For future reading. Dave Pollard has some good stuff (at first glance) on blogs in business.

This is a problem I have frequently. Find something with depth or length that I really want to sink my teeth into, but don't have time. Someone with more technical prowess than myself should create a tool that would allow one to quickly store links they want to reference later. Sort of a short-term Bookmark. Or a Blog Task, similar to Outlook's Tasks.

Are You David Nelson?

If so, you're on "the list." From Boing Boing (full article here):

David Nelson of Gresham says he was searched and screened three times at the Portland airport, then again at the gates of Dallas and Atlanta airports before arriving in Savannah, Ga., last month. "It's as if they think you've been transformed into a terrorist en route. You'd think one screening was enough, when you haven't left a secure area the entire trip."
"What really concerned me," says David Nelson of Northwest Portland, who recently was delayed trying to fly to Juneau, Alaska, to take care of his mother, "was even when they determined I wasn't the one on the list, it's like I had a label on my forehead that says, 'One must frisk this person at every opportunity and go through his luggage.' It's as if I were a pariah." David had no idea why he was being singled out; no one mentioned a list. "My son is a pilot for Continental; I thought maybe that had something to do with it."

Oregon state Sen. David Nelson, from Pendleton, also had no idea why he was being delayed at airports. "Then we flew into the Medford airport on Horizon, and one of the agents said, 'Your name is on the list. You're going to be checked every place you go.' That was a shock."

Remember Ozzie and Harriet's son, David Nelson? "I got stopped at the John Wayne Airport" in Orange County, Calif., he said by phone from Los Angeles this week. "Two police officers knew who I was and tried to explain to the guy behind the security desk. It didn't faze him at all." Even as another officer was saying he had once met David's mother, Harriet, David was being instructed to remove his shoes, he says. "I asked, 'Does the guy on the list have a middle name of Ozzie?' He said, 'It just says David Nelson.' "

There are approx. 37,900 search results for "David Nelson" on Google.

Adding 2 new blogs to the blogroll:
Conversations with Dina by Dina Mehta
For the Sake of Clarity: The Digital Tavern by Allan Karl.
Both of which have insightful pieces on corporate blogging (aka business blogging): Dina's and Allan's.

Who Owns Your Brand?

"Give customers ownership in your brand." So heard Kristine Kirby Webster, who wrote "Who Owns Your Brand" on MarketingProfs. Sounds similar to what David Weinberger said in a Fast Company article a while back: "The biggest mistake that most companies make is to think that a Web site belongs to them. Companies just don't get it. Individuals believe that the Web belongs to us." I commented then too.
From Kristina:

And in an increasingly automated society, brands that create an emotional relationship with customers stand to gain a great deal: loyalty, profits, brand ambassadors, and even growth.

Fundementals of Managing Business Innovation by Mohanbir Sawhney (thanks IdeaFlow)

– Radical innovation in value created , not in technology
–Often disruptive to core business, though not necessarily so
–More substantial than product innovation
–More dimensions than technological innovation
– Requires thinking holistically about the business system

Introduction to Blogs

Yahoo has enhanced their directory of weblogs. A pretty good starting point for blog beginners trying to get connected.

After exploring a little bit further I found this decent size list of baseball blogs. I was wondering when sports blogs were going to take off. I've registered one of my own on Blogger, "Blog to the Redskins," but haven't done anything with it yet.

The New Advertising Business

Doc's latest in Linux Journal.

The whole time I was in that business, I noticed how many problems derived from a single ironic fact: our customers and our consumers were different populations. This also was true for the media in which we placed our advertising. The people who paid for the advertising were not the same as the people who received it. Because readers, viewers and listeners paid nothing for the advertising they consumed, their direct influence on the advertising they consumed was about the same. Between advertisers and consumers, advertising was not a way for the twain to meet--that's what sales and promotion was for.

