CrapHammer

Blog Monetization

Mack discusses blog monetization, a much visited topic in blogdom, but as in all things viral garden, he does so with style and substance.  And he directs a rather pointed finger at Jaffe and his latest sponsorship idea.

And he ends by raising a question to the rest of us.

"What are your thoughts on blog-monetization? Does an example like the Target blog work for you, or are you just fine with Jaffe's iPhone deal? Or can you think of other examples that could directly benefit readers as well?"

Time for me to come clean.  I'm all for monetizing a blog under certain circumstances.  CK and I have discussed it and I've emerged with only a slightly bloodied lip and blackened eye.  But I don't mean to take her on as I totally get and support where she's coming from.  The problem is in the definitions and by translation, the context.

Blogging is a bad term.  David Armano has called for us to not refer to people as bloggers.  And I finally understand his concern as the concept of a "Blog" is equally misleading and key to this discussion.  It's like referring to Time Magazine, The Economist, The Mary Peabody Association for Ants Newsletter, a personal diary and my craphammer blog all as the same thing.  We wouldn't think to do this.  We intrinsically understand they are each different.

Yet we refer to every blog as a single entity without meaning to do so.  As a blog.  And they are anything but a single thing.  There are so many different types of blogs which is further compounded by an endless number of purposes and intentions.

There are blogs that aggregate content by topic or area.  There are blogs that are looking to be an online 'zine of sorts.  And there are blogs that are basically extensions of the blog owner.  Just to name a few.

Okay.  Now I can answer the question.  Let's assume we are talking about an individuals site.  Not some multi-author zine with editors and online ads to fund it.

How do you deal with the bias?  We all have bias.  But when someone is giving us a gift or money, does this not change our evaluation of their site or offering?

To put myself on the spot, how do we handle this as consultants?  We're paid to asses a company's products, messaging, organization, what have you.  It's part of what many of us do. 

When a company brings me on board, I assume they want me to be real.  To be harsh where necessary.  Part of what they are paying me for is to mirror back to them what they cannot see because they are too close to it.

But, if I am truly honest with myself, it also means I am agreeing to play by their rules, however inane and subconscious these may be.  I am agreeing to provide them a certain level of service in a certain manner.  Anyone who has ever lost an account for "social" or "unusual" reasons has felt this quite directly.

Mack asks some great questions. I wish I had some better answers.  But hopefully there is value in having this conversation.

This could be bad for my ego...

Wow.  This came as a total shock.

The craphammer made the Top 25 list.   It's likely because of Mack's shift from Alexa to Technorati.  Nice to see that being a technorati whore is paying off. ;)

Richard Florida talk at TONext

Also, I finally got around to uploading the Richard Florida talk that ReMarkk dragged me out to see.  My apologies for the audio quality.  I was playing with a new MP3 recorder and had the settings a little wonky.

Totally worth a listen, though.  You can download the mp3 here.   For those of you who are unfamiliar with his work, here's a link to his wikipedia entry.  His research revolves around how the creative class (most everyone reading this blog) is directly linked to the current and future growth of North American economies.

And I am just finishing version 3 of ESB.  Will upload for Paul to post tomorrow AM.  My apologies for the long delay there.

Take away the porn!

I've been tagged.  Net Neutrality in Canada is an issue.  One that has been quiet for too long.

Mark asks... "[W]hat about the thousands of bloggers who benefit from the free, open and un-throttled internet we’ve become accustomed to?"

Here is a news piece on it.

And here is my old post from our friend the Ninja.

But I think we are taking the wrong tact here.  Someone just has to launch a scare campaign that the big bad internet providers are going to take away our PORN and I'm sure we will get the public outcry we are all looking for.  ;)

Peer to Peer Television

Joost rocks and I've taken WAY too long to post about it.

The idea is to legitimize Peer to Peer.  The way Skype did to free peer-to-peer phone services.  And it's by the same two dudes.  The content is legitimate in that it is from a central source as opposed to user generated or stolen content like on YouTube or other peer to peer services.  I watched the funniest music video yesterday by Basement Jaxx titled "Oh My Gosh."

