Today I kicked off my role as MC of the MediaPost Search Insider Summit with an intro to the theme of “All Roads Lead Through Search” and an interpretation of 2Pac’s California Love with my man Rob McEvily (who also created the poster above) working the beatbox. Skip to about 10 minutes in if you just want the rap and see below for the lyrics…

Update: Check out Day 2 with the Fresh Prince of Deer Valley!

I’d like to welcome everybody to SIS,
This show is unstoppable, you know it’s the best.

The sessions will be hot and we’ve got skiing galore,
Be sure to pack your vest before you head out the door.

We’ve got all search geeks in this room, where the search geeks be?
The search geeks that never leave the spreadsheets empty.

And these geeks, they run the marketing machines.
Spend a lot of coin on Google, Yahoo, and Bing.

I’ve been in the game for 10 years so I’m old school,
Ever since Sergey and Larry were countin’ links fool.

Now it’s 2010 and we’re way past beta,
It’s like we unlocked the Fort Knox of data.

It’s all good from the conference to the slopes,
If you ain’t meetin’ others, you ain’t makin’ the most.

So throw your hands up if you feel the same way.
Welcome to SIS. The show starts today!

SIS, no doubt about it.
SIS, knows how to party.
In the city…. city of Park.
In the city…city of Park.
Keep on searchin’, keep on searchin’, yeah!

(Update: check out this highlight video created by the good folks at Catalyst Ranch.)

2 nights ago, I had the pleasure of dropping some knowledge (and rhymes) with an eclectic gathering of friends, family, and colleagues at the always eclectic Catalyst Ranch.

Over the course of 90 minutes, I powerpointed, whiteboarded, and rapped my way to a donation of about $200 and 50 used children’s books for Open Books, a local Chicago non-profit that promotes literacy.

Besides the unique format and venue, this event was unique because my mom and dad (and wife!) were in attendance. This was the first time they had seen me present anything book (or work) related in public. Needless to say, when it came to my trademark $2 bill at the end, I had to do a little bit of self-censorship so what you’re about to see is rated very PG….

Things got interesting when I decided to take a page from Emeril’s playbook and “kick things up a notch.” I asked the audience for 10 words to incorporate into my rap. Here’s the list they came up with:

Hannuka
Purple
Bears
Relevance
Orange
Money
Altruism
Shoes
Echo
Literacy

Let’s just say this was one funky mad lib…

Thanks to Larry Bak from Elevate Studios for the steady hand recording these on his iPhone. Now that’s what I call FaceTime!

Here’s my third and final Googley Tip of the Week on EOtv (my piece starts at 5:12 and the rap kicks in at 6:45):

Make Memorable Brand Experiences

In case you missed the last 2:

Accomplish Goals through Active Visualization

Increase Your Ranking with Google

Here’s the $2 bill I dropped at the end of my session at SES Chicago today. Lyrics below…

To all the marketers tryin’ to be frugal,
Buy my book today, learn some lessons from Google.

You’ll find practical tips a plenty,
Through my Googley Lessons 1 through 20.

There’s Chapter 1: Relevancy Rules.
Stay true to your niche, don’t act a fool.

Chapter 2: Tap the Wisdom of Crowds.
Join the conversation, don’t shout out loud.

Chapter 3: Keep it Simple, Stupid.
Attract customers like Cupid.

Chapter 4: Mindset Matters.
Take it from the cat in the pleather hatter.

Chapter 5: Be Where Your Audience Is.
It’s the one sure way to grow your biz.

Chapter 6: Don’t Interrupt.
[cough, cough, cough] Aiight.

Chapter 7: Act Like Content.
It’s the icing on the cake. No, wait, that’s fondant.

Chapter 8: Test Everything.
Do it and make your marketing sing.

Chapter 9: Track Everything.
Do it and watch the cash register ring.
(Cha-ching, cha-ching, cha-ching, cha-ching, ching, ching, cha-ching, cha-ching, cha-ching.)

Chapter 10: Let the Data Decide.
Do the math and then ride, Sally, ride.

Chapter 11: Brands can be Answers.
Just like Jews can be great dancers. [Interlude]

Chapter 12: Your USP is Critical.
It’s Marketing 101. Cut the Umbilical.

Chapter 13: Your Competition’s Broader than You Think.
You’re up against everyone but the kitchen sink.

Chapter 14: You Can Learn a Lot from a Query.
Just ask Eric or Sergey or Larry.

Chapter 15, that is is Sex Sells.
Do it and ring the sales bell.
(Ding, ding, dong. Ding-a-ding ding, ding, dong. Keep the bells ringin’.)

Or Chapter 16: Altruism Sells.
Try it and go to marketing heaven, not hell.

Chapter 17: Show Off Your Assets.
Shake what you got and then place your bets.

Chapter 18: The More Shelf Space the Better.
If you don’t know that, behind the ears, you are wetter.

Chapter 19: Make Your Company a Great Story.
Do it and capture all of the glory.

Chapter 20: Don’t Rely on SEM Alone.
If you don’t know that, son, then it’s time to go home.

There you have it. 20 lessons from me.
Guaranteed to make your business Googley.

Buy my book today, enjoy it with some noodle kugel.
Everything I Know About Marketing I Learned From Google.

Check out the second video tip in my EOtv series. This one is bundled into a webcast titled, “Accomplish Goals through Active Visualization.” Not sure what that’s all about but worth testing, I suppose. :)

Starting this week, I’ll be sharing a “Googley Tip of the Week” via EOtv (that’s the video network of Entrepreneur’s Organization.) This week’s tip is from Chapter 3: Keep it Simple, Stupid. The gang at EOtv did a bang up job with the graphics here. Tune in for each of the next 3 weeks for more of the goog, er… good stuff!

Taking a page from Chapter 19 and making my company (and personal brand) a great story, I did a little Lebron James spoof to generate interest in my “decision” to put Connectual on hold and join the “all-star team” at Kenshoo as CMO.

I started by declaring my free agency last week and followed up with a video announcement riffing on the interview Lebron did with Jim Gray on ESPN.

More scoop on my move to Kenshoo can be found in the official press release or coverage by MediaPost, DM News, and Internet Retailer. (UPDATE 9/24: I just posted more detailed rationale for why I joined Kenshoo on the Connectual blog.)

I’ve also updated the author page with my new bio and acknowledgements with full disclosure.

I shot a quick screencast today to show how McGraw-Hill and I have applied the “hub-and-spoke” model discussed in Chapter 5: Be Where Your Audience Is to our book marketing and PR activities. Essentially, GoogleyLessons.com acts as the hub (and main sales tool) while each social media outlet provides opportunity to engage readers in their environment and (hopefully) “ladder” them up from passive to active supporters.

In Chapter 19, I share tips for making your company a great story as a means to stimulate word of mouth. One of the tactics I discuss is the $2 bill strategy inspired by Ian Sohn of Ogilvy.

The basic idea is to stock your cash register with $2 bills and give people a reason to tell others about their experience at your store. This concept has legs well beyond retail though. It’s all about making your brand memorable and worth sharing.

With that in mind, I’ve developed my $2 bill as pictured above. In the center is my alter-ego, The Lyrical G (fka A Katt), who’s known to drop rhymes on a dime — or, in this case, 20 dimes.

Check out this video we shot to promote the book and keep an eye out for a guest appearance at 3:10…

Yes, folks, that’s 100% legit on-the-spot improvisational freestyle after the line about the “cat in the pleather hatter.” And, yes, that Raiders visor is 100% pleather (plastic leather). No, I really don’t know why I own it.

Naturally, we ran a few takes of the rap so that we’d have some options to choose from for the final video. Some of them were so wacky that we just had to create an outtakes file. Here are some highlights from the cutting room floor…

And here’s more of the Goog stuff…

As I hit the circuit to promote my book over the coming months, I plan to bust out a Googley rap at the end of each presentation. To see how I fare, subscribe to the Googely Lessons YouTube Channel, created by Matt Ballek, video marketing rockstar, where we’ll be posting all the live material. (Yes, I realized Googley is misspelled but YT wouldn’t allow a username with Google in it.) And keep an eye on this page for Google rap video related updates.

Update: Looks like we’ve got a bona-fide catch-phrase in “Cash money, baby!” Now all we need is a “Cash money, baby!” baby! Cue my daughter, Eliara…

Do you have a Cash Money Baby?

Film your child, niece, nephew, cousin or random kid at the park saying “Cash money, baby!“ Then upload it to YouTube as a reply to this video or share the link in the comments here and it’ll be featured on my YouTube Channel.

Update #2: More videos about the book and special guest appearances by Tha Lryical G can be found on the Googley Lessons blog tour…

Update Oct. 2010: Live from SES Chicago, here’s the full Googley Lessons rap, covering all 20 chapters…

Update Dec. 2010: Here’s another version of the full Googley Lessons Rap with some some twists and turns along the way. Live from Catalyst Ranch…

Update March 2011: Taking things to a whole new level with the Ultimate SEO PPC Rap Battle featuring the SEO Rapper vs. me, the PPC MC, culminating live at the Search Insider Summit in Captiva.

Update Nov. 2011:

Here’s a well-”liked” rap to close my presentation at OMS Chicago…

Update Apr. 2012:

After getting beat by Chuck in the Ultimate SEO PPC Rap Battle, I decided to set up a battle I couldn’t lose! Here I am as Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg battling Larry Page and Sergey Brin at the end of my ad:tech San Francisco session.

Update June 6, 2012:

Going off after my session at Internet Retailer Conference and Expo:

Update June 22, 2012:

Here’s a little flourish I added to the finish of my presentation at the SIM Partners SIMpoisum: