

Then follow one of the best blogs on the whole t’internet here:

I’ve had a lovely afternoon having my ego buttered by the international best-selling author of the Kogan Page published, Sunday Times Business Enterprise Series book “Branding Your Business”.

James came to me thanks to a referral from Drayton Bird, and we’ve had a lot of fun today belting through an online strategy to help James get his very powerful message across to entrepreneurs and SME business owners.

Here’s a quick video interview I thought I’d throw up so you can meet the man himself (he’s doing a longer audio one with me later you’ll be able to get from his blog – once we’ve built it!)