Doc Quoting Richard Holding of Google's Adwords program:

The premise behind the ads on the right side, Adwords, is an auction model. People bid on placement based on keywords. They set the maximum cost per click (CPC) they're willing to pay. In effect, they set their true reservation price: the maximum they're willing to pay. They pay no more than slightly above the next lowest competitor, so there's no winner's curse where you outbid everybody by an extreme margin. This creates a competitive marketplace where advertisers bid on leads generated for them by search results.
We take a relevancy factor into account. We rank the ad, based on the click-through rate. So a lower-bid ad with a higher click-through rate will be ranked, placed, higher in the list of results.

Doc argues that this model will change the face of advertising. I tend to disagree. While I applaud its effectiveness, it really is no different than a more sophisticated model of what the yellow pages industry terms "directional marketing." Directional marketing is simply a form of advertising where instead of the advertiser pushing a message out to the consumer, customers are seeking the advertiser. The auction and relevancy model at Google just makes this process easier and more customer-friendly.

There is still a need for businesses to generate brand recognition, awareness, preference and reinforcement. While there may be no customer demand for this messaging, that doesn't mean that good advertising is ineffective. The key to successful brand advertising and even direct response is to target an audience who will respond to, either the message or an offer, without being alienated or annoyed. It's just that we're in a world where this isn't being done effectively because frequency and intrusion is a primary strategy for many advertisers. The volume is being turned up, when really it's the composition that should be refined.

Blogging The Newshour

It's been some time since Newshour showed up at Dave & Busters to interview 4 of us bloggers in February. Samara Aberman, Media Reporter for the Newshour, said she had the idea for the story sometime ago. While no longer "new" news, Samara finally got her wish to do the story.

I remember the Meet Up occured shortly after the big snow storm. Only 2 of us, Samara, the camera guy and sound guy were there. We were rapping pretty well and about to get started. The other 2 showed up. While once the tape started rolling, I was the least dominent participant in the conversation (I was overcoming a bad cold, not to mention I rarely dominate a conversation -- just my style), we had a good round table.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Couldn’t do the live blogging. TV wasn’t meant to be blogged with all its sound bites. Even watching PBS. It’s a good thing for VCR’s. I know there are some awful spelling mistakes and no links. Sorry if I butchered anyone's name. I'll fix it up. I wanted to get this out as soon as possible.

Here’s what caught my eye:

“4 guys in a bar. In this case, 4 bloggers in a bar.” I like the start. Things that start in a bar couldn’t be all that bad ;)

James Robertson: “Weblogging is much the same thing as keeping a diary. It is a way of putting up your thoughts of what ever is going through your life that day. Sometimes I’m ranting, sometimes I’m saying this is kind of neat.”

Thomas Bascom: “So I look at blogging as a group of millions of people trying to share their message, writing passionately about what they’re interested in, telling stories.”

Cutting from the bar scene. Moving to the war in Iraq.

Newshour offers analysis:
-Weblogs offer alternative views.
-They are incredibly up-to-date (Command Post)
-Singular person perspectives: Salam Pax, Blogger in Iraq. Last entry the same day as when the power went out.
I think this gives first hand account of situation without the interference of editors and corporate interests.

Soapbox vs. New Interactive form of participatory journalism:
MSNBC Exec. Producer Joan Connell, selects and edits weblogs on MSNBC: Why people blog: “narcissism, creativity and a desire to connect with like-minded people.”

“That is what journalism is all about actually, in some ways. And it’s what creating communities is all about. That’s one of the great challenges to us as news gatherers and journalists. How do we discover information and share it in creative ways with people. Give them the information they need to make decisions in their lives as citizens.”

Newshour: Laced with edge and attitude. Hypertext is often included (and might I add imperative to interesting blogging). Subject matter as diverse as the internet itself. From classic cars to sex to knitting.

But it is the opinion journalism weblogs that can and have made a difference in the public policy arena … bringing down Trent Lott.

