Bill Clinton will deliver the keynote speaker address to business men at September’s 2005 China Internet Summit, organized by China’s leading e-commerce business company, Alibaba.com.

Clinton’s speakeraddress in Hangzhou, China follows closely on the heels of a report issued by the United Nations suggesting the UN assume global governance of the Internet.

The 2005 China Internet Summit takes place on September 10, 2005.

The China Internet Summit, an annual event since 2000, brings together leading business speakers and CEOs of Internet companies from China and around the world for a day of discussion and cooperation.

Detractors refer to China’s leading e-commerce company as “Ali Baba and the 40 software copyright thieves.” They undoubtedly will now refer to the guy who covets UN Secretary General Kofi Annan’s job as “Ali Bubba”.

Alibaba.com operates the world’s largest online marketplaces for both international and domestic China trade, as well as China’s most popular online payment system, AliPay. The Alibaba websites have more than 15 million registered users in 200 countries and territories. In 2004, over US$4 billion in trade is estimated to have come from buyers and sellers connected at Alibaba sites.

Topics at this year’s China Internet Summit conference will focus on China’s online gaming industry. No one is surprised that Operation GoldenShield and how U.S. companies that get by because of the 1st amendment right of Free Speech help the Red Chicom leaders suppress speech in China, didn’t, like online gambling, make it to the main agenda.

Former President William Jefferson Clinton employs the same translator/interpreter used by current China President Hu Jintao. That would be Charles Qin of Chin Communications.

According to an Internet promotion, “Since migrating to Australia in 1991, Qin has established a reputation as one of Australia’s leading Chinese translator/interpreters whose “clients” include President Hu Jintao and former presidents Jiang Zemin and Bill Clinton. He has built on experience interpreting for senior ministers, governors and United Nations conferences in China.”

As preparations were underway for the 2005 China Internet Summit with meeting planners, Australia was in the midst of a major spy uproar. Several People’s Republic of China defectors have staged a massive espionage operation in that country.

“The Internet has flourished under U.S. supervision, oversight and private sector involvement, ” says Senator Coleman. This growth did not happen because of increased government involvement, but rather, from the opening on the Internet to commerce and private sector innovation. Subjecting the Internet and its security to the politicized control of the UN bureaucracy would be a giant and foolhardy step backwards.”

How long after his for-pay keynote address on September 10, will Clinton begin shilling UN control of the worldwide Internet?

A reporter from the LA Times and I were having lunch at Tulio’s in Seattle. Over the course of several subjects, he mentioned his wife was working on a non-profit project in Seattle that’s also nationwide.

Teen writing workshops…and how to get the word-of-mouth and buzz humming about it in Seattle particularly.

Yes, you could have businsess speakers like myself, Nelson DeMille, or Seattle celebrities for fundraisers. Money is necessary, but as too many big brand advertisers know (sometimes) all too well…money can’t buy you buzz.

The idea?

Similar to American Idol, it’s American Author…but only for teens.

Three writers as judges (myself…hey it’s my idea, and two others).

The twist…we have authors like Nelson Demille, read a 2 minute excerpt of what they’ve written. Nelson Demille reads Bobby Jones’ work. Judges judge. Backstory video b-roll shown…you know the Idol formula.

The payoff? A Borders or Barnes & Noble contract for premiere placement (100,000 first time print run) using under the “American Author” imprint. And most likely the start of an amzing literary career for the next American Author.

Cecile, if you’re reading this…any thoughts? Richard at Endemol…any thoughts?

Crazy, yes. But so was “Dancing with the Stars” with John O’ Hurley’s Peterman

I was surprised by this. Tony Morgan from South Bend, Indiana had read my book Buzzmarketing, and low and behold Tony markets his church just like we market our products and services.

It never ocurred to me before, but the principles are the same. On his website, wiredchurches.com he talks about maximizing the media, and I think he might be on to something big.

I’m a business speaker, inspiring and teaching. He delivers a sermon, inspring and teaching. Both Tony and I are on a mission to spread the word about spreading the word (in my case Buzzmarketing, in his case religion…a more noble objective), and the principles of buzzmarketing apply.

Exciting things I’m reading about are GodPods…podcasts of sermons. We’re on the go, little time, and finding the right voice to inspire you takes investment. The “GodCast” might be one of the pieces of technology that I discuss in the book that has transformed word-of-mouth into an F-16 with afterburners (OK so you have to read the Buzzmarketing book to get the full story).

GodCast, GodPod…buzzmarketing pops up in unimagined places, and thanks to Tony Morgan at wiredchurches.com for lighting the spark.

Chris Matthews will be a keynote speaker at the 2005 Mid-Atlantic Venture Conference, the Greater Philadelphia Venture Group said Monday.

Matthews created and hosts MSNBC’s “Hardball with Chris Matthews” and is the star of NBC’s “The Chris Matthews Show.”

Matthews will kick off the MAVC’s metting planner programming on Oct. 18. The conference is being held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center Oct. 17 and 18.

Following the address, the MAVC will include presentations by 60 companies seeking venture funding, luncheon entertainment by the Capitol Steps, and a closing keynote speech by celebrity mogul Harvey Weinstein, co-chairman and co-founder of Miramax Films.

Direct marketing turns 50, we should take a moment to salute the moguls: David Ogilvy, John Caples, and many more.

Zain Raj, executive vice president and chief marketing officer of Euro RSCG 4D, will keynote at the 50th annual meeting of the Chicago Association of Direct Marketing, which has “Directing the Future” as its theme.

Jim Sherman, director of direct marketing for the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, will receive the 13th Annual Natalie P. Holmes Volunteer of the Year Award, and Mitch Lieber, president of Lieber and Associates, will receive an award for winning the association’s “Toward the 22nd Century” essay competition.

The event takes place from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday August 7 at The 410 Club, 410 N. Michigan Ave.

Cost to attend for members and meeting planners is $54 and for non-members $59.

For information, call George Buckley at 312-849-2236, ext. 25, or visit www.cadm.org.

The other week I had the extreme pleasure of speaking to Jeff Bezos and his Amazon team. What an amazing thrill.

We used to be competitors (me as Half.com’s former VP of Marketing that grew Half from zero to 8 million customers)…and tremendously exciting to meet with the one-time foe you respected yet competed against.

In the 90 minutes I spent with him and his Amazon team, it’s clear that Jeff is one of the few CEO’s that gets it from a marketing standpoint. Years ago, he abandoned the conventional path of glitzy Madison Ave style advertising for marketing investments in free shipping etc.

I write about this same “convention issue” in my book, Buzzmarketing. Namley, conventional approaches will produce conventional returns…and nobody I know on Wall Street wants conventional returns.

Jeff clearly has a sense of humor, and intelligent playfulness, which exudes a sense of fun–and in this day and age, we’ve got to have fun at work. A key element for employee buzz (see my chapter 16 in Buzzmarketing).

The overall energy from the group, in turn, brought my energy level up exponentially and could sense that that same energy oozed all the way to the Meeting Planner (Paula Tawney) who treated me like a king.

Speaking is an adrenaline rush for any business speaker, but you find a few gems where that adrenaline rush peaks like no other. Amazon & Jeff…one of those special peaks.

Want to know how effective your marketing is? Hughes suggests that you ask your customers two questions. How did you hear about us? Would you go out of your way to recommend our product to a friend? If they would go out of their way to talk about you, you know you’ve hit it. That’s customer evangelism.

And that’s buzz.

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