Chip Griffin: Pardon the Disruption

No Winners in "People Ready" Kerfuffle, But A Few Observations

It never ceases to amaze me the way the tech blogosphere can get all up in arms over seemingly insignificant things.  The current firestorm over whether top tech bloggers like Mike Arrington, Om Malik, Fred Wilson, and Paul Kedrosky sold their souls by lending their words to a Microsoft "People Ready" campaign is just silly.

One look over at TechMeme tells you that far too many bits and bytes have been spent discussing this topic already, but since seemingly every other post in Google Reader this weekend have been on this topic, I feel compelled to get some things off my chest.

Old Media Endorses Products All The Time

Robert Scoble aptly points out that Leo Laporte does radio ads endorsing products.  Anyone who listens to AM radio regularly (or did anytime in the past several decades) no doubt has heard Paul Harvey waxing on about beds and other products.  Tune into any terrestrial radio station and you will hear a host plugging one product or another -- even news readers do this.  Folks, this is nothing new.

Would the Reaction be Different If It Wasn't Microsoft?

I can't help but wonder if this were an ad campaign engineered by Apple if the reaction wouldn't have been different.  Look at the different reactions to Microsoft's Vista campaign and Nikon's D80 blogger relations program.  Yes, there were minor differences in how the programs were communicated, but the net result is the same: bloggers get to play with expensive, high-end products at no cost for a really long time.

What's Up With John Battelle?

Let me be clear, I'm a John Battelle groupie.  I still miss the Industry Standard.  I loved The Search.  John's blog is on my "1stRead" list in Google Reader.  But what was he thinking when he threw his clients under the bus?  When you act as an agent for someone, as FM does with the blogs it reps for advertising sales, you shouldn't be publicly attacking those clients. 

At Least There's Healthy Debate This Time

One thing that strikes me as different about this blogstorm over blogger ethics is that there seems to be more of a healthy debate about the issue, with many bloggers actively wrestling with the issue.  During similar events in the past, I have been concerned by what I have seen as a rush to judgment and a "blog mob" mentality that sets in.  Here we have had some of the targets stand up to the initial mob attack, rather than folding at the first sign of controversy (notably Fred Wilson and Mike Arrington).  Unfortunately, some of the targets did throw in the towel, prematurely in my opinion.

Showing Irritation Only Emboldens Your Enemies

I don't blame Mike Arrington for getting pretty worked up in his response to this controversy.  Tabloid publications like ValleyWag can clearly get under one's skin pretty easily.  And if someone questions my integrity, you can be sure it's going to make me mad (and it has).  Unfortunately, showing that anger encourages more attacks, as Mike discovered when ValleyWag struck again.  It's important to try to remember schoolyard bullies and two-year old kids in cases like this.  If you show a reaction to their behavior, they keep at it.  If you ignore it, they get bored and move on.

For More Reading...

There's some really good thinking on this subject beyond what I referenced above.  I especially would commend to your attention two differing points of view.  Scott Karp tends to agree with me that this is much ado about nothing, but speaks to a need for bloggers to establish and stick to personal standards.  Jeff Jarvis and I couldn't be farther apart on this issue, but he puts quite a bit of thought and reasoning into his views and makes several points that I do agree with, despite his ultimate conclusion.

Technorati tags: People Ready, Microsoft, Mike Arrington, TechCrunch, Om Malik, Fred Wilson, Paul Kedrosky, Nick Denton, Valleywag, Scott Karp, Jeff Jarvis, blog mob, ethics, journalism, John Battelle, FM Published, Federated Media, advertising, Nikon D80, blogger relations, Leo Laporte, Robert Scoble, Paul Harvey, media ethics

The Blog Expectations Game

What do you expect from a blog?  Fred Wilson points out what I have been thinking myself the past few days: Marc Andreesen is doing a great job with his new blog -- but he's setting the bar very high for himself.  Nearly every day he has a relevant, provocative, and informative post.  And they aren't short, quick observations, but well-thought out missives.

Similarly, Steve Rubel used to post multiple times a day, often short quick notes with a link to other content.  In some ways, he acted as what Chris Brogan and others have called a "curator" (a role played most prominently by Robert Scoble on his link blog/shared Google Reader links).  But Steve now says he's going to try to focus on longer, more thoughtful posts more in the Marc Andreesen style.  In Steve's words: "less quantity more quality in the way of op-eds rather than shorter linky posts."

All of this raises the question of what people expect from a blog.  My philosophy is that as long as you maintain some consistency and don't change it up all the time, your audience will respect that.  Marc has done a nice job of coming out of the gate strong and that has, I'm sure, built him up a very solid audience.  Unless he feels he can keep the pace up, though, I would think he would be wise to space his posts out a little more. 

On the other hand, I can make a good case for the argument that bloggers should post what they have to say when they have something to say.  It is the philosophy I tend to follow -- if I can say something quickly and link away, I will.  If I have something longer and more thoughtful, I'll share that.  In my own way that's the consistency I offer: variety.  If it isn't your cup of tea, move on -- there's lots of voices out there.  If it is, why not subscribe by RSS or email?  (top right of this page, unless you are already a subscriber!)

Technorati tags: Marc Andreesen, blogging, Fred Wilson, Steve Rubel, Robert Scoble, Chris Brogan, curator, link blog

Drobo Takes Off - Yet Another Example of Buzz at Work

I had never heard any talk of a hard drive storage solution called Drobo until today.  And suddenly it seems to be everywhere.  Sal Cangeloso offers a good rundown of the story. 

I'm in the market for something like this right now since I can't help myself as far as doing podcasts goes.  Plus I'm experimenting with some video and still photography stuff at the moment, mostly to learn, but who knows where it may lead?  All of this takes a ton of disk space.  So the story appealed to me.

But it also shows yet again how quickly stories can take off in the blogosphere and how much we all can act as an echo chamber for each other from time to time.