Joshua Marshall (Talking Points Memo): Mainstream media largely ignored the situation but bloggers kept the issue afloat. Talks about the status quo of journalism. Blogs kept the issue from dying.

News organization subsequently started covering the controversy. POWER of media.

Joan: The Lott issue gathered momentum – created a buzz through very grassroots movement.

Is weblogging journalism?
Joan: “One of the values we place on our own weblogs is that we edit our webloggers. Out their in the blogosphere often it goes from the mind of the blogger to the mind of the reader. And there’s no back up. And I would submit that that editing factor really is the factor that makes it journalism. Are you making a mistake here? Do you really want to say that? Do you really want to use that word? Is that libelous? All those basic journalism questions that we always ask.”

This is interesting to me because it’s almost exactly what Henry Copeland and I briefly discussed after DC DOT COMM in January …. He said much of the same.

However, this is where I disagree with Joan. Those are the “basic journalism questions that news media always ask?” (paraphrased). I think instead of saying the editor/writer structure makes MSNBC’s blogs real journalism and others not is somewhat of a biased statement to the existing (or shall I say old) hierarchy in the news media.

There are different types of journalism. The journalism that blogging brings to the table is a singular person, gonzo style. In the flesh, without hierarchical control. And to the point of several in the story, blogging is participatory journalism. I would even call it conversational journalism. Conversations do not hold the same characteristics as broadcast communication. I would argue that there is a mutual understanding between reader and writer in much the same way that our real world debates and converses.

Where the news media has its shortcomings, conversational journalism can often times take up the slack. Pressure from advertisers and media monopoly self interests creates a bias in the news media.

John Irons: Blogging is about personal Expression: Try to become a better writer.

Me: Its really what the web is all about …. Each person having their own voice and the democrization of media.

Dick Riley, attorney, is a reader of weblogs. Emailed Joshua Marshal his thoughts on an entry he did on the naming of the department of Homeland Security. This is the participatory nature of blogging and the potential the internet holds. Readers and writers are much more intimately engaged.

Riley: “Sophisticated political commentary in bite-sized chunks….You get the opportunity to correspond in real time with the writers…. It’s an absolute conversation between political and cultural commentators and their readers.”

Weblogs are helping shape opinions and keeping the citizenry more engaged in political discourse.

NEWSHOUR Blogging Story to Air Tonight

The Jim Lehrer Newshour piece on blogs is airing tonight. I was interviewed along with 3 others at a recent DC Meet Up event a few months ago. From what I understand there are several other bloggers who were interviewed for the story.

I'll blog more after the show. A transcript will be posted here in the next couple of days.

The Artist, Stanley Kubrick

I was poking around Plastic this morning looking for something entirely different and came accross this interesting 1999 Harpers article on Kubrick's last film, Eyes Wide Shut which was linked off a Plastic discussion on Kubrick. I had originally thought the film was just okay. But I could there was something more than what I was picking up. This article gives me a new perspective on the film. The author Lee Spiegel gives an interesting commentary on how our culture has become one of "art-phobia."

No one has dwelled on the essential otherness of a work of art. There is, after all, that hackneyed but profound notion of a willing suspension of disbelief. Genuine art makes you stake your credulity on the patently counterfeit. It takes you by surprise. And for art to take you by surprise, you have to put yourself in the power of another world--the work of art--and in the power of another person--the artist.

Yet everything in our society, so saturated with economic imperatives, tells us not to surrender our interests even for a moment, tells us that the only forms of cultural expression we can trust are those that give us instant gratification, useful information, or a reflected image of ourselves. So we are flooded with the kind of art that deprecates attentiveness, tells us about the issues of the day, and corresponds to our own personalities. And if a genuine work of art appears that has none of these qualities, critics impose them anyway, for they fear that if they surrender themselves to the work's strangeness, they will seem vulnerable and naive and intellectually unreliable.

