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The Denver 50 artwork shown here was created by Justin McCammon and Camille King.

I'm a senior copywriter or something like that

My job title is senior copywriter. But am I? Sure I love to do radio. And I'm still fond of the 12-word headline and the 30-second spot. But I like them not for their own sake, but because done right, they make life better - funnier, more beautiful, more useful. I'm equally proud of work like our campaigns for Regis and Kappa Alpaha, which can't be called "advertising" in the traditional sense.

With that in mind, I put a book with some of my favorite recent print and digital work on SlideShare. It makes me nervous, because some of the best ads I've written aren't included. But sooner or later, you have to move on. And I have. With two exceptions, all the work in this book been done within the past 24 months. Even though all online portfolios always suck, I hope it puts a smile on someone's face.

The key to being a great Internet brand is to be a great brand

There have been lots of new media channels invented in the past decade. Ad agencies have a responsibility to be experts in all of them. And the only way to get good at something is to practice. So I have a blog. And a microblog. And a tumblelog. And nevermind any social networks, online communities, and video or photo sharing sites I may be a member of. (They're all aggregated on Friendfeed, if you're interested.)

Recently, I've had this crazy thought. It's sort of unorthodox. So of course I'm going to blog it and let the whole Internet tell me I'm dumb. Here goes:

Web 2.0 is more like a conversation than a media experience. Yes, some of these conversations will be about you. But you shouldn't try to control them. People will start saying nice things about you when you stop being an asshole.

The fact is, no company has ever been able to control the conversations that went on about them. Ever. One hundred and fifty years ago, someone was saying that Joe's Horseshoes suck and someone else was agreeing and suggesting Benjamin's Horseshoes as an alternative.

Today, companies have the ability to see these conversations take place in real time on the Internet. So they want to get involved in them. But that makes as much sense as barging into someone's living room and telling them to stop badmouthing you.

Instead, create something useful and beautiful. A better product, a better experience, a tool or widget, or even an ad. And then trust that your creativity, value, attitude and usefulness will shine through.

I'm not saying that brands should exit the social media space. I'm just saying that being engaged is nice, but being great is better.