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An international network of bloggers will soon contribute to a three-month blog tour for the new Common English Bible (http://CommonEnglishBible.com) translation. The “Common English Bible Thank You-Come Again-I Promise” tour extends from November through January, honoring National Bible Week, Thanksgiving, Advent, Christmas, and New Year’s celebration. The complete tour schedule, and information about joining the tour, is available at CommonEnglishBible.com/CEB/blogtour (http://CommonEnglishBible.com/CEB/blogtour). Background information about the Common English Bible is available at CommonEnglishBible.com/CEB/newsroom.

The Twitter hashtag for the tour is #CEBtour.

Beginning Nov. 20 and running through January, the tour is an opportunity for bloggers to join together in writing posts around upcoming seasonal events using the Common English Bible (Twitter @CommonEngBible – http://twitter.com/CommonEngBible), including commenting on verses from it, reviewing the Bible translation itself, interviewing the translators or associate publisher behind the translation, or discussing the translation with their readers.

“This tour is designed to help bloggers coordinate for their readers the thoughtful consideration of the biblical expressions of gratitude, waiting for the coming of Christ, and personal renewal,” says Paul Franklyn, PhD, associate publisher for the Common English Bible. “What better time to consider these themes than during Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the New Year? And in what better manner than with a scholarly Bible translation that’s easily comprehendible to the majority of English readers?”

Participating bloggers in the tour will receive a copy of the leather-like Thinline Bible DecoTone Tan/Brick Red edition, suggested themes, topics, and verses on which to write, an invitation to interview Bible scholars, and badges to place on their blogs indicating their involvement. Bloggers will have the opportunity to offer to their readers a free copy of the softcover edition: one copy per week for every week the bloggers write a blogpost that includes mention of the Common English Bible during the tour.

Known for being “built on common ground,” the Common English Bible is a collaboration of 120 academic scholars and editors, 77 reading group leaders, and more than 500 average readers from around the world who joined together to clearly translate the Bible’s original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek languages into 21st century English. More than half-a-million copies of the Bible are currently in print. It’s also available online and in 20 digital formats.

Among the more than 120 bloggers scheduled so far for the tour are:

·         Bruce Reyes-Chow (http://reyes-chow.com/) – Bruce Reyes-Chow

·         Corybanter II (http://caspianrex.posterous.com/) – Cory Howell

·         Deep Breathing for the Soul (http://keriwyattkent.com/soul/) – Keri Wyatt Kent

·         Flowing Faith (http://www.flowingfaith.com/) - Mari-Anna Stålnacke

·         GodHungry (http://godhungry.org/) – Jim Martin

·         Inspiring Followers of Jesus to Live Love (http://margotstarbuck.blogspot.com/) – Margot Starbuck

·         (Ir)Regular Christian (http://www.irregularchristian.com/) – Casey Taylor

·         Jennifer Grant (http://www.jennifergrant.com/) – Jennifer Grant

·         A Journeyman’s Catalog (http://mattlipan.blogspot.com/) – Matt Lipan

·         LeadFollower (http://leadfollower.wordpress.com/) – Tony Johnson

·         Mike Slaughter (http://mikeslaughter.com/blog) – Mike Slaughter

·         Nicole Unice (http://www.nicoleunice.com/blog/) – Nicole Unice

·         Only Wonder Understands (http://onlywonder.com/) – Jay Voorhees

·         The Parson’s Patch (http://theparsonspatch.com/) – Mark Stevens

·         A Peculiar Prophet (http://willimon.blogspot.com/) – Will Willimon

·         Ponderings on a Faith Journey (http://pastorbobcornwall.blogspot.com/) – Robert Cornwall

·         Posts from the Blog of an (un)Tamed Cynic (http://johnvest.com/) – John Vest

·         Preacher Smith (http://preachersmith.com/) – David Smith

·         Rev. Brent L. White (http://brentwhite.wordpress.com) – Brent White

·         Salvaged Faith (http://salvagedfaith.blogspot.com/) – Katie Dawson

·         Shekinah Glory (http://pastorofdisaster.wordpress.com/)  – Brian Merritt

·         Spirit Stirrer (http://spiritstirrer.org/) – Juan Huertas

·         Storied Theology (http://www.jrdkirk.com/) – J. R. Daniel Kirk

·         Whitby Forum (http://www.whitbyforum.com/) – Carolyn Custis James

·         Willis Wired (http://www.williswired.com/) – Randy & Joleen Willis,

“When we say ‘built on common ground,’ we mean that the Common English Bible is the result of collaboration between opposites: scholars working with average readers; conservatives working with liberals; teens working with retirees; men working with women; many denominations and many ethnicities coming together around the common goal of creating a vibrant and clear translation for 21st century readers, with the ultimate objective of mutually accomplishing God’s overall work in the world; in essence, helping Bible readers live on common ground,” says Paul Franklyn, PhD, associate publisher for the Common English Bible.