And how the marketing backfired:

Since the film's producers had mounted such an immensely noisy publicity campaign--Kubrick's last film; one of the world's greatest directors tackles the subject of sex, sex, sex by staging the most erotic orgy scene ever filmed; see Nicole Kidman nude; see Tom Cruise nude; see the couple married in real life make love on the screen--the critics had to show that they were not going to allow bullying commerce to determine their experience of the film. So they decided not to respond to the film. They decided to respond to the hype. And the result was that the hype totally determined their experience of the film.

Agh

What's worse than Al Gore trying to repeat?....Newt Gingrich, go back to your hole. (and I actually stood by a lot of what this guy did). Here too.

Corporate Blogs Make Personal Connection

There's been lots of chatter around Richard Karpinski's article on corporate blogging. With the ClickZ Blog Conference coming up in June, this area is going to start getting a lot of attention. I think it's about to tip ... (annoying how that's already become cliche). I think the article makes all the right points.

But something is incomplete. It's terrific that some companies are starting to use blogs as a means of marketing and/or communicating with their customers. These companies truly are pioneers. However I think there's even greater potential. Instead of blogging for customers, companies should be creating blog networks of customers. This is one of the things I give Dr. Pepper some credit for attempting. Call it jumping on the band wagon, but I think Richard's Interactive has got something right.

A hypothetical example: Take Lowe's, the home improvement store. Why not create an entire section of their website dedicated to stories their customers tell about home improvement? Mom at Home, Creating Home Decor, Jarrett House North and other blogs discussing home improvement projects could be integrated into the Lowe's site. Not only would Lowe's engage their customers but will help build their own network of blogs. It's not a closed system, but capitalizing on an existing one and helping to build upon it. Of course Lowe's should hop in the game with a couple blogs of their own from their experts.

The advantage to Lowe's: They not only become associated with their customers, but they become highly entrenched with them. The more they are honestly engaged, the better their brand equity... or brand value.

Peoople. Globe Alive is Google for finding people: The World Live Web

Not since I discovered blogging have I been as thrilled with a new idea on the internet as I am now with Globe Alive. Created by Doc Searl's son, Allen, Globe Alive realizes the next level of potential the internet processes. Interestingly, Doc didn't know about his son's venture until about a month ago.

The search site helps find people who can answer your questions. Instead of finding static pages, you are connected to people who are online and ready to respond. Once the site is packed with people it will be an incredible tool. The proud father has much more to say.

I do wonder if this would be better served on a p2p platform like Gnuetella?

Why did that chicken cross the road?

I know it's been slow here lately. Here's an email I got from a friend today that really cracked me up:

Why did that chicken cross the road?

GEORGE W. BUSH

We don't really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to
know if the chicken is on our side of the road or not. The chicken is
either with us or it is against us. There is no middle ground here.


COLIN POWELL

Now at the left of the screen, you clearly see the satellite image of
the chicken crossing the road.


HANZ BLIX

We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been
allowed access to the other side of the road.


MOHAMMED ALDOURI (Iraq ambassador)

The chicken did not cross the road. This is a compl ete fabrication. We
don't even have a chicken.


SADDAM HUSSEIN

This was an unprovoked act of rebellion and we were quite justified in
dropping 50 tons of nerve gas on it


RALPH NADER

The chicken's habitat on the original side of the road had been
polluted by unchecked industrialist greed. The chicken did not reach the
unspoiled habitat on the other side of the road because it was crushed
by the wheels of a gas-guzzling SUV.


PAT BUCHANAN

To steal a job from a decent, hard-working American.


RUSH LIMBAUGH

I don't know why the chicken crossed the road, but I'll bet it was
getting a government grant to cross the road, and I 'll bet someone out
there is already forming a support group to help chickens with
crossing-the-road syndrome. Can you believe this? How much more of
this can real Americans take? Chickens crossing the road paid for by
their tax dollars, and when I say tax dollars, I'm talking about your
money, money the government took from you to build roads for chickens
to cross.