Technorati tags: Drobo, Sal Cangeloso, buzz marketing

If You're Going to Blog Anonymously, At Least Be Smart About It

I'm not a big fan of anonymous blogging.  I don't think there's anything wrong with it and won't rule out ever doing it myself (it's foolish to say "never" anyway), I just prefer it when you're open about who you are when you're expressing opinions.  It helps the audience understand your message in context.  That said, I understand there are situations where it may be unavoidable if you are focused on wanting to share your views online.

But if you're going to blog anonymously, at least use enough common sense not to write in such a way that it is blatantly obvious who you are.  From today's Boston Globe:

As Ivy League-educated pediatrician Robert P. Lindeman sat on the stand in Suffolk Superior Court this month, defending himself in a malpractice suit involving the death of a 12-year-old patient, the opposing counsel startled him with a question.

Was Lindeman Flea?

Flea, jurors in the case didn't know, was the screen name for a blogger who had written often and at length about a trial remarkably similar to the one that was going on in the courtroom that day.

In his blog, Flea had ridiculed the plaintiff's case and the plaintiff's lawyer. He had revealed the defense strategy. He had accused members of the jury of dozing.

With the jury looking on in puzzlement, Lindeman admitted that he was, in fact, Flea.

The article itself then gets slightly hysterical about the risks of blogging ("The case is a startling illustration of how blogging, already implicated in destroying friendships and ruining job prospects, could interfere in other important arenas."), but story about "Flea" is worth reading as long as you ignore the hysteria.

Technorati tags: blogging, bloggers, anonymity, Boston Globe, malpractice, anonymous blog

No Shield Law for Bloggers

Steve Rubel reports today on efforts in the U.S. Congress to pass a shield law that would protect bloggers from disclosing sources for their posts.  The Columbia Journalism Review provides a detailed description of the proposal and its background.  Ironically, conservative Republican Mike Pence of Indiana is the driving force behind enacting a federal shield law to incorporate members of the traditional media as well as bloggers who work for "newsgathering organizations."  Few would typically consider conservatives to be the advocate for the traditional media.

Frankly, this is simply a bad idea, however.  One can debate the merits of a shield law for traditional media, but it strikes me that as valuable as blogs can be to the news process, a shield law for bloggers is a murky area at best.  If a blogger has knowledge of someone or some facts that related to a crime, for instance, why should the blogger be able to hide behind a shield law? 

Steve aptly points out that the definition of a newsgathering blogger will itself be a source of confusion.  He writes: "Some bloggers break news and then in the next post go back to talking about what they had for breakfast. The lines get even blurrier when you consider social news sites like digg and, of course, entirely new animals like Twitter."

Undoubtedly if such a law were to take effect some number of bloggers would try to use the shield to avoid complying with legitimate subpoenas.  It provides too much opportunity to tie things up in court in order to delay compliance.  And the first crazy blogger who uses the law improperly will give a bad name to the rest of us.

Writing protections for bloggers into the law is a good way to make the blogosphere more complicated and ultimately less free.  Don't fall into the trap of thinking that if something is purportedly done on behalf of bloggers that it is good for social media.

Technorati tags: Mike Pence, shield law, bloggers, Steve Rubel, Micropersuasion, Columbia Journalism Review, journalism, traditional media, social media, new media

Have We Reached the Peak of Mount Blog?

Great digging by Heather Green at BusinessWeek has uncovered the dirty little secret about the blogosphere that so many of us have surmised for some time.  It ain't nearly as big as the hype indicates, though it remains incredibly important for communicators.  Heather convinced David Sifry of Technorati to release more detailed data abbot his state of the blogosphere report.  Technorati claim to be tracking 70 million blogs.  That's not really accurate, however.  The truth is that the blog search engine has tracked 70 million different blogs at one time or another.  But just about 15 million of those have been updated in the past 90 days, suggesting that the vast majority of monitored blogs are dead.

When a blog loses its pulse, there's no need to include it in the population any longer.

Heather also writes: "The number of daily English language posts dropped to 495,000 in March from 507,000 in October."  The numbers she published also reveal that growth in active blogs over the same period of time was minimal: 15.3 million last fall and 15.5 million today.

Obviously, that's still a huge number of blogs and nothing that can be ignored.  But a good lesson for all here is that hyping numbers can end up making you look silly.  In this case, the reality of 15 million is still impressive; saying 71 million just doesn't hold up against the facts.

I would love to see even more detailed data that indicates of the 15 million active, how many update more than once a week?  Once a month?  With less than a half million English posts every day, the number that post regularly must be incredibly small.  Ultimately, those with a regular publishing schedule and audience will be the ones that are most likely to be influential.

One final note.  The number of English blog posts daily stands at about the same as (or perhaps even a little less than) what we see at CustomScoop as far as the number of online stories from traditional media outlets each day.  Put in that context, the blogosphere seems a lot less daunting to monitor.

Technorati tags: David Sifry, Technorati, Heather Green, Business Week, blog posting, blogosphere

Come Learn About Social Media

On May 15, Doug Haslam of Topaz Partners and I will present a Social Media Skills Workshop for the PRSA Yankee Chapter.  The event will be held at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, NH from 1-5 PM.  Cost is $35 for PRSA Yankee Chapter members and $45 for non-members.

This will be an information packed afternoon with time for hands-on learning. Below is the official description, or you can download the event flyer with tentative agenda and registration form in PDF format.  If you're interested in learning more about blogs, podcasts, and other forms of social media, I encourage you to register now. 

SOCIAL MEDIA SKILLS WORKSHOP
presented by Yankee Chapter/PRSA and sponsored by Southern NH University

Spend a half-day (1-5pm) learning all about social media, including blogs and podcasts.  By the end of this seminar, you will have learned how to:

• Pitch your company or client successfully!
• Build relationships through commenting on blogs and podcasts!
• Communicate your message unfiltered through your own blog or podcast!
• Assess your social media coverage using free or paid services! 

