First off, this was one hell of a week. I apologize for not posting more often, but it’s been crazy, nuts and eye-opening, all rolled into one. And that was just from a business perspective.
The craziest thing, though, happened last night (Thursday).
Let’s rewind first.
Google my full name. Actually, here, I’ll Google “Mark Goren” for you.
For a long time, I’ve been seeing this guy ranking ahead of me. A Mark Goren in Cleveland, Ohio. A Mark Goren in Cleveland, Ohio who runs his own marketing agency. A Mark Goren in Cleveland, Ohio who runs his own marketing agency, whose father’s name is Marty.
Of course, I’m Mark Goren in Montreal, Quebec who runs his own marketing consultancy. And my father’s name is Morty.
I knew all this before Mark Goren from Cleveland called me a few weeks ago. He left a voice message suggesting we duke it out in a winner-take-all cage match for Google supremacy. A couple of rounds of phone tag and countless emails later, we finally connected last night. We had a video iChat for over an hour.
And it was surreal. We obviously had a lot to talk about. We determined that we’re not related. We talked family, community, sports, life, but we mostly chatted about social media and about how he feels the need to adapt his agency to reflect the new marketing landscape.
And he’s blogging too. Check out his Build A Movement blog. (I already talked to him about his partial feed. Out of kinship, I probably won’t unsubscribe if he doesn’t go full feed.)
I know that I’ve mentioned it before, but since I’ve been blogging, the people I’ve been in contact with as a result have been amazing. Just as the experience has been.
The world is smaller than ever. People are meeting new people and making new friends every day. It’s all about reaching out, connecting and making meaningful relationships. Last night’s chat was just one more powerful example.
As Mark Goren in Cleveland, Ohio who runs his own ad agency, whose father’s name is Marty told me last night, “I have a feeling we’ll meet one day.”
I have the same feeling too, Mark.
Unbelievable.
March 11th, 2007 at 8:21 am
I have a big google problem with my name because a former US Treasury Sec. was Robert Rubin. Most of my life I’ve been going by Rob, but professionally I was using Robert whenever I published anything. I switched to Rob once the other guy started getting tons of press (1992). You can still see the impact even though I’m not quoted like I was back in my analyst days at Forrester. Google Robert Rubin and then Rob Rubin and you’ll see what I mean.
March 11th, 2007 at 5:44 pm
You guys are lucky. A former colleague of mine got puller over and checked every time he flew anywhere because someone with his same name was on a “watch” list. So when you pick a name, do yourself a favor, and pick an original one ;-)
March 11th, 2007 at 9:02 pm
Thanks for the feedback, Rob and Valeria. One interesting story Mark (Cleveland) relayed to me was about a David Cohen in NYC who emailed about 300 other David Cohens and invited them to his apartment at a certain time on a specific date. He just waited at home and then slowly but surely, one David Cohen after another walked in.
Could be a interested way to meet the former US Treasury Secretary, Rob!
March 13th, 2007 at 7:35 am
[…] Look at this post about two guys named Mark Goren that recently met. […]
March 13th, 2007 at 7:34 pm
As I read this, I thought I could hear the theme from Twightlight Zone playing somewhere in the distance. I looked around to find the source, but then it went to a commercial.
March 15th, 2007 at 2:34 pm
That’s too funny!
I got a random phone call once from a guy looking for another girl with my name, and it turned out we knew a lot of the same people! Though I never met my name double.
As for google, I think I dominate “Kelly Rusk”, though there is a guy in Nevada with my name who’s pretty close…
March 17th, 2007 at 11:49 pm
Great post…great experience. But I LOVE this line:
“The world is smaller than ever.”
True dat. And yes, I too have met the most amazing people (like you).
March 19th, 2007 at 12:11 pm
David > Let me finish that sentence for you: “…then it went to a commercial that I skipped over with my PVR!”
Kelly > What out for guys named Kelly in Nevada. You can never be too sure.
CK > Working on meeting you all in NYC on Friday night. Now that would be really amazing. And true testament to the world being really small.
March 28th, 2007 at 10:31 pm
Mark:
Glad to see that our story has continued to gain interest. Hope all is well and hope to speak with you soon.
The original Mark Goren
April 16th, 2007 at 6:15 pm
hi, my mark is the original, and is morty a moishe?
September 3rd, 2008 at 8:09 am
Still trying to push down into Google oblivion the Steve Woodruff who is a cop-killer in California…the other SWs seem OK, but I’m not planning any meetups with that one anytime soon!
December 16th, 2009 at 3:48 pm
[…] To learn about how Mark and I met, read this old post. […]