MARTHA STEWART

No one called to warn me which way that chicken was going. I had a
standing order at the farmer's market to sell my eggs when the price
dropped to a certain level. No little bird gave me any insider
information.


JERRY FALWELL

Because the chicken was gay! Isn't it obvious? Can't you people see the

plain truth in front of your face? The chicken was going to the other
side. That's what they call it -- the other side. Yes, my friends, that
chicken is gay. And, if you eat that chicken, you will become gay too.
I say we boycott all chickens until we sort out this abomination that
the
liberal media whitewashes with seemingly harmless phrases like the
other side.


DR. SEUSS

Did the chicken cross the road?
Did he cross it with a toad?
Yes, The chicken crossed the road,
But why it crossed, I've not been told!


ERNEST HEMINGWAY

To die. In the rain. Alone.


MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

I envision a world where all chickens will be free to cross roads
without having their motives called into question.


GRANDPA

In my day, we didn't ask why the chicken crossed the road. Someone told
us that the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough for us.


BARBARA WALTERS

Isn't that interesting? In a few moments we will be listening to the
chicken tell, for the first time, the heart-warming story of how it
experienced a serious case of molting and went on to accomplish its
life-long dream of crossing the road.


JOHN LENNON

Imagine all the chickens crossing roads in peace.


ARISTOTLE

It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.


KARL MARX

It was an historical inevitability.


VOLTAIRE

I may not agree with what the chicken did, but I will defend to the
death its right to do it.


RONALD REAGAN

What chicken?


CAPTAIN KIRK

To boldly go where no chicken has gone before.


FOX MULDER

You saw it cross the road with your own eyes! How many more chickens
have to cross before you believe it?


SIGMUND FREUD

The fact that you are at all concerned that the chicken crossed the road
reveals your underlying sexual insecurity.


BILL GATES

I have just released eChicken 20 03, which will not only cross roads,
but
will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your checkbook
- and Internet Explorer is an inextricable part of eChicken.


ALBERT EINSTEIN

Did the chicken really cross the road or did the road move beneath
the chicken?


BILL CLINTON

I did not cross the road with THAT chicken. What do you mean by chicken?
Could you define chicken, please?


COLONEL SANDERS

I missed one?

Washington Post reports marketer trying to fight spam is being taken to court.

Happy Times

In all the doom and gloom of war and the economy, I'm on cloud 9. Last Friday I proposed to Amy Cohen, who I've been dating for the last almost 3 years. And she said yes. Right now I'm the happiest man alive.

I met Amy the last weekend of May in 2000. It was a smokey basement bar with low ceilings and happy music where my buddies and I spent most of our Friday and Saturday evenings the first few years out of college. I watched some nights as my friends tried to pick up sloshed attorney's in mini skirts and high heels who made 5 times as much as them and get denied one after the other. Every once in a while an empty phone number would be written down with an empty promise and I would watch my friends sweat it out until their calls would go unanswered. "Swingers?" Me, I just watched and chuckled to myself .... I'm not the type of guy who picks up chicks in a bar.

Until I met Amy.

The night we met, my visits to the Madhatter (the smokey bar) were starting to spread out. My roommate and I met up with one of our new neighbors to head downtown. Everyone's eyes were ablaze to find a catch while I laughed a bit. Our neighbor had spotted a contact from the PR agency he worked with and we started mingling. I remember my roommate hitting on one of the girls doing his dance and making his laugh. A girl and I start talking. We laughed at my roommate. We talked more. We move away from the absurdness. We're really connecting.

At one point she asks where I grew up and I say Damascus. As you can tell by looking at me, this seems a little strange. I was born in a small town about 20 miles north of Washington, DC. It's called Damascus. "So what was it like growing up in Syria?" "Huh?" We laughed.

So the night goes on and we keep on talking. Last call is made. Lights are up. Our friends are leaving. Her friends had left. My friend hands me a napkin. We exchange numbers. No empty promises. "We met through friends."

