Friends With Benefits Book Launch

“Friends with Benefits: A Social Media Marketing Handbook” co-authors David Barefoot and Julie Szabo. Together they are also co-founders of Capulet Communications Inc, an Internet marketing and promotions firm.

Mortgage maestro Chris LeMay with social media evangelist Monica Hamburg.

Dating expert Mick Lolekonda, founder of Man Up! Coaching with superfriends Katya Nova, photographer and professional organizer Kyla Rozman.

From left: Marketing maven Jen Watkiss, social strategist and wine connoisseur Megan Cole, and Susie Gardner of Hop Studios.

Paul Marr of Optimum PR with Kirsten Jonzon.

Papa Bearfoot Gordon (r) with Greg Lynch.

David Drucker flanked by blogger Colene Chow (r) and Deborah So of AAY Productions (l).

Good Energy Resource Inc. CEO Jeremy Osborn.

Proud sister Leah Szabo with Probe Resources VP of Finance Morgan Tincher.

Blogger Eagranie Yuh with Gregg Sayer, VP of Communications for sport marketing company pointstreak.com.

* * *
What: Release party for “Friends With Benefits: A Social Media Marketing Handbook”
Where: Tuesday, November 24, Autumn Brook Gallery, 1545 West 4th Ave.    
Critique: Books on paper – they still make those?


I had to ask: Why put out a hardcopy book about marketing online? Shouldn’t this be some kind of web-based publication on a WordPress template?

The answer: They did that already.

In fact, when it comes to marketing on the Internet you would be hard pressed to find something Darren Barefoot and Julie Szabo haven’t done. They were navigating the instant-messaging service ICQ while you were at the water cooler, recounting last night’s Seinfeld episode; and when you were suffering your IT guy’s Outlook tutorial they had Friendster on lockdown. If you’re in sales and only using Facebook to track down Chip from Grade 8 Science, it’s time to pick up a book and get a clue.

“We originally wrote an e-book, ‘Getting to First Base,’ which caught the interest of a publisher and they approached us,” says Barefoot. “We weren’t pitching this project at all but they were eager to work with us because social media is such a hot topic.” Adds Szabo, “We wrote this for the marketing professional whose boss comes to them and asks, ‘Why don’t we use Twitter?’ and they don’t know why.”
 
I know why I use Twitter. It permits a grander stage for impertinence than Yahoo Answers ever could – and from that comes actual work and real projects. As it turns out, I’ve been following a key Friends With Benefits tenet the whole time: Be Authentic. If you’re going to put yourself out there you have to be “your self.”

You can follow me @604socialist, and, while you’re at it, follow Darren and Julie too.