My co author on Understanding Digital Marketing, Damian Ryan, kicked off proceedings at the recent Simply Zesty Winter Camp in Dublin. In his presentation he discussed the current state of the digital market, trends, and where he sees things heading in the future.

Check out this video of Damian in action, and be sure to roll by the Simply Zesty blog for lots of social media insight from Ireland’s leading social media agency.

Interaction and engagement with online communities is fast becoming a fundamental element of online strategy for successful organisations today. Blogs, social networks, review sites and other web2.0 tools and services are changing the way businesses interact with communities around the globe.

But as Chris Pirillo points out at LeWeb 2009, the tools are NOT the community – the community is the people using the tools, the connections between them.

My favourite quote from Chris’s presentation:

If you believe a community is a tool, then you yourself are a tool.

Communities aren’t about tools and they’re not about technology – communities are about people, and understanding people is far more valuable than understanding the underlying platforms and technology when it comes to being a part of and harnessing the potential of online communities.

I’m working on a new book (a follow-up to Understanding Digital Marketing) that will be published by Kogan Page next year showcasing forty of the best digital marketing campaigns in the world.

We’re sourcing case studies from various places, and will feature a mixture of different online campaigns in the book, from award-winners to more obscure but successful campaigns from all sorts of businesses spanning a variety of industries.

We’re a bit short of time to truly crowdsource all the case studies for this edition – but we are looking for your nominations to help us identify truly exceptional examples of online marketing that we may miss through other channels.

You can use this form to submit your favourite campaign for consideration. We’ll let you know if it goes on to be featured in the book.

Thanks a million for your input.