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Blogging Transmogrified

January 31, 2006 By Leave a Comment

Following a statement, Hugh MacLeod today asks the question:

The point of what we’re doing is not getting people to leave comments on a certain URL. The point of what we’re doing is selling wine.

 

Which makes me ask the question: When does blogging become something else? When does it become “not blogging”?

Hugh makes the point that blogging is more than just blogging in the context of its use as a business tool.  In trying to continue the buzz of his product, in this case Stormhoek Wine, (btw Hugh this Yank is still waiting on his free bottle) the blog is only part of the overall equation.  Sure the blog itself is a great communication tool, but I have read more about Stormhoek Wine on other places in the internet than I ever did on their blog.  So, when does blogging become something else?

My answer?  Simply, blogging becomes transmogrified into a “conversation” and then the ripples in the pond grow from there.  A blog is merely the stone cast into the pool.

Man, that’s deep, someone should write that down!

Filed Under: Bloggers For Hire

Pre-boarding is now available … Earn money from Blogonomics!

January 30, 2006 By 2 Comments

BlogonomicsAffiliate programs are hot.  People love to earn a little bit of cash from something you like or want to support.  Thanks to some suggestions from friends we’ve started a Blogonomics affiliate program!  Scott unveiled it in this post on our Blogonomics blog and there are some terms and conditions and we’re only taking a few people to start.

What’s the bottom line?  You get $50 per conference registrant (not including guests), we’ll pay you in November by cheque or it can be applied to the cost of your own cruise!

The other thing about this is that we think that this is the first blogging conference to not give you a discount if you link to us, but actually pay you.  We think this is revolutionary.  So if you can’t attend, just can’t get away, you can still benefit from the cruise buzz and our success.

Welcome aboard!

Tags: , blogging cruise

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Filed Under: Advertising, Blogging News

The McDonald’s Blog Conversation

January 30, 2006 By 5 Comments

My last post about the McDonald’s blog has opened a conversation of sorts.  Kate at My Name is Kate takes offense on behalf of my statement that the current state of the McDonald’s blog is less than stellar.  I must say I have never been accused of being an elitist or A-lister, but that being said, I would like to address Kate’s point.  A valid point that should be taken into consideration.

She discusses the issues related to a large corporation and how difficult it is to be a large company.  To answer your question Kate, yes, I have and do work for a very large corporation and I certainly understand how something as little as a blog could be a huge undertaking.  I also know that companies don’t launch a new program without first some type of pilot program or testing of the new medium.  I too have seen red tape up to my eyeballs in legalities, public relations, policies and all of the other things that go into a program.  I do applaud McDonald’s for its jump into the pool.  My advice is before you jump, make sure you can swim.

My adive to McDonald’s is to make this more of a conversation, and less of a corporate newsletter.  The points made in Shel’s piece were right on.  I don’t think he meant to be arrogant in his statements, but he was giving definitive constructive criticisms and advice, that if followed, would make the blog more beneficial to the company.  He was just being a lifeguard!

Let the conversation continue Kate and as always, another viewpoint is always welcome here, after all, blogs are about communication of different viewpoints and ideas.  Perhaps we can hash out that great corporate plan for McDonald’s.

 

Filed Under: Corporate Blogs

McDonald’s Blogging Advice

January 28, 2006 By 2 Comments
Today we get to be witness to some excellent advice from a blogger who really knows the importance of blogging. Shel Israel calls McDonald’s out for their feeble attempt to enter into the conversation. Shel set forth 5 points to ponder on the part of the McDonald’s blog.
His points include:
1. Start a conversation with your customers.

2. Talk about a typical day in the life of a franchise owner

3. Ask your customers what they want of you.

4. Drop the language of corpspeak.

5. Read other people’s blogs.

I too applaud McDonald’s for moving forward with this project, and I’m sure as they work out the bugs, they may even benefit from this blog. They certainly seem to be taking it slowly at the start. I’m sure with a company of this nature, it takes 15 levels of management and 5 law firms and a CEO stamp of approval before the edited copy ever makes its way to the blog. This in no way represents a conversation, and I’m not sure what they hope to accomplish. For now I will take a wait and see attitude, but I will also use this as an example of how not to conduct a company blog.
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Filed Under: Blogs and PR, Corporate Blogs

The Virtual Handshake

January 28, 2006 By Leave a Comment
I was finally able to finish a book sent to me by David Teten and Scott Allen called “The Virtual Handshake“, published by AMACOM.  I have recently been sent a plethora of books regarding blogging, blog marketing and online businesses.  As online business becomes the norm instead of the exception, we will be asked to change our thinking and how we conduct business.  We are seeing small firms going global as a result of the internet, and large firms trying to hold on to the power they are losing to the more forward thinking businesses.Ads by AdGenta.com
 
“The Virtual Handshake is a great book for those that want to be given the tools to succeed online.  The book makes the complex more simple to understand, and gives some practical advice that can revolutionize the way you conduct your online business.  I found myself nodding in agreement and shaking my head in amazement as I stumbled across situations I have experienced and how much better they explained it.  Anyone that uses the Simpson’s as an example of networking, in my mind, is someone who can do business with me anytime!
 
I also suggest you add to your reads on the internet The Virtual Handshake Blog.  Thanks David and Scott, your book is now in my library of recommended reads.
 
 
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Filed Under: Marketing

Blogs, SEM and SEO

January 27, 2006 By 2 Comments

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and Search Engine Optimization seem to be all the rage no matter where you go and no matter who you are talking to about the future of advertising, marketing, and PR. The topic always seems to be the foremost on every business decision maker’s mind. SEM conferences all over are filled to the gills with business owners trying to learn how to improve there SEM and wanting to learn the best SEO tactics.

I constantly preach about the use of blogs as part of the tools necessary in any campaign involving SEM and SEO. Why? Blogs are very search friendly. No, they are not the only answer to a search campaign, but nonetheless, they are easy, cheap, and can provide some great organic search results. David Berkowitz posted about SEM yesterday as he attended the Frost & Sullivan symposium and some great discussion has been started there.

While talking to my client’s about blogging, whenever the conversation wanders into search and “Findability” (attribution for the term coined by Dave Taylor) they suddenly are all ears wanting to know the secrets to success.  As I move on to the next part of the consultation, they usually want to go back to the SEM portion of the discussion. 

SEM and SEO are the hot items now in the world of business, and blogging can be a great tool to use to increase a company’s presence in the ultimate goal of page 1 search results.  Heck, even a guy without trying any SEO tactics at all can be the top search term over a company as large as Microsoft!  All the King’s horses and all the King’s men in that company can’t overcome a simple Daddy blogger.

Filed Under: Advertising, Blogs and PR, Findability, Marketing, Search Engine Optimization

Every conference needs a badge … here’s ours

January 26, 2006 By 2 Comments

Blogonomics 2006Hot off the pixel press is the brand-spanking new Blogonimics 2006 badge (thanks Scott)! So when you sign up, and you should soon because the cost goes up after March 15, put this badge on your site, link to us … and we’ll see you on board!

Gear up for Blogging

Tags: , blogging cruise, Blogonomics.net

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Filed Under: The Site

Blogspeak – What does it mean to blog?

January 23, 2006 By Leave a Comment
“Yeah, blogs are great Jim but what does that mean to me and my business?”
 
Media Post’s Sara Holoubek presented an article entitled “When in Rome” where she discusses the different languages that are spoken by different people in the business world.  She discusses a common theme I see between people in the business world and people in the blog world.    Her example is that of a CMO, and a search engine marketer, and her point is:
 
Learning CMO-Speak According to the CMO Council (a peer networking group of senior technology executives), it is actually the search agencies that “do not get it” (in the broadest, most inclusive sense). CMOs today are craving comprehensive, integrated, measurable campaigns that evidence tangible business value. Donovan Neale-May, the executive director of the CMO Council, says, “I don’t think there is a CMO who believes he/she shouldn’t be spending on some form of search optimization, as that is essential to acquiring leads and driving site traffic and prominence.”
Many CMO’s want the optimization of search and they crave more traffic to their website and ultimately more eyes on their business.  How do you explain to the CMO that blogging may be a great avenue for just this purpose?
 
One such marketer–my acquaintance Steven Cook, vice president of worldwide strategic marketing worldwide for the Coca-Cola Company–agrees that search is important. “I believe in interactive and electronic,” he says. “I have conviction that your brand message needs to be where, when, and how your customers want to interact with you.” So what would he tell interactive agencies? “Help me create solutions to maximize my brand’s promise, level of consideration, engagement and experience with my audience.”

Note his choice of words: brand promise, level of consideration, engagement and experience. You see, the CMO could care less about the average cost per click. When you score that golden meeting with him (or her), she wants to hear how you will change her business.

I often have said that if you go into a meeting where your product is relatively unknown, you won’t leave with the contract if you show them how brilliant you are with your technical knowledge.  I have never had to deal with that problem because my technical knowledge of the inner workings of a blog is just enough to get me in a load of trouble.  What I know is the benefits of blogging, and the way in which it allows people to discuss and to interact.  I talk about being transparent and the rewards of gaining another reader.  All of these things are the same rewards that CMO is looking for in a technical tool.

“Don’t tell me how it works, tell me what it does!” 

That is the other part of explaining business blogging.  Thanks Sara for the inspiration, and if ever in Rome, I’ll post about it on my blog!

Technorati Tags : Sara+Holoubek, ,

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Filed Under: Corporate Blogs, Findability, Marketing, Search Engine Optimization

RSS and Newsletters … is e-mail done?

January 23, 2006 By 2 Comments

The e-mail newsletter is a tried and true way of communicating with existing customers and offering a hook for new ones.  With RSS on the scene, will the e-mail newsletter fade away?  Probably not, according to Steve Rubel.  Comparing the FeedBlitz and new Squeet RSS to e-mail services. Steve thinks that the two will be able to co-exist for a while.  He does add this enticing tidbit at the end though …

RSS feeds aren’t going to replace email publishing any time soon. However, I do see a future for paid email newsletters that are powered by feed technology.

The end result will be better and better RSS reading and organizing tools to help manage our information faster and send it to other people who can benefit from it.

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Filed Under: Blog Tools, Services

Great News!

January 23, 2006 By Leave a Comment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 22, 2006

 

One By One Media Announces Blogonomics Business Blog Cruise 2006

 

One By One Media will be launching a unique business blogging conference for October 5-9, 2006.  This conference will be the first of its kind, as the conference will occur on Royal Caribbean’s popular ship the Enchantment of the Seas.

 

“We, at One By One Media, believe that there are great conferences out there, but we decided we needed to differentiate our conference from the rest.  We wanted this to be a more hands on approach to blogging for businesses”, said Jim Turner, Chief Managing Partner of One by One Media

 

The conference presents some of the brightest blogging minds in the business including:  Jeremy Wright of b5media, who recently released his book Blog Marketing and B.L. Ochman who spearheaded the recent blog campaign with Budget Rental Car.  “These presenters were chosen for their forward thinking in the use of blogs as business marketing and advertising tools,” Turner said.  In addition, the cruise will feature emcee Scott Goldblatt, a 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist and now professional blogger.

 

The cruise will leave Fort Lauderdale on October 5 and travel to Key West and Cozumel, Mexico before returning to Fort Lauderdale on October 9, 2006.  The cruise will include presentations on blog strategy, we will share practical tips and tactics, address the tough questions, and present business blog success stories.  There will be numerous networking opportunities and a number of workshops for learning the practical uses of blogs as tools for business.

 

For more information on attending the cruise or to become a sponsor of this one-of-a-kind event, please visit www.blogonomics.net or contact Scott Goldblatt (sgoldblatt@onebyonemedia.com) or Jim Turner (jturner@onebyonemedia.com).

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