The Common English Bible is written in contemporary idiom at the same reading level as the newspaper USA TODAY—using language that’s comfortable and accessible for today’s English readers. It’s available—with and without the Apocrypha—in multiple editions and bindings. Information about the Common English Bible is available on its website, Twitter stream, Facebook page, and video.

Combining scholarly accuracy with vivid language, the Common English Bible is the work of 120 biblical scholars from 24 denominations in American, African, Asian, European, and Latino communities, representing such academic institutions as Asbury Theological Seminary, Azusa Pacific University, Bethel Seminary, Denver Seminary, Princeton Theological Seminary, Seattle Pacific University, Wheaton College, Yale University, and many others.

Additionally, more than 500 readers in 77 groups field-tested the translation. Every verse was read aloud in the reading groups, where potentially confusing passages were identified. The translators considered the groups' responses and, where necessary, reworked those passages to clarify in modern English their meaning from the original languages. In total, more than 700 people worked jointly to bring the Common English Bible to fruition; and because of the Internet and today’s technology it was completed in less than four years.

Visit CommonEnglishBible.com to see comparison translations, learn about the translators, get free downloads, and more.

The Common English Bible is sponsored by the Common English Bible Committee, an alliance of five publishers that serve the general market, as well as the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) (Chalice Press), Presbyterian Church (USA) (Westminster John Knox Press), Episcopal Church (Church Publishing, Inc.), United Church of Christ (The Pilgrim Press), and The United Methodist Church (Abingdon Press).

For a media review copy of the Common English Bible and to schedule an interview with Paul Franklyn, please contact Audra Jennings, ajennings@tbbmedia.com or Diane Morrow, dmorrow@tbbmedia.com, at 1.800.927.1517.

According to a new survey of social consumers, marketers who create highly sharable online content – video, audio, and photos consumers want to share with friends and colleagues – significantly boost their brand’s online presence and are more likely to increase sales.

The Science of Sharing study, conducted by M Booth (@MBoothPR) and Beyond (@beyond), two communications agencies in the Next Fifteen (@Next_Fifteen) global network, examined US consumer engagement with products online across a dozen brand categories. According to the data:

·         more than half of consumers (53%) say they interact with brands on Facebook

·         4 in 10 (42%) have written a product review online

·         a third (33%) have written an online post about a product.

·         1 in 5 consumers are “high sharers” and are 3 times more likely to make a product recommendation online. They tend to be younger, brand loyal, own multiple Internet devices and are conducting online research that requires minimal emotional or monetary investment.

·         “Low sharers” tend to be older, put a premium on quality, are less brand loyal, and are researching products online that cost more and involve more consideration.

When it comes to influencing consumer decision making, search is the most powerful online gateway (seo is a vital marketing element) followed by digital word of mouth and recommendations made by friends and family. The most common products that people recommend online are from the beauty, electronics, fashion, and music categories.

Read the news release in full.

Read the whitepaper (pdf).

See the Infographic (pdf).

See the Infographic (gif).

See the SlideShare presentation.

Let Somersault (@smrsault) help you reach your brand’s digital consumer.

In an article in AdAge (@adage), B.L. Ochman, of What’s Next? (@whatsnext), explains why QR code campaigns fail:

·         Unreadable codes on billboards, too high up for people to get a clear scan; on ads in subways, where there is no cellphone reception for scans.

·         QR codes in TV ads. By time you run and get your phone, find the scanner, and try to take a shot, the ad's over.

·         No instructions. Not everyone knows what a QR code is and how to scan it.

·         Using a proprietary code so you need a specific type of QR reader to scan it.

Read this in full.

Although Adweek (@Adweek) derides this “World’s Largest QR Code” (able to be seen 2 miles in the sky), it may have the last laugh because of its PR value.