A month later Amy we feel an overwhelming desire to celebrate. I mean come on, it's our one month anniversary. She takes me out to Merikesh, and we have a blast. I write her a note telling her I think I'm falling in love. A few weeks later we find ourselves at Rehoboth Beach on a bench facing the ocean. She tells me she loves me. I tell her I love her too.

Our next adventure sends us to Boston where she had traveled to from New York with her "friend" from France who was of the opposite sex. I trusted her. We met up (as planned) in Boston where my college friends were meeting up. She was meeting up with one of her college friends. We were all going to hang out and have a party like the best of them. Things turned sour. I didn't include her. She was the only girl. And the guys from college were together again for the first time in a LONG time. My friends felt bad. They apologized. I apologized. Apologies were accepted. It hung around for a while .... and I think we'll be able to make it to Boston again soon.

The days couldn't be more filled. We loved to travel. We went to Los Angeles and San Diego where Amy met my best friend Dave. We hung out at Skybar which was way better than us in a pretentious kind of way. We got omelettes and toured LA as Dave dropped scripts off at the home of big shots on the TV show, "The Street." We drove from LA to San Diego in a golden convertible Mustang. In San Diego we spent hours on a boat in Mission Bay. Scott nearly lost the boat and his finger when he tried to dock it ("i've never done this before"). My dad calls himself Agile Jack. I'm Smooth Movin' Scott.

From there we grew closer and closer and stronger and stronger. We traveled more. We enjoyed doing everything together. There were tough times too. Our relationship was tested by religion. It was tested by time. And doubt. Not to mention an MBA. But we learned to work with differences, remain true to ourselves and true to each other. True love overcame anything. And I'm thankful our patience didn't break and our love persisted.

So Scott, enough of the cheese, get to the details, how did you propose?

I'll start with last Thursday night. I had driven back two and a half hours in a downpour from Delaware where I had bought her ring -- the one she really wanted. The weekend before she was "wondering" if it might be happen soon. I hinted that it might be a while due to some "factors." My plan was to cook her a nice dinner. Stuffed pork chops out of this new recipe book we had just been given by her parents. Candlelights. Champagne. I'm checking over the recipe just to make sure it's all set -- all the ingredients are ready to go. Wait a second! She's .... gonna hate this! She doesn't like barbecue. I need a grill! I don't have a grill! I can't cook the most special dinner of my life for my new fiancee on a GEORGE FOREMAN GRILL!!!!! ............. PANIC..................biggest night of my life .......calming down ..........thinking ..........She likes Blacks Bar and Kitchen. Very nice restaurant down the street. Get reservations. I'll leave a note. A note in her car so she's surprised! And I'll set everything up in the apartment so it's perfect a perfect night.

And it was perfect. I got to Blacks an half hour before she arrived. Thinking about what she was thinking about, about the note I left which said, "Surprise.... Meet me at Blacks. Don't go home. Love, Scott." She walks through the door. I smiled. My cheeks hurt. I was excited and nervous and happy and she knew me well enough to know. She gave me a look that put me right at ease. She had the look that something was up, she thought she knew what it was, but she couldn't be too sure. She asked lots of questions, and I told her her rule tonight was no questions .... every next move will be a surprise. We enjoyed a terrific meal. When we were done, she asked me, "what's the next surprise?" We hopped in the car and headed back to our apartment.

We walked in the door and I had the lights low and two wine glasses on the coffee table in the living room. I told her to sit on the couch. I went into the kitchen, got the champagne ready and the ring out of the cabinet. I walked to her and sat on the couch. Our eyes were intensely connected for 10 seconds. I was speechless and was overcome by the best feeling I've ever felt. I said about half the words I had rehearsed over and over again. I asked her to marry me. And she said yes.

It truly was the most amazing feeling in the world. And I'm still dancing here on cloud nine. I hope that everyone can meet someone as special as Amy Cohen.

