INC Tells What Happens When Bloggers Color Outside the Lines
11/06/2005
Welcome INC readers!
"Bloggers and those who frequent blogs can be a prickly lot. They live by a code of their own, and you offend them at your peril." November 2005 INC Jory Des Jardins
Jory Des Jardins has written an interesting article about the reactions of the blogosphere when bloggers color outside the lines. In her piece, When blogs go bad, she tells the back-story of the GourmetStation character blog - Delicious Destinations. GourmetStation, an online brand that offers gourmet meals and gifting solutions, is testimony to the viral influences of bloggers.
Character blogs are old hat these days. However, in the Spring of 2005, Delicious Destinations was one of the first character blogs (term coined by Tris Hussey) in the retail space. When the blog launched some bloggers took issue to the character blog genre. The INC article includes the roles that well-respected bloggers, Hugh McLeod, Steve Rubel and Robert French, played in creating blogopshere buzz.
Sidebar: The article is a great read especially for marketers who are considering non traditional blog tactics and Jory tells the story fairly. Download: inc_magazine_november_2005_blog_gs_article.pdf
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However, sometimes, the pundits don't have all the answers - especially at the beginning stages of a new strategy like business/marketing blogging. Sometimes to do excellent work you have to have the courage to go down the Road Less Taken. Just as good jazz musicians must understand the basics before they break the rules, marketers who use blogs must know the "rules of the game" too.
- Understand your your customers
- Stay consistent to your brand and positioning strategies
- Remember the Blog Mantra: Honesty. Transparency. Passion. Authenticity.
In a Biz Blog Profile interview on Diva Marketing, Ed Garsten sums it. "We're involved in the most explosive form of communication to come along in at least a decade and there's no reason its growth and potential should be reined in by artificial limits. It's called progress."
Sidebar: GourmetStation is a Bloomberg Marketing client.
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