And AXA Bank in Belgium arranged thousands of different colors of cans of paint to form a gigantic QR code.

In an article for Media Post (@MediaPost), brand marketer Maryanne Conlin (@mcmilker) extols the convenience of QR codes as the overriding benefit when marketing to busy moms.

Read this in full.

And this article in Target Marketing (@TargetMktg) asks “QR Codes Vs. Short Codes, and Does Your Campaign Need Them?”

Let Somersault (@smrsault) help you think through your QR code marketing strategy. Be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.

Google Analytics (@googleanalytics) created this humorous video to showcase the frustration of consumers when they encounter complicated buying procedures online. It reminds us to keep the consumer experience uppermost in our thinking whenever we serve them, whether through etailing procedures or even intuitive website navigation and valuable immediate marketing content.

A new comScore (@comScore) survey says mobile social networking is on the rise, with Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn seeing their mobile audiences grow by at least 50% each in the past year.

More than 72 million Americans accessed social networking sites or blogs on their mobile device in August 2011, an increase of 37% in the past year. The study also finds that more than half of mobile users read a post from an organization, brand, or event while on their mobile device.

Over the last year, Facebook’s mobile audience doubled to 57 million users. Twitter saw its mobile audience grow 75% to 13.4 million people. LinkedIn has the smallest mobile audience of the three, but still experienced a boom in the past 12 months, expanding by 69% to 5.4 million users.

Read the news release in full.

Let Somersault (@smrsault) help you identify blue ocean strategy for your brand, especially in the mobile environment. And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.

On Search Engine Watch (@sewatch), Ryan Woolley (@RyanWoolley) explains the above SEO Tactics chart (available in print) in a 4-part series, covering

·         Keyword Selection

·         On-site Optimization

·         External Influences (Off-site Optimization)

·         Reporting & Analytics

For example, Woolley writes about applying direct response methodology, granular keyword-level data analysis, and focusing on quality over quantity as being 3 keys that drive SEO success. He describes how to determine which keywords to focus on, what relevance means, attention to user intent, and business impact.

Read each essay by clicking the above bullets.

The Blog Herald (@blogherald) offers bloggers “a brief overview of some of the facts that you need to know in order to stay safe online. For example

1. The Web is world-wide. As such, your content will reach virtually every country and every jurisdiction in the world. As mentioned above, the facts below are based on US law but you always have to remember that what is legal in one area may not be legal in another. That can, in some situations, bite you.

2. As a blogger, you’re posting works to a public forum. Even if only a few people read your site, the law treats it largely the same as if you had screamed everything in a crowded square or printed it on the cover of your local newspaper.

3. As a blogger, you’re responsible legally for what you post and, posting anonymous or pseudonymously is not a guarantee against legal consequences. Such steps can help avoid other consequences, such as professional ones, but generally not legal ones.

Read this in full.

Stay informed with SomersaultNOW, our (@smrsault) dashboard of more than 400 links and RSS newsfeeds specifically for publishing and marketing executives.

Mary Meeker, partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (@kpcb), explores in the slides below the significant trends shaping the Internet today. She says the mobile revolution is still in its infancy and poised for tremendous growth.

Her presentation zeroes in on the newest breakout trends driving e-commerce, including local commerce, the global race to adopt mobile devices and apps, and the latest innovations in online payments; the evolving social space comes under Mary’s scrutiny as well. She says the mega-trend of the 21st century is empowerment of people via connected mobile devices.

KPCB Internet Trends (2011)

See the report in full.

This article in The New York Times (@nytimes) says, “Amazon.com (@amazon), the online retailer, has long competed with bookstores; now it's starting to make deals with authors, bypassing the traditional publisher.”

Amazon will publish 122 books this fall in an array of genres, in both physical and ebook form. It is a striking acceleration of the retailer’s fledging publishing program that will place Amazon squarely in competition with the New York houses that are also its most prominent suppliers….

“Everyone’s afraid of Amazon,” said Richard Curtis, a longtime agent who is also an ebook publisher. “If you’re a bookstore, Amazon has been in competition with you for some time. If you’re a publisher, one day you wake up and Amazon is competing with you too. And if you’re an agent, Amazon may be stealing your lunch because it is offering authors the opportunity to publish directly and cut you out."

Read the full article.

Also see International Business Times (@ibtimesnews), “5 Reasons Kindle Fire Tablet May Kill Barnes & Noble.”