| Author Acknowledgements | ||||
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If we've missed anyone -- and it's entirely likely that we both have, our apoligies and sincere thanks go to you all.
Jump to Calvin's Acknowledgements Damian's Acknowledgements
There are so many people to thank – it would be so much more convenient, less environmentally aggressive, accountable and faster if I was to text all of you or send you a gratitude link or whack something on Facebook ......this book medium, however, IS the message! The book began in 2001 and then again in 2002, 2004 (I skipped 2003 because of the arrival of my daughters), (in 2005 I went to journalist school to improve my writing skills) and then I started it again in 2006. This led me to meet the great Calvin Jones without whom I can honestly say this book would not have happened and I would now be starting it again in 2009, 2054 and so on. Calvin has extraordinary powers of patience combined with a sense of diligence and work ethic that completely clashes with my personality – we are the ideal writing partnership! Having Calvin as a writing partner meant the book never “began again”. Throughout the 15 months of writing, research, celebratory nights out in Cork (a lesson in how not to mix drinks!) emails, texts, instant messages etc. we managed to craft something which we sincerely hope will be of benefit to readers. At a minimum our target was everyone should be able to get ONE IDEA to help their business get the best from digital marketing. Calvin has mentioned the many contributors who helped us in our quest. I would like to thank our Annika Knight and her colleagues from Kogan Page for giving us enough rope and for being an ongoing source of encouragement too! To my family and friends and particularly to everyone who ever worked with me in either the publishing era or the digital era THANKS! Some of course have to be singled out – they know their role: Simon Ferguson, Michael Byers, Declan Kennedy, Charles Blandford, Sinead Ryan, Clare McAndrew, Roisin Joyce, Patrick Stewart – your support and encouragement will never be forgotten. To my wife Suzanne who was very supportive throughout this entire episode and who got on board by collecting case studies and writing on the creative chapter – thanks. I would like to dedicate this book to my daughters Katie and Alannah – the apples of my eyes! Sorry I hogged the computer guys! Now you can play with Cbeebies again! (top site btw!) And finally this book is for my Mum – mother of 7, opera singer, cordon bleu chef, constant source of inspiration, likes my jokes and someone who showed me that persistence pays off! -- Damian Ryan, Dublin, Ireland, June 2008 Calvin's Acknowledgements
Writing this book has been something of an adventure for me. Damian first contacted me about the project in April 2007. Since then we've been on a veritable roller-coaster ride of discovery, insight and learning. It's been a year full of highs, lows, and, for the last six months at least, very hard, and at times relentless work. Writing a book with as broad a scope as the one you're holding is challenging in all sorts of ways. Culling material was inevitable, and we spent long hours labouring over what to include, realising all the time that what we chose to leave out would be just as crucial as what we left in. It's taken long, frustrating days, and some even longer nights at the keyboard to produce the end result, and I think it's fair to say the project has absorbed more time and energy than either of us anticipated at the outset. The results, we hope, are worth it. This book wouldn't exist without the help of a lot of people. Firstly, of course, there's Damian; this project was his brainchild... born of his boundless enthusiasm and immense experience in this space. His inspiration, guidance and support has moulded its evolution from the outset. Damian has a talent for looking beyond the technology to the human story beneath, and that ability has been instrumental in making this work what it is. I also have to thank the digital marketing experts who helped fast-track my education - particularly John Coburn and Noel Coburn of PraxisNow (www.praxisnow.com) who got me off to a flying start with their Internet Marketing seminars. Martin Murray of Interactive Return provided valuable input and guidance early in the process, and kindly extended an invitation to attend Search Marketing World 2008. While there I got to speak to such international web 2.0 luminaries as Chris Sherman, Vanessa Fox, Brian Marin and Brian Clifton to name but a few, and to absorb the wisdom of many more from the podium. Thank you, one and all, for your insight. Throughout the book we've punctuated our own text with interesting and informative articles from expert authors who kindly gave us permission to share their expertise with you: our thanks to Jill Whalen, Jeff Jarvis, Martin Murray, Brandt Dainow, Richard Foan, Richard Eyre and other contributors for allowing us to reproduce their valuable work. Thanks also to Kim Gilmour for her help with the e-mail marketing chapter, and Suzanne Ryan for her work on the online creative chapter and case studies.... your efforts are much appreciated. I also have to thank Annika Knight, our editor at Kogan Page, for her patience over the last few weeks as we battled to pull everything together. To my daughters Ava, Nia and Lana - who were robbed of their Dad for long stretches during the course of writing this book - thank you girls, you can have Daddy back now! Finally, and most important of all, to Sally Ann, my partner in everything, for proofreading the manuscript and correcting my inevitable shortcomings, and for her enduring love, support and guidance through good times and bad. Without you, none of this would matter! Let the adventure continue.... -- Calvin Jones, West Cork, Ireland, June 2008 |
