June 2006

Bill Gates announced today that he would give up his day to day role at Microsoft in July of 2008 to focus on his charitable work at The Gates Foundation.

Charity work, Bill? Nobody actually buys that you know. We all know you’re leaving because you just can’t stand to live without Robert Scoble.

PS: This post is totally tongue in cheek. We know Bill Gates is a great guy, honestly we do. Awesome work on that whole AIDS relief thing, Bill!

I wonder whether New York Times reporter Damon Darlin was unfamiliar with the Dell Hell situation, or whether he just chose to ignore it in his recent profile of Dell’s woes and their comeback plan.

We’ve certainly been following this story for quite some time, along with everyone and their mother in the blogosphere. The Dell scenario has become one of those horror stories that blogosphere pundits love to tell when they want to make a point about ignoring the blogosphere at your peril. It’s ludicrous to believe that a reporter for the Times could be so completely out of touch that he didn’t believe it was relevant to Dell’s current problems.

Maybe he just ran out of space.

According to one former executive interviewed for todays New York Times article, Google is trying to raise the cost of entry for its competitors by building up the cost of delivering baseline search and Web-based applications service.

Its huge installation along the Columbia river on the Washington-Oregon border is part of that overarching plan. Like the aluminum factories that came before it, Google came here in search of inexpensive electricity to power its huge bank of processors and the systems used to keep them from overheating.

So what’s Google building in there? (iTunes) Nobody knows for now.

My favorite line from Dr. Nora Barnes’ introduction to her long-anticipated new study is, “Those researchers who are veterans of blogger studies know what I have now learned; bloggers are generous, helpful, unselfish and friendly.”

It’s something we’ve been saying for a long time, “be not afraid.” Bloggers are really quite nice and welcoming to business, just as long as they take the time to understand the culture and the human players.

Here are some of my other favorite points from the study:

• “Define your audience and that will help in defining the voice and direction of your blog.” - This is a very helpful approach that will help you break out of the “CEO Box” mindset.
• “Keep in mind that conversations will happen outside your blog that relate to your products or industry. You need to be aware, current, and honest in dealing with those conversations too. One business blogger wrote, ‘Monitor the blogosphere closely, both for discussions about your brand, and for comments about your blog. Respond with comments to those outside blog posts. The blogosphere respects participation, so respond.’” - Steve posted about this back in June of last year as the first step to breaking through the fear of the blogosphere.
• “Blogs have not stolen the hearts and minds of consumers. Consumers have gone willingly in search of a more meaningful relationship.” - I found this to be the most compelling line in the entire study. I’ve always been a big believer that authenticity, warmth and humor will get you a lot further with your core constituencies (customers, clients or constituents) than just talking at them in jargon or condescending tones. In fact, Barnes goes on to write, “It is the humanity of the blogoshpere that makes it an enormous threat to business as usual.”

I know a lot of this stuff sounds like business as usual to you blogosphere pundits out there. But the early adopters of this medium tend to forget that the rest of the world is still catching up. We are way early in this game. Studies like this lend academic credibility and broader acceptance to what we’ve already known for a long time: the blogosphere is a human place, and it’s going to change the way that we do business.

I feel compelled to toot the BBS horn here a little bit. If you’re starting to see how your business fits into the blogosphere, then you should give us a holler. We can help.

I remember a time when just about everyone had an AOL account. It was a quick, easy way for even the most inexperienced and computer illiterate among us to log on and use the Web. But now people don’t want a browser that does it all for them. They want to connect and go. The result: AOL is struggling to stay relevant.

The result may be that the company is asking its customer service people to discourage users from canceling their paid service. Or maybe the customer service folks are just feeling the anxiety filtering down through the ranks and taking it as an implicit directive to work harder to keep customers.

Whatever the case may be blogger Vinny Ferarri was not pleased with the service he received when he tried to cancel his AOL account. He posted a recording of the interaction to his blog. The story has been making the rounds of the big memetrackers, it looks like the traffic may have crashed Ferarri’s hosting.

