Today, Seth Godin launched his new venture, Brands in Public.   Over the years, we’ve been privileged to work alongside Seth on a number of ventures, and this one aims to be no less inspiring.

This case, though, is a little different.  Instead of one of us being a vendor and the other the client, we’ve pooled our resources to create a best-of-breed solution for marketers.  Seth created the idea and has executed on it, and BzzAgent is providing content (from our BzzScapes platform) as well as the expertise of our sales organization to help clients use the service.

This is quite unlike any other business development relationship we’ve ever struck.  What’s most interesting is that this wasn’t exactly how we envisioned using the BzzScape platform and our sales team has never been an outsourced resource for another company.  But that’s exactly what makes this work for us – for too long we’ve been consistent with, “this is how we do things” as opposed to, “hey, let’s see how it evolves the business.”

Already, this partnership has created a number of different avenues of discussion at BzzAgent, opening doors for new explorations and ideas about how our model can evolve.  While we’re excited about this partnership, I’m most excited that we’re back to the jump-off-the-cliff startup attitude and thinking that will create the next evolution of our success.

When I was in elementary school, everyone had some sort of party going on for their birthday. The parties were at houses, roller rinks, ice skating rinks, the local indoor Chuck E. Cheese like place. And since our class was small-ish, usually everyone was invited. I went to way more parties when I was 8 than I do now. Now that’s a sad thought.

Anyway, every once in a while I was invited to a party that I wasn’t particularly interested in going to (most likely for a boy that made fun of me once at recess or something). Whenever I would talk to my mom about not wanting to go, she told me that it was my decision, and that I didn’t really have to go if I didn’t want to. The invite, however, was still open until the RSVP date – so if I wanted to change my mind, I could.

So I know BzzCampaigns aren’t the same as birthday parties. There’s no cake or balloons involved (unfortunately). But in a way, you can think of us as one big old party planner:

• We send out invitations to our agents. Now remember, not everyone can be invited – if you live in Boston, we can’t necessarily invite you to something that’s going on in Dallas. It doesn’t mean that we don’t like you! And most of the time it’s on a first come, first serve basis, so you have to act fast!
• We give you information on what the shindig is about, so you know for sure what you’re getting into. We don’t want you to commit to something without knowing what it’s about. That’s not fun for anyone.
• If you decide to join us, you’ll get a goody bag (aka BzzKit) and get to share it with your friends.
• You may or may not blow out some candles. That’s your call.

Like when we were younger, whether it be BzzCampaigns, parties, or other events, sometimes we get invited to things that we don’t really want to go to. That’s ok – not everyone loves everything. Like my mom said, just because you’re invited, it doesn’t mean you have to go. Moms are so smart.

If you do decline to participate in a BzzCampaign, we want you to know that you’re still welcome to join us, which is why the invitation might be there for a while. So if you change your mind, you can! (Are there more people out there that are as indecisive as I am?) And remember, even though you might not want to be a part of it, there is someone out there who wants to, and is going to have a good time. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure…