It's Less Than 5%

which is part of what Doc Searls argues in comments on a post by copywriting extraordinare Bob Bly on what he feels is the ineffectiveness of the Cluetrain. Interesting to see what the DM'ers are saying now that they have discovered Cluetrain and blogging. Welcome to the blogosphere, Bob.

The End of Objectivity

Dan Gilmor posts a working document stating that the need for objectivity in jounrnalsim is antiquated. He makes the case for four tenets to ensure the quality and ethical standards journalism:

Thoroughness
Accuracy
Fairness
Transparency

Malcom and James Riffing

Jason Kottke points to a Slate feature this week that has The Wisdom of Crowds' James Surowiecki and Tipping Point and Blink's Malcom Gladwell riffing on their two newest books. There's a new segment everday this week.

History of Blog Marketing

This one came through my referrers and is from Google Answers. A writer wants to know the history of blogging from "everyday" bloggers and the answerer stumbled upon this humble site and links to the 2002 post of mine discussing the value of blogs and "marketing."

I think blogging and other forms of C2C communications (...) are the
future of "marketing." (...) And going back to that stat where only
10% of people trust internet advertising, I think customers are
looking for some kind of communication that is lower in the bullshit
and higher in real value. As marketers we need to facilitate this
marketing and ensure its integrity and honesty is upheld above
anything else (including -- and don't jump -- negative commentary).

C2C ... that kind of cracks me up (consumer-to-consumer) ... but hey, you get the point.

Kevin Spacey is playing Lex Luther in the upcoming Superman remake ... now that's pretty cool.

Long Tail Marketing

Expect this phrase to pop up quite a bit in 2005. Joshua Wood has created a blog dedicated to the subject. In his 2nd post he examines Google Adwords as an example of Long Tail Marketing. But in my comments to him I say this doesn't go far enough:

Have you checked out John Battalle's "Sell Side Advertising?" It takes Adsense and Adwords to the next level. I think marketing in the long tail will involve a more customizeable approach than what Google currently affords. As a publisher in the new world of disaggregated advertising, one has no control over which ads appear on their sites. Because those of us in the long tail are more engaged with our readers, Sell Side advertising enables us to have a say in what ads are displayed. Which I think is better than an algorithm.