Now it’s possible that this particular customer service guy was just a troll. But as of now, he represents AOL’s customer service to the general public. And if the possibility of AOL’s desperation to keep customers came so readily to my mind, it’s a safe bet that other people who have heard this recording are thinking the same thing. In a world where perception is everything, having your company become the subject of a negative meme like this can be soul-crushingly bad. Particularly when you’re already struggling with your role in the changing Web.

So what should AOL do? First of all, fire the guy. I know customer service is one of the hardest fields to work in, but you shouldn’t be doing it if you can’t take the heat from an angry customer. Customers and potential customers need to see that this sort of behavior isn’t typical of AOL customer service reps.

AOL also needs to start making it a lot easier to cancel their service. You can see just from reading Ferarri’s post that AOL is notorious for giving customers who want to cancel a hard time. Ferarri clearly expected some static. Cancellation of an account needs to be made as easy as possible. It will engender goodwill.

Still, that doesn’t solve the larger problem of how the AOL walled garden can keep up with the rest of the Web. There are no easy answers for that big question.

Via Digg.

Update 6-22-06 at 10:08 a.m - The story is now on NBC via TailRank.

We love hearing about small (yet profitable) media portfolios being built by individuals. This article from startup journal profiles Jay Brewer, a former Web designer and product designer who has a network of some 14 blogs covering niche topics such as single serve coffee makers (talk about the tip of the long tail!)

“Today, his stable of blogs has grown to 14 with almost 750,000 visitors each month and more than 30 direct advertisers. The heaviest trafficked blogs can generate upward of $10,000 a month in revenue, while the less trafficked ones generate between $1,000 and $2,000 before expenses, Mr. Brewer says. He now makes more than he did at his previous jobs, while having more free time to pursue side projects such as consulting.”

The network receives 750,000 visitors each month and is supported by more than 30 direct advertisers. His top properties can garner up to $10,000 a month in revenue.

Allen Weiner, media analyst and Research Vice President for Gartner has been interviewed by Podtech’s Catherine Girardeau, and says that thanks to the organic growth of “unsanctioned corporate blogging” (employees hosting personal blogs) companies must take control and make their staff aware of what’s permitted and what’s not.

Girardeau asserted in the interview (and Weiner agreed wholeheartedly) that “Blogging is here to stay, and companies are going to have to figure out how to use it to their advantage.”



Weiner says that “the worst thing you could do is not have a policy.”

As usual. we’re planning several sessions on this at our upcoming fall conference (specific to be announced soon,) so drop me a line if you have unique and deep experience in this arena! (steve AT blogbusinesssummit dot com)

Okay, so he doesn’t talk about Scoble specifically, but the article certainly makes it clear that he thinks Web video is an incredibly ripe market opportunity.

Amol Sharma of the Wall Street Journal has profiled Jeff Pulver’s latest efforts and the title of the article says it all: Mr. Pulver Has Just Two Words For You, Ben: Internet Video.

According to Sharma:

“The same DNA that disrupted the telecom industry is well on its way to totally revolutionizing the way the TV, film, and broadcast industry is going to be,” Mr. Pulver says, adding that he’s now looking for “the Vonage of Internet video.”

Could PodTech be one of those disruptive companies?

It appears that the feline escaped from its container a little sooner than he intended, but now that it’s public - way public - we’re jumping into the conversation “with both feet,” to quote the man himself.

Where the blogosphere is concerned, it seems almost inevitable that big news like this will leak out before the optimal time. What’s more, with a controversial company like Microsoft and a controversial blogger like Scoble, the news is going to be riddled with ugly speculation and innuendo. Scoble himself says that his hide is “chapped” by some of the ideas being bandied about in the blogosphere.

Given that companies and professionals no longer command and control the flow of information on these issues, the need for a contingency plan becomes clear. How will your company respond when your big news finds its way to TechMeme before you’re ready to talk about it?

Obviously, Robert knows what he’s doing. He’s come out in his usual forthright manner to clarify what his professional departure from Microsoft means. He’s got the expertise and the captive audience necessary to combat the negative buzz with relative alacrity and ease. Unfortunately, it’s not so easy for businesses and business bloggers with less drawing power than Scoble to accomplish the same thing.

Accordingly, your team will need to ask some questions and figure out how to answer them in advance of a blogosphere rumor mill incident. What kinds of rumors can you foresee and how will you combat them? Which bloggers will you engage with to set the story straight? How will you employ traditional business communications methodology with your efforts in the blogosphere?

As recent business-to-blogosphere communications debacles have shown, the business community as a whole has a ways to go in learning how to handle a wide variety of blogosphere situations. If you’re interested in learning more, stay tuned to this RSS feed. We’ll be announcing our next event soon.

Another great example of the influence and clout of the blogging community.

Robert has left Microsoft to join the startup PodTech. These guys are doing some very exciting things in the Podcasting space, and Robert’s move has created quite a buzz–enough to bring down their servers.

I talked a bit about this move with Robert and Maryam, and agree that the smarter companies will not only embrace blogging in a big way soon, but those that leverage audio and video content will have a real advantage over their competitors.

We are planning our next conference now, and will definitely be ramping up on sessions covering the strategic and tactical aspects of video and audio blogging.

Good luck Robert!

It’s Friday afternoon and I’m getting ready to take off early. It’s been a long, hardworking week - but I’m really happy. Because at the end of the day, working with these people at the Blog Business Summit makes me feel like one of the luckiest people on the planet. No, I’m not just brown nosing to the boss. I really mean it.

We’ve got some exciting new ideas percolating around the office, and that’s always a good feeling. Stay tuned to our RSS feed, people. We’re sure you’ll be delighted with what we’re working on.

And please feel free to check out our book. I held a copy in my hands for the first time today and it was really an amazing feeling.

Happy Friday all!

I was really happy to read Media Guerilla’s tips on “Blogger Relations” today.

This sort of advice goes hand in hand with what we’ve been saying about contacting a blogger without reading his blog and the “social media press release”.

Chris Pirillo has some advice for celebrity blogger Zach Braff, who recently relaunched his famed blog at its new address ZachBraff.com. Among Pirillo’s tips: add an RSS feed and start using a blogging client (like ecto, which I use) so that he doesn’t accidentally lose entire posts.

From the look of it, Braff has already added an RSS feed. So either his staff is 1 step ahead of Pirillo, or he’s a reader of His Supreme Gnomeliness.

In his first video post, Braff outlined how he’ll use his new web presence. He doesn’t want it to be constant Zach Braff central, and he doesn’t think that a calendar would be a hot sell. So instead, he wants to put the spotlight on his fans and the new music he’s listening to. Since the Garden State soundtrack (iTunes) is widely regarded as the best mix tape of 2004, I find the new music angle particularly compelling.

I agree with Pirillo that overall, this site is a great way for Zach to be totally authentic with his fans, rather than going through “some PR flack.” I also think that by keeping the focus on the broader interests of his fans, he’s doing a great job of working the audience-focused editorial model that I posted about yesterday.

PS: Zach, I don’t know about your other fans, but I would most certainly be interested in a calendar. I think you’re pretty darn hunky. I love the “challa at your boy” tee, BTW. You should check out the awesome tees at MazelTough.com. Jewish pride in the hizouse!

Indicative of the shift from big media “messaging” to the market to the market driving the media, is this Wall Street Journal article which reports on how a six-minute video captured by a bus rider in Hong Kong and publicized by bloggers has led to a global phenom.

Geoffrey Fowler (who BTW wrote about blogs for the WSJ way back in 2002) reports:

While riding public bus 68X on the night of April 29, Elvis Ho tapped the shoulder of a passenger sitting in front of him who was talking on a cellphone. The 23-year-old Mr. Ho asked the man to lower his voice. Mr. Ho called him “uncle,” a familiar way of addressing an elder male in Cantonese.

Instead of complying, the man turned around and berated Mr. Ho for nearly six minutes, peppering his outburst with obscenities.

“I’ve got pressure, you’ve got pressure!” the older man exploded. “Why did you have to provoke me?” A nearby passenger who found the encounter interesting captured most of it on video with his own cellphone, and it was posted on the Web.

“Bus Uncle,” as the older man is now known, has since become a Hong Kong sensation. The video, including subtitled versions, has been downloaded nearly five million times from YouTube.com, a popular Web site for video clips.

The article notes how the ranting “Uncle” in the video has now become a “public-relations representative” for a chain of about 40 Hong Kong steakhouses. Note how citizen media now creates stars that marketing professionals attempt to leverage.

Times have changed from when celebrities such as the Monkees were expensively fabricated by marketing campaigns created by Hollywood executives. It appears that now a $100 cell phone and a 21 year old accountant can create a worldwide media sensation.

The obvious first step in starting a business blog is determining your editorial focus. Many businesses start with the idea that the CEO or another prominent member of the team should blog about the company’s products and services. This is a good idea for some companies. Just look how well GM has done with its FastLane Blog.

But for some companies, the editorial focus isn’t quite so obvious. For GM to have a top level executive blogging about its cars is a no-brainer. Their mission is pure and simple: get the public interested in buying GM vehicles. But what about when the focus isn’t so clear?

All the buzz about the Hotel Chelsea today got me thinking about the second kind of business blogging strategy: the audience-oriented editorial focus. As I wrote, even though the Living with Legends blog isn’t officially involved with the management of the Chelsea, it’s editorial overlap with the interests of the average Chelsea guest is ideal. The result is a marketing strategy that couldn’t have been better if Hotel Chelsea owner/manager Stanley Bard came up with it himself.

If you want to start a business blog, it’s possible that the CEO model could work for you, but we think that you’ll find much more compelling ideas if you step outside the box a little. You need look no further than Wells Fargo’s community-building blog Guided by History that covers the history of the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 while helping San Franciscans prepare for the inevitable next big tremor.

As Jeremiah Owyang pointed out, Wells Fargo couldn’t blog about finance because the topic was so legally and politically fraught. So instead, they started with their audience and extrapolated an editorial focus based on their needs and interests. The goal of the blog is to get potential customers to think of Wells Fargo as their community bank, a leader that cares about San Francisco’s past, present, and future. We think they’ve accomplished it.

Another way to do this is to sponsor a blog written by a third party. This situation is ideal for Connexion by Boeing. They pay us to write a blog called inFlightHQ whose core audience - seasoned business travelers - overlaps nicely with Connexion’s primary customer base. We only very occasionally write anything directly about Connexion, but the blog still serves to extend their brand. inFlightHQ has become popular with the business travel set, and they know that they have Connexion to thank.

The bottom line: if you want to think outside the box when it comes to determining your blog’s editorial, stop thinking about the CEO and start thinking about your audience. It’s likely that you already know what your customers want to hear about. Blogging to capture that audience is a logical next step.

The Hotel Chelsea bills itself as “a rest stop for rare individuals.” The idiosyncratic hotel, which has been home to Mark Twain, Sarah Bernhardt, and Dylan Thomas among others, serves both long-term residents and short-term guests, and business is booming.

“We’re the busiest small hotel in the city,” Chelsea manager and owner Stanley Bard told me. “The whole world knows about us.”

The hotel, which was built in 1884 as a cooperative apartment complex, entered the 21st century a year ago. That’s when long-term residents Debbie Martin and Ed Hamilton began working on Living with Legends, a blog about the Chelsea’s past and present. Now, that blog is bringing the hotel even more attention.

“I don’t know whether I want blogs or logs or what I’ve got here,” said Bard. “I just want nice people to come and stay at this hotel.”

And while the venue is absolutely turning a profit, it’s not a marketing plan that makes it so successful. It’s the dedicated following, the characters and the history that keep people coming back. That’s why a blog is perfect for an establishment such as this.

And in this case, it’s probably even better for the Chelsea that the blog isn’t an official piece of the hotel’s business puzzle. Bard couldn’t have dreamed up a better marketing plan if he’d tried. After all, it’s the residents that make the Chelsea unique in all the world.

Via Gridskipper.

Ryan Carter has picked up on a Microsoft Press release that says MSN spaces received 100 million unique visitors in April, making MSN Spaces the largest blogging service worldwide according to comScore Media Metrix.

Several forums are all a twitter about the claim (backed up with a photo of the check) from Jeremy Schoemaker (ShoeMoney blog) that he netted $132,994.97 in AdSense revenues in one month. FWIW, Jeremy apparently agrees with me, Byron and Jason Calacanis that SEO is dead…

Dave Taylor has a very interesting post on the subject of the Boing Boing vs. Baker & McKenzie situation that I posted about yesterday.

In summary, Dave’s position on this is that Boing Boing editor Mark Frauenfelder’s response to B&M’s attempts to protect their client’s copyright was immature and misguided. I guess I do agree with him in principle. It was rather immature and snarky of Frauenfelder to write, “Baker & McKenzie, be on alert: henceforth, Boing Boing will be actively monitoring your website to identify dumbass activity and will, if necessary, take appropriate action to point out instances of wasting clients’ money by sending out unnecessary and obnoxious warning letters.”

Nevertheless, I still think that B&M made a mistake here by failing to understand the culture of the blogosphere. I know they’re not a marketing firm, but if you’re going to represent your client’s best interests out here, you have to take their reputation - and yours - into account when interacting with the blogosphere.

We all know that bloggers get extremely miffed when PR firms send them a generic press release, particularly when that release makes it obvious that the firm and their clients have never even read the blog in question. It’s fair to say that the same goes for legal warning letters of this sort. And given the snark factor in the blogosphere in general, I’d say Boing Boing’s response was pretty predictable.

I do take Taylor’s point that businesses need to protect their investments by enforcing their copyrights - but with the growth of the Web, we’re going to need to start rethinking those copyright laws. Obviously there is no perfect immediate solution, but maybe we need to start figuring out new ways to make money from content. Lots of broadcasting companies place products and marketing messages so seamlessly within their telecasts that advertisers get their plug in even when the content is downloaded and viewed illegally. Maybe when companies sell advertising on those telecasts, they should embed their estimates of the number of illegal downloaders into the amount that advertisers should pay for their sponsorships and product placements.

But apart from the copyright violation issue, I think what we have here is a failure on the part of B&M to make an accurate judgment of how their letter would be received by the blogosphere AND a failure on the part of Boing Boing to respond with maturity. On the whole, I’d still say that B&M’s screwup was the bigger one.

It looks like Boing Boing has received a rather unpleasant letter from UK-based global law firm Baker & McKenzie.

The motivation for the letter - which was written on behalf of B&M client Infront Sports & Media - appears to be the concern that the footage of the upcoming World Cup competition will be illegally shared over the Web. Apparently, Boing Boing was identified by these legal eagles as a potential violator of their client’s copyright.

The trouble is that, as Boing Boing editor Mark Frauenfelder pointed out, everyone at Boing Boing thinks sports are rather stupid. Of the World Cup he wrote, “we would sooner stream a video of a crumpled up paper napkin in the corner of a room than show some jackasses running after a ball.”

Now, as much as I think Frauenfelder is really missing out by not tuning in to the occasional baseball game, I have to agree with him that B&M has created a rather sorry state of affairs. Bloggers don’t take very kindly to being threatened, particularly when the threat comes from this far out of left field. And we don’t take very kindly to being contacted by people who have never read our blog and don’t care about what we write.

B&M has gotten itself, and it’s client into a dilly of a pickle here. The double-whammy of threatening a blogger in the same breath with which you reveal your total ignorance of his work is quite possibly the dumbest thing a company has done in the blogosphere since an Ad Agency sued a blogger and then withdrew the suit when it realized the PR fallout.

Our advice for B&M is simple. Since stonewalling would only turn this screwup into a trifecta of common blogosphere mistakes, your only course of action is to apologize to Boing Boing and admit that you’ve learned a valuable lesson here. One of the great things about the blogosphere is that even when you do screw up massively, it’s fairly easy to fix your mistakes if you just face them head on.

Via The Blog Herald.