The question is, if Rogers and Bell can limit the sites on their networks (see net neutrality, above) then what is to stop them from blocking the ports required by Joost?

TheGoodBlogs

I love TheGoodBlogs.  Vernon has done an amazing job.  You may have noticed a little widget on the right side of my blog.  Okay.  I have a lot of widgets.  Here it is to the left.

TheGoodBlogs take my stories and shares them on all the other blogs in my group (Marketing) that have deployed the TGB widget.  In turn, I showcase the stories from other bloggers on my blog.

You may have notice that one of the items in the widget has an orange dot next to it.  This is because I have launched my own personalized "channel".  And I've put the blogs I read a lot in this slot.  So I'm even able to control who I syndicate.  Brilliant.

Tags: netneutrality, canada, swarm-it, TGB, thegoodblogs, joost, p2p

Powered by Qumana

Live Review of BlogTv.ca Beta!

Last night I was invited to the launch of blogtv.ca.  Was a nice launch event.  Lots of machines to sit and play and really no pressure, no long speeches and no annoying hosts.  Met some great folks I haven't seen in a long time and had a great time.

[click to see the first episode of craphammer on blogtv]

The interface takes a little getting used to.  But it's pretty sexy.  I like the chat window and moderation features a lot.  The ability to have two video hosts is also a really nice feature.

Check it out for yourself at blogtv.ca!

Bloggers call for transparency. But do they measure up themselves?

Last week I joined in on the crayon-sponsored second-life coffee chat.  There I sat with steaming coffee in hand attempting to get my avatar into the proper room and oriented so that I was not staring strangely at a wall or other inanimate object.  It's been a while since I've had to chat one handed.  And certainly never while seated in my office.

What began as an interesting experiment quickly turned into a high speed scroll chase.  I was left with all of second life no longer visible as I had enlarged the chat window to cover every area of my screen in a vain attempt to keep up.

So I reverted to private chatting with a few folks and then we all returned to our world, pretending we had been working on something work related.

Before I lost track of the conversation, there was some very interesting discussion regarding transparency.

People were for or against companies using blogs, happy to slam Edelman and quick to demand things like accountability and ethics.  And it became apparent that everyone had a slightly or drastically different concept of "transparency". It got me thinking. It seems to me that what we are really asking for when it comes to transparency is disclosure of intent.

I'm going to say it a little more forcefully.  Transparency is disclosure of intent.

It struck me that it's not exactly fair that we demand this level of transparency from others if we haven't gone through this exercise ourselves.  And I'm likely not alone as I just stumbled across Kate's open and self-aware post where she revists why we blog.

I don't blog just so I can tell people they should get a life.

I don't blog just to cover up my blog envy.

And I certainly don't blog just for the thrill and hits of getting caught up in a meme.

I blog for ALL these reasons.  It's about status.  It's about having a voice that others respect.  And it's about connecting with others whom I respect because (frankly) they are smarter, faster, wiser, sexier, and better dressed than me.  (Masi's socks excluded.)

Why do you blog?

Image Source: Xabier.M

Sony joins the ranks of Edelman, MacDonalds and Walmart.

Sony admits to a fake blog that purports to be a bunch of real users at  http://www.alliwantforxmasisapsp.com/blog/

Two steps forward and four steps back?  We should really name this dance.

"Piggybacking the YouTube bonanza, the company has hired "consumer activation" firm Zipatoni to create a false video-and-blogging approach to generate interest in their flagging PlayStation Portable handheld machine."
    Source: New Sony Viral marketing ploy angers consumers, Guardian Unlimited, Aleks Krotoski

Sigh.  This is from some time back.  What makes it news is Sony has publicly admitted it.  But I don't think they are feeling much remorse.

Here is the BBS thread that helped to break the story: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=319545186

It's cool that Sony wants to take part in the blog and youtube phenomenon.  And they are not alone.  But it's amazing to see the lack of concern over transparency.  And frankly, I doubt there is much remorse as I'm sure the publicity generated outweighs any damage to their credibility.  And the funny/sad part is they are probably right.

The full story is in the Guardian Unlimited story quoted at the top of the article.

Tags: alliwantforxmasisapsp, transparency, social media, sony

Craftmanship may be a thing of the blogo-past.

Following up on my post last week on Ursula Franklin's "Real World of Technology", I wanted to discuss her differentation between holistic and prescriptive uses of technology.  Holistic being a craftmans approach, where one person brings a product from raw materials to completion versus prescriptive which is akin to division of labour.  One person does only one small task in the production workflow and must comply with the rules of production.

"While we should not forget that these prescriptive technologies are often exceedingly effective and efficient, they come with an enormous social mortgage.  The mortgage means we live in a culture of compliance, that we are ever more contitioned to accept orthodoxy as normal, and to accept that there is only one way of doing 'it'."

From car manufacturing to Health Care, for example.

So.  It's likely that all but the most pessimistic of readers desire more craftmanship vs. division of labour.  So how do we do that?  Well, when it comes to a brand, I recommend you jump over and read Mike Wagner speaking about shaving your legs.  Seriously.

What are you willing to do that no one else is?  How involved are you in the experience your company and your product has with your customers?

Some craftmanship in action.

A quick word out to the peeps at Ampd.  Their short series Lil' Bush has been signed to Comedy Central.  Nothing out of the ordinary, right?  Except when you realize it was designed solely for distribution to cell phones.  Wow.  Congrats for creating some truly memorable content.

P.S.  The name of the company is actually Amp'd Mobile.

Division of Labour by Edelman?

There's been a lot of talk about the Social Media Press Release tool by Edelman.  The best and most level-headed sum-up I've seen is over on DeepJiveInterests.  Check it out.  Someone from edelman even joins in the fray.

(I will never get used to writing Labour the Canadian way.  Sigh.)

Photo source: Dr H

Tags: Lil Bush, Holistic, Ursula Franklin, Prescriptive

Chain letters in the blogosphere. What is next?

Kate tagged me with the "Five Things Meme" -- five things you don't know about me. So, here goes ...

1. I'm actually an American by birth (and so is Kate!)
2. I was a professional juggler for 3 plus years in Dallas Texas through the early 90s
3. I'm a vegan hippy in casual business attire
4. My mom loves telling folks that as a very small child I refused to get off the public free bus in Boston before I had kissed all the folks (bums included) goodbye.
5. I live in a house with five cats. Shoot me.

I now tag: Sean Moffitt, Mike Sansone and Mike Wagner.

Next thing you know, we'll be comparing wookie names.  Thanks Kate! ;)

Tags: fivethingsmeme, wookielicious

Truffles or bust and the laughing baby

Many thanks to the ubiquitous kawasaki for this lead.

Anything but a photo blog, here is a wonderful use of photos as part of a story-telling device.  See it for yourself on the Amateur Gourmet.  Adam uses humor and a comic-book technique to share an ego-blog-moment with all his readers.  Priceless (if a bit long).

Most impressive to me is the comment-mania on his post.

Perhaps the medium is less about the technology (photo blogs, video streams) and more about telling stories that readers enjoy and more intimately connect with.  Blasphemy.  I know.  But something good to remind us all of now and again. ;)

Viral beyond words

I couldn't help myself.  I had to share this.  And I don't even have a kid.

Seeing clearly from inside the web 2.0 bubble

Much of the blogosphere I follow revolves around the ever changing practices and trends that are driving social marketing and word-of-mouth online.

And in such things, this week did anything but disappoint. The stories were varied but each showcased a different element of the same story; an indie musician getting national acclaim for his use of social networking tools, an experiment in social status via blogging, and a UK initiative to engage a particular community in a movie launch.

Case 1

Many thanks to Kate for her post on Jonathon Coulton and his write-up by eMarketer. At first glance, Jonathon's blog is not all that unusual for the genre. He's a musician with humorful and even geeky songs. His site and activities showcase a number of web 2.0 tools and traits.

• Fans are making "funny" videos about him
• You can purchase his music in MP3 format through his own jury-rigged system - a la carte or even by the album.
• You can buy a range of humorous t-shirts from cafepress
• Don't forget to make a donation!
• How about some Jonathon Coulton ring tones?
• Or my favorite, creating reverse demand via eventful (see linked graphic to the right).

None of these features, on their own, are all that unusual. And I'll admit that all together they amounted to a professional and effective utilization of social networking and web 2.0 services. But there was this nagging feeling. Why was the author so enamored by this particular artist? Wasn't it just a little over the top?

Perhaps. Or maybe this is just another sign that we are in a web 2.0 bubble. Are we seeing less than effective behavior being rewarded? Check. Are we seeing utopian claims? Again, yes. From heavy long-tails taking over the medium to corporations tearing down the membranes between customers and employees.

Not that both forces aren't at play. But the level of hype around them together with the latest acquisition of YouTube with the subsequent scramble for a business case leads me to believe we are indeed inside a web 2.0 bubble.

So the question in a bubble, as everyone scrambles to get a piece of the pie, is what is just hype and what will withstand the test of time. And in some cases, the answer doesn't matter as hype generates press and even big results (short term).

Source: David Armano

Case 2 Now we travel over to Eric Kintz's blog regarding his experiments to better define the core practices and principles of blogging as measured by social status and traffic. The results of his ongoing experiments has led to a number of case studies each with some key learnings and potential rules. Blog post frequency is a myth. In fact, posting too often actually risks losing your subscribers. Content must be relevant and appropriate to niche/micro-community bloggers Viral Marketing does not spread well. Reaching the "Level 1 Influencers" is critical. Repeated exposure lowers the probability of viral infection.1 Finally, localization (translation) matters as do vehicles that don't create trackable "links" such as newsletters 1[SH] Yahoo drop in ad revenues might be a case in point of this. His articles go into a lot more depth with copious source links. Apologies to Eric for over-simplifying the issue. But what strikes me is the amount of effort required to "create value" as a blogger and to what end. I wouldn't lump blogging into a primal basic need of the human psyche (sleep, eat, shelter, etc.) So the reward for this effort likely comes down to social status or $$. Both of which bring whispers of sex, cars and rock & roll. Even in the midst of the "hype" of todays web 2.0 bubble, most marketers and big brands are not going to invest the effort, time or corporate restructuring necessary to take advantage of the lessons learned above. Hugh Macleod correctly, in my mind, refers to blogging as a "disruption channel" in regard to business adoption. [my article on this] So brands are not going to rush en-masse to integrate themselves into the blogosphere. What brands and corporation WILL demand is the ability to exploit the current online hype. The smart/innovative ones will go beyond this and look to leverage the growing micro-communities online. So this takes us to Case 3.

Case 3 Juzzie's latest case study on engagement marketing from his session at ad:tech London is concise, insightful and pertinent to this discussion. "Around 40,000 people from the local market checked out the Lightening McQueen character’s home page on Bebo. Over 5,000 of these Beboers included the movie trailer on their home pages, which was subsequently seen over 35,000 times. Some 2,000 or so Beboers also linked to the Lightening McQueen Character as friends, creating over 700 profile comments"     -- juzzie @ ViralMeister He goes on to make some great points. I'll attempt to summarize a few. Niche engagement marketing appears to be working Social networks offer us the ability to target local and relevant markets It avoids the hassle of targeted seeding and the challenge of breaking through the growing viral clutter. Like viral campaigns, there remains a challenge and inability to measure the ripple effect that occurs. The big players like myspace and bebo don't have to worry too much about justifying anything as everyone is attracted to them like "moths to a flame." "So the demand is outstripping the social networks resource to cash in the advertising dollars, which is why Google has been able to wade in like a Knight in shining armour or at least offer wads of cash while they try and figure out their business models."     -- juzzie @ ViralMeister

Perhaps Doc Searl nailed it with his concept of emerging "intention economies". The basic concept being that we inherently identify our intentions or interests when we visit a site on a regular basis or via our activities within a community. With the 3 million plus reach of the xspace launch, one can only wonder how much of Google's bid for YouTube had to do with the size and strength of the inherent intention economies within. And the corresponding engagement marketing and advertising opportunities.

Let's not forget the recent investment in b5media which will both reward and accelerate its growth into an even more influential community of niches. Another sign that the market may indeed value and reward engagement marketing opportunities.

The bubble will burst. What are you betting on to be the best path?