In addition, part of the workshop will include hands-on training where you will actually help create a simple blog and podcast.

Technorati tags: PRSA Yankee, PRSA, social media, professional development, public relations

Live Blogging Kicked Up a Notch with Video

Speaking of Shel Holtz, he has a great post about the next step in the live blogging revolution: live video.  This has been a topic of conversation in tech blogs this week because of the Web 2.0 expo.  I'll let Shel explain:

Over at PodTech Robert Scoble and Jeremiah Owyang took UStream for a spin at the recent Web 2.0 conference, using the live streaming capability to broadcast panel discussions and other activities. (Jeremiah wrote about it here.)

I can't recall where I saw it but there's a great if ridiculous photo of Scoble sitting next to Chris Pirillo while Chris is typing and Scoble is wearing a head-cam.  And did I mention they were on a panel at that time?  Only at a tech conference...

Though I managed to be enmeshed in the recent live blogging controversy, I suspect that I'll be able to remain on the sidelines of this discussion as I'm not sure I'm likely to become a videographer.  (Shel #1, Shel Israel, has an interesting post on the subject, especially since he was at ground zero of the debate.) 

I guess I'll just have to stick to annoying panelists and fellow attendees with keyboard clatter.

UPDATE: Jeremiah reminds me in the comments that I saw the photo on his blog.  It was from David Parmet.

Technorati tags: Shel Holtz, Shel Israel, live blogging, UStream, Robert Scoble, PodTech, live video, video streaming

Church of the Absurd

I was stunned this morning when I read Shel Holtz's post about Ben McConnell of the Church of the Customer blog arguing that PR pros should "stop pitching bloggers you don't know." 

Ben and sidekick Jackie Huba are smart people.  They're also very influential in the online marketing realm and have an increased profile of late as they tour to promote their Citizen Marketers book (which they've managed to get me to cite in two posts already today!).  To see one of them make such an absurd argument is startling to say the least.

Not all of what Ben says is bad advice.  He does argue that you shouldn't add bloggers to your latest blast email touting your announcement.  That's absolutely correct.  But as Shel points out in his post and as I do in my 7 Deadly Sins of Pitching Bloggers white paper, there are good ways to reach out to bloggers you don't already know.

Sticking your head in the sand and dealing only with friends in the blogosphere makes no sense. In this case, the Church of the Customer seems to be worshiping a false prophet.

Technorati tags: Ben McConnell, blogger outreach, Shel Holtz, blog pitching

Online Engagement

Jim Horton has written a thoughtful paper on "engagement" in the blogosphere.  No, not the precursor to marital bliss, this is an analysis of what the term means for blogosphere bliss for PR practitioners and marketers.  He includes descriptions of the ranges of people involved in writing and reading blogs (Engaged, Information Seekers, Aware, and Uninvolved).  In some respects, his descriptions are similar to what Jackie Huba and Ben McConnell discuss in Citizen Marketers.

He includes tips on how companies should get involved in the blogosphere along with suggestions for specific techniques to join the conversation.  Worth a read for anyone interested in thinking about this issue.

Technorati tags: Jim Horton, engagement, Citizen Marketers, blogs, online marketing, public relations

You Can't Really Know It If You Don't Do It

Some great advice from Charlie O'Donnell:

I think marketing & PR firms, VC firms, anyone who has any kind of business interest whatsover in social media needs to mandate that the decision makers on your staff, right on up to the top, all "walk the floor".   Maybe Fridays should be "social media days" where the whole office plays in MySpace, Second Life, blogs, plays World of Warcraft, Twitters, etc...   Like Google's 20% time.  Take some Flickr photos, poke some people in Facebook...   

I'm not sure an entire day every week is required -- I think that depends on precisely how social media fits into your company and job.  But I do believe it needs to be a significant investment by everyone involved.  More important, it shouldn't be mandatory.  If employees aren't interested in social media and inclined to use it of their own volition, they may not be the best fit for a social media-focused company or job position.

This is the same reason why most managers and coaches are ex-baseball players.  It's hard to coach a team if you haven't been there yourself.

(via Brian Oberkirch)

Technorati tags: socia media, employees, employee training, Charlie O'Donnell, Brian Oberkirch

You Can Go from Hell to Heaven with a Blogger

Good news for anyone who has crossed swords with a blogger.  It is possible to recover.  In a week in which we see Chris Locke and Kathy Sierra smiling and laughing together just days after serious accusations, including death threats, got tossed around, we now see Jeff Jarvis making nice with Dell.

I'm not sure which one is harder to believe, but I do know it is the latter that really interests me. 

For those unfamiliar, here's the short version from Jeff:

I had a rather infamous run-in with Dell here at Buzzmachine when I complained about a bad machine and service. They ignored me, but thousands of similarly frustrated customers did not.

This became known as "Dell Hell" and generated massively bad publicity for the company.  In recent months, however, Michael Dell has reasserted control over the company.  Dell has now gone to great lengths to join the online conversation, including starting a blog as well as an online suggestion site that has drawn incredible community interest.

Indeed, Dell is now going to offer Linux based computers because of the results of this online outreach.  For a company that resisted this sort of offering in the past, this is a major about-face.

Just as big was the outreach the company did to Jarvis recently:

When I blogged that I was headed down to Austin and the University of Texas last week, I got email out of the blue from Dell’s chief blogger, Lionel Menchaca, inviting me to meet him and his colleagues over drinks or out at Dell HQ. I said I hadn’t been planning to pack my flak jacket and he replied, “Even though it is Texas, there will be no guns involved.”

The meeting went so well that Jeff now says he wants to go back and talk with the company some more to learn about their transformation.  And rather than lambasting the company as a bunch of people who don't understand their customers, he now writes:

And so it was a delight to sit down with three guys from Dell and look at the new world from the same side. These guys get it.

This story clearly demonstrates that if a company gets in hot water in the blogosphere, all hope is not lost.  By changing practices and -- more importantly -- communicating more effectively with the social media community, reputations can be recovered.  It's not a slow process, and for Dell it clearly isn't over (for many in the blogosphere, they will likely remain, at a minimum, on probation for quite some time). 

In the past I have lamented the fact that the Blog Mob style of justice often used throughout the blogosphere scares companies away from joining the online conversation.  As bloggers and podcasters, we want those companies here with us, not on the outside looking in.  Hopefully the Jeff Jarvis and Dell story will now become a case study in how to recover, and not merely how to do things wrong.

Technorati tags: Jeff Jarvis, Dell Hell, Dell, social media, reputation, blog mob

7 Deadly Sins Featured in Bulldog Reporter's Daily Dog

Bulldog Reporter ran a column from me today that details my 7 Deadly Sins of Pitching Bloggers that I have written about in this space before. 

• Download the complete white paper for free
• Listen to a special 15 minute podcast version of the 7 Deadly Sins

Technorati tags: PR, Bulldog Reporter, pitching bloggers, 7 Deadly Sins of Pitching Bloggers, Chip Griffin

Rules Won't Stop Crazy People from Acting Crazy

The regrettable and offensive Kathy Sierra situation has spawned a story from the BBC about calls for a "blogger code of conduct."  Frankly, the story is thin on facts, and carries little more than Tim O'Reilly saying

I do think we need some code of conduct around what is acceptable behaviour, I would hope that it doesn't come through any kind of [legal/government] regulation it would come through self-regulation."

But neither he nor anyone else in the piece offers up any specifics or explains how this might cause future situations like Kathy's to be avoided.

And the fact is it won't stop crazy people from acting crazy.  Rules constrain those who generally behave well; those involved in this latest incident clearly aren't inclined to behave well.  Indeed, they have likely broken laws, so what makes anyone think they would be deterred by some "code of conduct"?

(hat tip to Neville Hobson for pointing out this story on Twitter)

Technorati tags: blogger code of conduct, Tim O'Reilly, BBC, Kathy Sierra, bloggers, blogsphere

Roundup of Blog Advertising Networks

John Battelle mentioned on his blog today that he's experimenting with some new ad pricing models on his blog.  It got me to thinking about the blog advertising space generally, so I decided to take a look at the current options for advertisers seeking to target blogs specifically.

Note that I did not include ad networks that do not permit targeting specifically to blogs.  For instance Google AdWords and AdBrite include blogs in their networks, but (to my knowledge) do not permit targeting only those sites.

BlogAds

The BlogAds network created by Henry Copeland skews heavily toward the political, though certainly not exclusively.  Here's how they describe it:

We represent the blogs you read -- Dailykos, Perez Hilton, Hotair, Atrios, MyDD, Americablog, PoliticalWire, GoFugYourself, OverheardinNewYork, CrooksandLiars, RightWingNews, IndieWire, OutsidetheBeltway and Cuteoverload. And we rep many blogs you don't read but should. In all, we place ads on 1100 peer-selected blogs with 300 million impressions a month in hives like: New Yorkers, Gothamist blogs, lawyers, evangelicals, gizmophiles, gays, conservatives, baseball fans, foodies, liberals, scientists.

The site is organized by topical "hives" (or groups of sites).  You can choose to buy hives or individual targeted sites.  Browsing through the options allows you to drill down and see the components of a particular hive and how much traffic each receives.  It is relatively easy to use and generally transparent with the information it provides.  Ads allowed are mixed media with images and text, or simple text.   

Blogsvertise

This firm serves more as a matchmaking society between advertisers and bloggers.  Here's how they describe their offering: "We offer 3 basic types of Sponsorship Opportunities: Blog Entries/Advertorials, Blog Home Page Links, Blog Home Page Banners."  And here's how it works: "The blogger receives an advertising request from you/our system. They accept or decline the offer."

It is impossible to browse their offerings without registering, so I can't speak to the number of participating blogs or the quality of their product interface.  It does appear that they are in the same vein as PayPerPost, in that they pay bloggers to write about companies.  They don't require a specific message and bloggers can be critical, but I saw no mention of any sort of disclosure policy on their site.  Their site indicates that advertisers pay $4 to $20 or so per post.

This one seems to be more of an SEO play than a blog advertising one, despite how they are marketing themselves.  I'm not going to get into the merits of the idea, since that has been adequately discussed here and elsewhere in the past.

CrispAds

Providing a pay per click (PPC) advertising network covering more than 3,000 blogs with more than 421 million impressions per month, I was surprised I hadn't heard of them before I went searching today to to find blog ad networks that had escaped my notice.  They do have some surprising language on their site, so I wonder about their track record.  For instance: "We currently have 6,000 text advertisers available on our blog network. However, our CPC Text Ads are currently offline to the general public. They will be restored in the near future." I'm not quite sure what that means exactly.  The web site also includes news on the home page, but it hasn't been updated since 2005. 

After digging a little more, I discovered that CrispAds had been put up for sale on eBay late last year but received no bidders.  They claimed a 30% gross profit margin, but set the minimum bid at $90,000 so there seems to be some disconnect there.  If it were really profitable, why sell it so cheap?

You can't search their inventory without registering, so it is hard to say what they really have to offer other than the broad category statistics they provide on their site.  I find this one intriguing, but the evidence suggests this may be one to be avoided until they provide more information on their site about their reliability and viability.

Federated Media

The blog network assembled by Federated Media includes a number of "A-listers."  As their promo materials describe it: "Ten of FM's first twenty partner sites - Boing Boing, Dooce, Fark, Metafilter, BuzzMachine, TechCrunch, Google Blogoscoped, GigaOm, TechDirt and Searchblog - are among Technorati's Top 100 most-influential weblogs online."

Options include graphical or text ads, as well as CPM or flat fee pricing.  Their search interface for finding advertising options leaves a bit to be desired, however.  The search results take a while to navigate and there is only page navigation at the top of the search results, with none at the bottom where it would be more logical.  When I get to the bottom of the page, why do I want to scroll back up to the top to go to the next page?  The search results also include all of the advertising options for each blog.  Ideally, I'd love to see it return the blog names with the ability to click a button to expand the listings to include that level of detail.  Frequently, you may want to see which blogs are available first, then drill into the pricing and sizing details later.

Despite the awkwardness of the interface, FM's network quality make it a winner for potential advertisers.

Feedburner

The established leader of blog feed distribution, FeedBurner, now provides an advertising network as well. Using this service you can advertise not only the web sites of blogs, but also in their feeds (naturally).  Ads can be in graphic or text format.  Targeting is done by channel, not by individual outlet.  Categories available include:   Arts & Entertainment, Business, Computing & Technology, Consumer Electronics, Current Affairs & Politics, Digital Culture, News & Information, and PC & Console Games. 

Using the site is pretty easy.  You simply browse through the available networks and channels to figure out where you want your ad to appear and go from there.  CPM rates are clearly posted for each and you have access to a list of included sites and recent blog posts to give you a clear idea of what you're signing up for.  There's even an online video to help you get started if you're at all intimidated.

PayPerPost

If you're interested in blog advertising and haven't heard of these guys ... I'm not sure where you've been.  Clearly the most controversial player in the space (and arguably not even in the space since they are generally perceived to be more SEO focused than advertising oriented), PayPerPost has certainly developed considerable name ID.

Nevertheless, they describe their offering as blog advertising, so they're included here.  The basic concept is that advertisers pay bloggers to mention their company or product.  Bloggers need not write positively.  They must disclose that they have been compensated for blog posts, but many believe the disclosure policy does not go far enough because it does not require the individual item to be labeled as a paid post.  (Here is not the place to discuss the merits of this, so I won't.)

Without registering, advertisers can't learn much more about the offering beyond a blurry screen shot and a picture of a smiling woman.  So I can't comment on how easy it may be to use or the quality of sites included in their database. 

PayPerPost is certainly a lightning rod for criticism so it would be wise to consider this as an advertiser since it could end up reflecting on you in the end.  If the company can sort out its image and disclosure issues, it could provide value.  Clearly identified sponsor posts likely have merit as a blog advertising device and would go beyond the SEO play they currently have going, for better or for worse.

Conclusion

Advertisers have more choices than ever in how to communicate their message throughout the blogosphere.  Let me know what you think about the companies included in this roundup and tell me if I have missed any that you are aware of. 

Technorati tags: John Battelle, BlogAds, Blogsvertising, CrispAds, FeedBurner, Federated Media, PayPerPost, Google AdWords, AdBrite

How to Blog Creatively

Mark McClennan of PRSA Boston offers a great post today where he compares PR to the children's television show, Dora the Explorer.  As a parent of young kids myself, I was actually familiar with the characters he mentions.  But even if I weren't, this style of blog post is an excellent example of how to get outside of the rut of simple commentary that appears frequently on most blogs (including this one).

Obviously, it would be nearly impossible to come up with something that creative or thought-provoking for every post, but trying to do so periodically helps break things up for the blogger as a writer and for the audience as a reader. 

So check out "What Dora the Explorer can Teach us about PR" not just for what it says about PR, but also for what it can do to help you blog better.

Technorati tags: Mark McClennan, PRSA Boston, Dora, blogging, Schwartz Communications

Ingredients for a Successful Blog

Chris Garrett offers an excellent post on the essential elements of a good blog.  He breaks it down into 3 key components:

• Content - fresh, quality material to interest readers
• Syndication - simple delivery of content to readers in convenient formats
• Conversation - a dialogue between the blogger and readers

Like all good products, blogs must serve the consumer -- in this case the reader.  Check out the full post for more great advice on how to build a solid mix and ultimately a quality blog.

Technorati tags: Chris Garrett, blogging

Printing Blog Posts

There are times where I wish it was easier to print blog posts.  Just as the mainstream media found as they came online that they needed to make it convenient for readers to email and print stories, why isn't it easier to do so with blog posts? 

Feedburner has a widget that makes emailing relatively simple, but I have yet to find an option to convert blog posts to a printer-friendly format.  While most blog posts are short and easy to read and digest on-screen, I'm still old school enough that I like to print out longer ones or ones that I want to "chew on" a little bit. 

For instance, when Shel Israel posts excerpts from Global Neighbourhoods for review and comment, that would be a perfect candidate for printing.  Or Philip Liu's "101 Great Posting Ideas."  Or Stan Schroeder's "Big Memetracker Roundup."

Since all this stuff is available as a feed anyway, it would be great for Typepad, Wordpress, and the other platforms to make it an easily available link.  And Feedburner should make it part of its "FeedFlare" since so many folks use that. 

Technorati tags: Feedburner, TypePad, WordPress, blog posts, printing, printer-friendly

How to Create Great Blog Content by Writing "Evergreen" Posts

Most of the time when you write for your blog, you're probably writing for the moment.  Expressing your opinion on some news of the day, reacting to someone else's blog post, or sharing timely information.  And this is all great for keeping a blog fresh and attracting subscribers. 

But what about attracting valuable search engine traffic?  If you're visiting a blog from a search engine, you want more meat.  And well-written blog posts can be very valuable sources of search engine traffic that can help raise your profile and that of your blog.  The trick is to come up with content that has "evergreen" value -- in other words it doesn't become immediately dated shortly after posting.  (The term evergreen is often used in business to describe a contract that doesn't expire; the origin is likely evergreen trees that never lose their leaves, even in winter.)

Evergreen posts will usually be about more substantive topics and are generally longer than typical blog posts.  Often, they provide good advice to readers or summarize important issues, market segments, or ideas.  I know from watching my own traffic logs that I have successfully written a number of evergreen pieces -- some by design and some frankly by accident.

Here are some guidelines to follow when developing evergreen content for your blog:

• Write a descriptive headline.  There's a time and place for ironic or funny headlines, but not with evergreen content.  Describe exactly what you're going to do in the post (as I have done with this one).
• Use phrases that readers will type in search engines.  One post I wrote last year continues to generate good traffic because it questioned how a lot of us who are technology entrepreneurs think.  But it also used a lot of the terms people search for frequently like Web 2.0 and referenced frequently discussed conferences, events and companies.
• Create a list.  Lists generate good traffic in the present as well as the future.  My "10 Ways Web 2.0 Promises to Change the Way We Live and Work" keeps on generating traffic today because it references a lot of hot button topics, but more importantly because it simplifies the thinking about what can be a complex topic for many people.
• Answer a burning question.  You probably aren't writing a FAQ, but sometimes you should treat your blog post as a Q&A to give it staying power.  My "Are Bloggers Journalists?" post still gets frequent visits because it offers my answer to a question that won't go away any time soon.
• Build a resource for visitors.  My posts about Microsoft's new operating system, especially the one on podcasting software for Vista, generate steady traffic because there aren't many resources out there on this subject right now.  Directories and "how to" posts can serve as an ongoing tool for people which will help generate search engine traffic and links.  More important, it actually provides a useful resource for the community.

Of course, sometimes you just get lucky and a post you had never intended to be evergreen, continues to be so.  I found that with my "Read This Before You Interview With Me" post that pops up all the time in my logs.  And we're not hiring that many people that it is just job seekers for my company!  Heck, it doesn't even have much original content in it; rather it seconds many suggestions by Guy Kawasaki and adds a bit to it.

For more on the subject, see here.

Technorati tags: great blog content, blogs, blog content, blog writing, writing, blog promotion, blog marketing, evergreen content, evergreen

The Differences Between Blogs, Podcasts, and Video

Mitch Joel has been talking recently on his podcast, Six Pixels of Separation, about the difference between audio and video podcasts.  Then I heard John Furrier of PodTech talking about it on a podcast with Heather Green of BusinessWeek.  And it all got me thinking.

Relative Value.  I think John made an interesting point when he said that he felt that there was a difference in the viral nature of various forms of social media vs. their engagement level.  He said that video and blogs are more viral than podcasts, but that podcasts result in higher engagement than blogs and video has higher engagement than either.  On the other hand, blogs are best at SEO value. 

I would also argue that web video has the potential to be more mainstream than podcasts and potentially even blogs.   Consumers I think will be more willing to embrace this medium than the other two because it has a greater potential to be fun and engaging.  Podcasts are likely to remain more of a niche tool -- though a valuable one because of their power to connect with an influential audience.  And blogs will continue to gain traction, though they lack some of the entertainment potential of video.

Format Differences.  Mitch and others have pointed out that it is much harder to watch video than listen to a podcast.  The number of opportunities to watch are smaller than the number to listen.  In addition, video and blogs require greater attention from the audience, in most cases, whereas podcasts are more passive and support other simultaneous activity by the listener.

This suggests that podcasts can be longer than video and blogs must be kept relatively brief.  To overcome those time/length limitations, they would need to be truly exceptional -- even indispensable -- content.

Interestingly, I find that for web video, I am more likely to engage in ones that have nearly as much value from listening as from viewing.  Interviews, panel discussions, event speakers, and the like are more likely to get me to call up a web video.  I need not watch 100% of the time to still extract value.  On the other hand, if I am going to watch a web video in its entirety, my limit is somewhere around 5 minutes or so.

Monetization Potential.  John thought that podcasts would be the most difficult to monetize, with video being easier because advertisers like to be able to show their products.  It is an argument that makes sense, though monetizing video still hasn't proven to be a wildly successful endeavor.  I do believe it is coming, however.  Blogs have certainly demonstrated some ability to be monetized and that trend will likely continue.

Conclusion.  Different forms of media serve different purposes.  Content creators should make sure that they deploy the correct medium for the goal they wish to achieve.

Technorati tags: PodTech, BusinessWeek, John Furrier, Mitch Joel, Six Pixels of Separation, blogs, podcasts, video, web content, Heather Green

The 7 Deadly Sins of Pitching Bloggers

My latest white paper has been published and describes common mistakes companies make when pitching bloggers -- and how to do avoid those pitfalls.  I've talked about most of these individually on my blog before, but the paper has examples and strategies for doing a better job at getting your message out online.

1 Failing to Be Transparent

2. Appearing to Bribe

3. Lacking Your Own Blog

4. Making a Bad Pitch

5. Being Scripted

6. Forgetting Everything is “On the Record”

7. Making Claims That Can Be Easily Disproved

Ultimately, the point of the paper is to encourage companies to open a dialogue with bloggers.  By joining the conversation and communicating effectively, companies can benefit from this great medium.

Hopefully you will find this interesting.  And, as always, I welcome your feedback.  Did I miss any sins? 

You can download the paper here for free without having to register.

Technorati tags: blogs, PR, pitching bloggers, whitepaper, white paper

SmartMoney = DumbAboutBlogs

I subscribe to SmartMoney magazine, the dead tree version.  Although I subscribe to and read several hundred blogs every day, I still find value in printed magazines, especially for reading while on an airplane (my Sony Reader can't be used on takeoff and landing for instance).  And I do find the "serendipity" factor discussed a few weeks ago in this space to be valuable as well.

Usually I find the magazine to be fairly insightful.  But the "10 things" article in the current issue may be the dumbest one ever.  The column generally exposes the dark underbelly of various products and services (see "10 things your florist won't tell you" or "10 things your fitness club won't tell you" -- the two most recent ones).  In this case, however, the writer targets bloggers.

Apart from the fact that bloggers don't charge for people to read their content, the claims themselves are absurd.  Although it may validate the story too much, I want to respond to each in turn.

1. "Hardly anybody reads me." Incredulously, the article contains the following: "So what's the norm? Google CEO Eric Schmidt told a recent gathering of U.K. politicians that the average blog has just one reader: the blogger."  If the whole point of the column is what you need to about a blogger, wouldn't you only care if you were reading it?  Therefore you would automatically double the audience.  But more to the point, all content can have lots of readers or none.  It's just as true for magazine articles as it is for blogs.

2. "The more companies pay me, the more I like their stuff." From the article: "Companies looking for ways to profit from the blogging phenomenon have tried everything from buying ad space on blogs to infiltrating discussion forums with hired PR shills."  Ah, advertising is the same as trolling?  Gimme a break.

3. "Did I mention I'm not a real reporter?"  The author of the piece, Daniel Cho, says that "more than one-third of bloggers consider their work a form of journalism."  I may not have been a math major, but doesn't that mean that two-thirds of bloggers don't consider themselves journalists?  If I don't claim to be a mathematician, should I make sure everyone knows that whenever I use numbers on my blog?

4. "I might infect your computer with a virus."  I'm really not making this up.  This section reads like a 1980s "you might get AIDS from using a public toilet" argument. Cho writes "But blogs can contain malicious code just like any other site ... Another tactic involves targeting innocent blogs and inserting malicious links into the reader comment section — one click and your computer could be infected." Psst! Tell your bosses at SmartMoney because they have a web site and -- are you sitting down? -- they allow comments!

5. "I'm revealing company secrets." This is one where there is the tiniest sliver of merit.  Companies do need to have blogging policies so there are no misunderstandings about what it is OK to reveal about internal company matters online.

6. "Just because my name's on it doesn't mean I wrote it."  It's possible Cho doesn't realize ghost-writing is an entire industry.  Is it better if the owner of a blog authors every word, sure.  Is it atrocious if they have a ghost writer?  No, though it probably won't come across as well.  Celebrities and prominent individuals frequently have others pen their words for their approval. 

7. "My blog is just a stepping stone to bigger and better things."  Wow, bloggers have ambition!  Stop the presses!  Of course, I don't imagine Daniel Cho wants to write "10 things" for the rest of his life and might actually like to see his title shortened from "Reporter-Researcher" to "Reporter."  But I'm sure he didn't think of that when he wrote this article, which as it turns out appears to be his first piece in SmartMoney.

8. "I can control what you see on the Internet."  Yup, tinfoil hat time, folks.  This part is all about Google search results.  That would be Google, the search engine.  Which as we all know bloggers control.  (Just don't tell Larry, Sergey or the aforementioned Eric.)

9. "Blogging just about ruined my life."  Do or say something stupid and it can matter later in life.  But lots of things can do that.

10. "I'm already obsolete."  If blogging is done, why are you writing about it?

(via Jeff Jarvis)

Technorati tags: Jeff Jarvis, SmartMoney, Daniel Cho, 10 Things, blogging, Google

Control vs. Influence

Jim Horton wrote today about the lack of control that companies have, especially over product announcements, in the new media era we live in.  That got me thinking to the question of control vs. influence.

The mantra of the blogosphere tends to be that companies cannot and should not attempt to control the conversation.  In reading countless blogs and having conversations with a lot of companies interested in, but leery of, online media, I find that many are confusing the issues of control and influence.

Controlling the conversation is not possible in the blogosphere, or for that matter in any word-of-mouth environment or even the traditional mainstream media.  Even the most powerful and influential media operation in the world, the one run by the White House, can't control the conversation, no matter the occupant of the Oval Office.  All try and all fail.

But just because you can't control what is being said doesn't mean you shouldn't try and influence it.   Some argue that companies should merely participate in the conversation honestly and allow it to follow its natural course. 

To which I say: "baloney." 

Companies, individuals, and organizations with a stake in online conversations should not only join them, but view them strategically and tactically.  To communicate effectively, you must understand what you are communicating, how you are doing it, and what your ultimate goal may be. 

Unfortunately, for many this causes a devolution into "corporate speak," which does not help the cause.  Certainly it is a delicate balancing act, but one must walk that tightrope in order to effectively communicate online.

Don't try to control the online conversation; you can't.  But do be smart about trying to influence it effectively.

Technorati tags: influence, control, blogs, blogosphere

Restaurateur Declares Blog War on New York Times

In the Web 2.0 world, when you get angry with the mainstream media, you have some recourse.  You can blog to communicate your unfiltered message.  But how do you equalize the audience for your message with the audience for the outlet that wronged you? 

If you're Jeffrey Chodorow, known to some as Rocco DiSpirito's business partner in the NBC TV reality show "The Restaurant," you declare a blog war on the New York Times.  In a costly full page ad in today's paper, Chodorow savages restaurant critic Frank Bruni and the rest of the crew in the food section.  He announces that he's started his own blog to shadow their work (and presumably ridicule them).

Furious at a scathing review of "Kobe Club" by Bruni in the February 7 edition of the Times, Chodorow decided to get even -- or at least fight back.  Here's how he describes his blog:

This blog was born partly out of my love for food and for great restaurants (from neighborhood joints to the world’s finest) and partly in response to an increasingly negative, downright nasty climate that has surfaced in the world of restaurant journalism. My intent is to provide a different perspective—from a restaurateur’s point of view—as well as to share some of the great food experiences I have been exposed to because of my success in the business. I’ve also made it my mission with this blog to comment on reviews that I feel are not-fair, not-objective and not-constructive.

Certainly Bruni poked his finger squarely in Chodorow's eye in the review:

Kobe Club occupies the Midtown space once inhabited by Mix in New York, Mr. Chodorow’s cheeky, ill-fated collaboration with the French chef Alain Ducasse.

Mix wasn’t even Mr. Chodorow’s flashiest recent failure. Who can forget Rocco’s on 22nd, scene of “The Restaurant,” where Mama’s meatballs were sauced with acrimony and eventual litigation? Or its short-lived successor in that location, Brasserio Caviar & Banana?

Brasserio Caviar & Banana — the name really does bear repeating — tried a grill-from-Ipanema approach and foreshadowed Mr. Chodorow’s fascination with sharp objects. Meats came on disturbingly, dangerously long skewers.

No doubt Chodorow has many in the New York restaurant community silently rooting for him, while others are cringing.  It will be interesting to see what approach the Times takes.  They can try to ignore it; seek retribution using the pen as a sword; or they can tone down future reviews.  One certainly wonders whether Bruni -- or anyone else at the Times -- can objectively review a Chodorow establishment after this broadside.

As a "foodie" and a proponent of blogs as a medium to circumvent the mainstream media, I find this story fascinating and look forward to watching it continue to unfold.

Technorati tags: Jeffrey Chodorow, Rocco DiSpirito, Frank Bruni, New York Times, food critic, restaurant critic, Kobe Club, foodie, blog war, mainstream media, Web 2.0

I Can't Live Without My Feeds!

OK, that's a bit of an exaggeration.  But it was a tough two hours this morning as I was unable to access my Newsgator feeds using FeedDemon between about 5 AM and 7 AM.  At first I thought it was my new Vista computer since it has been a bit cranky.  But when fiddling with the machine and rebooting it didn't help, I logged in to Newsgator Online.  That's when I saw a bunch of SQL 2005 error messages and realized it wasn't me.

Well, my feeds are finally back so now I can fill my head with all sorts of stuff and get my day back on track.  I guess its only when you can't access information that you realize how much you value it.

Technorati tags: Newsgator, Feeddemon, SQL Server 2005, feeds, RSS

Reading from a Marketing Fire Hose

A few weeks ago Todd And released the "Power 150" -- 150 top marketing blogs, as determined by a formula that combined several measures, including Google PageRank, Technorati Links, Bloglines subscribers, and Todd And's own subjective rating.  I didn't quite make the 150 list -- just eked out position number 173 to make the "near miss" list (that goes all the way to ... 175).

Alas, it's still a great list.  But what makes it even better is that there is now a "river of news" feed available for the list that enables you to subscribe to all the posts from all 175 blogs.  That's a great resource for discovering content you might otherwise overlook.

I've added it to my feed reader and have already found a number of interesting posts.

Technorati tags: ToddAnd, Todd And, Power150, Power 150, marketing blogs, marketing

Anyone Can Be a Blogger

OK, well maybe not anyone.  But if you can write an email, you can write a blog.  So says Farrell Kramer in an informative article in PR Tactics.  The key to blogging in my opinion is the enthusiasm and commitment to doing it.  The actual writing is pretty easy and certainly mimics what many professionals do every day. It's informal and concise. 

The problem for most people who attempt to blog is that they quickly lose steam.  It takes a fair amount of time to come up with timely and relevant ideas to turn in to blog posts.  And it takes time to build an audience, without which many bloggers would be demoralized.

Technorati Tags: blogosphere, communications, media, PR, public relations

Bloggers Shouldn't Fear Freebies

I have a lot of respect for Jim Horton, a longtime PR blogger who I have been reading since before I myself began to blog.  Nevertheless, I disagree with his post this morning that encourages bloggers to take a pledge against accepting freebies.

Certainly if a blogger wishes to do this, he should be free to do so.  But I would hate to see bloggers pressured into taking this position.  It has been a common marketing practice to provide free product samples to target audiences -- be it consumers, influentials, or journalists.  Perhaps the most jaw-dropping example is the official Oscar gift basket handed out at the Academy Awards.  Marketers vie for the ability to give away free samples to these celebrities and ultimately the value of the gifts in each basket is said to exceed $100,000.

Jim argues that "blogging is being compromised by freebies. It is getting so one can no longer trust what anyone writes."  He argues that bloggers should swear off such promotional items just as reporters largely did so in the post-Watergate era. 

While I don't know where Jim comes down on the Oscar gifts or other product giveaways, I would surmise that he would argue that bloggers should respect the standards of journalism, rather than celebrity. 

I have argued in the past that bloggers are not necessarily journalists.  If a blogger holds himself out to be a journalist, then perhaps such standards and pledge-taking would be appropriate and wise.  But the vast majority of bloggers do not pretend to be impartial reporters of fact -- quite the opposite. 

Frankly I see little harm in freebies.  I can't believe that in the vast majority of situations the receipt of a free product sample would cause someone to write positively about a product that they dislike.  There would simply be no point in granting false praise.  As many companies have experienced, free samples do not guarantee positive reviews.  And while I prefer to see full disclosure of such gifts if they are written about on a blog, I'm not convinced that doing so contributes much to the review one way or the other.

We all have our biases.  Apple aficionados will tend to always say nice things about that company's products even without freebies.  Dell-haters are likely to dismiss new product offerings from that company regardless of free samples.  Perhaps you had an outstanding or disappointing experience with a company in the past.  That's likely to influence any review as well.

Ultimately we as individuals or as bloggers should feel free to speak our minds.  And marketers should be free to share product samples with anyone they like. 

A blogger who chooses to take the No Freebie Pledge should feel free to do so, but those who do not should not be ashamed of that choice either. 

Technorati tags: Jim Horton, free samples, marketing, bloggers, ethics