Does anyone think my blog takes forever to load? Please email me if you do. Thanks!

mmmmmm Doughnuts.....

Scientests think the Universe was made for Homer Simpson.

You Make the Call:

Couldn't resist this one .... Porn Star Ron Jeremy = Terror Chief Khalid Shaikh Mohammed?

Is Blogging Writing?

Chris Locke just made a post that opened up a can of worms that's been brewing in my head for a while. I consider myself a good writer, although I think I've slipped a bit recently due to the nature of my job .... putting together proposals really isn't writing in the sense that I think of it. Creativity starts lacking when you write slightly varying versions the same proposal over and over for different clients. "Professional" writing is more about the efficiency and clarity of words, not creativity.

Somehow, I feel like blogging might be making my writing worse. A professor told me once in college that there are no good writers, only good re-writers. Which makes sense because usually the first thing that is thrown down on paper sounds like crap --- it's the ideas that matter at first, then you re-write and re-write it again and again and again into Robert Frost-like prose .... or something like that. Blogging is more like a stream of consciousness -- there might be a couple read-thrus -- but I'm not out to make a masterpiece. Blogging tends to be quantity over quality. Which is why when Chris said, "writing is a sacred thing. Each word must be carefully considered, weighed, mulled over, its connotations and juxtapositional conjunction with previous words and (possible) meanings thought about deeply, agonized over," I let out a sigh of relief. This is what writing is to me. I am constantly in awe of the people who can write so well, so frequently.

So I ask the question, is blogging synonymous with writing? In the traditional sense of writing, I say no. Blogging is more like speech -- spontaneous, conversational, rough, imperfect. But like writing, it is closer to being permanently stored in history. Speech is gone once it is spoken.

I'm starting to notice that those who write for a living are the ones that blog with a unique and powerful voice. I don't think blogging can make you a better writer -- rather being a better writer will make you a better blogger. (And then there's Eric Norlin who always seems to be the exception to the rule -- I think Eric just has a clear head -- which helps his rap)

A clear head. That's another thing. There always seems to be ten things I'm trying to do at once. The Wall Street Journal had an article this week on how multi-tasking makes us less effective.

A growing body of scientific research shows one of jugglers' favorite time-saving techniques, multitasking, can actually make you less efficient and, well, stupider. Trying to do two or three things at once or in quick succession can take longer overall than doing them one at a time, and may leave you with reduced brainpower to perform each task.

Even while I'm not actually doing 10 other things, the weight of ten other things seems to be pressuring downward in some fashion. This tends to make my blogging words with meaning, but no impact. When I write well, I need to be focused on the task at hand. My girlfriend always asks why I usually just link and quote other writers and bloggers. It usually means, God I wish I had the time and mind-set to write about that, but this will do. A reference point for myself for a later time, and maybe something my readers will like.

So, you might see fewer words here, but more meaning in the weeks to come. We'll just see how it goes.

Media Slants

Check out Deborah Bransom's latest bloggings on the state of media. Very well written.

Also -- sorry about the mess on the pages from my top nav bar. Something to do with Dreamweaver ftp'ing to blogspot. I just need to work on it over the weekend.

finally adding some of the pages to my top nav bar. Bare with me while they get ready. Thanks.

New York Times article on Google's acquisition of Blogger. The more I think about it, the more I think ad relevancy has a lot to do with the acquisition. Think about Google's business model for Adwords. It's all relevancy based. Now with access to Blogspot, Google can target down to the micromarket. Of course the acquisition also has a lot to do with search ... and probably news.

New Advertising Blog - AdGrunts

at least it's new to me. More overall advertising than just online, and pretty cool. Found out there is also a Meet Up for Advertisers.

Blog Marketers Need to Get Weblogs

I said a few days ago rule numero uno for those looking to use blogs to promote their business is to "get blogging." According to some fellow bloggers, it looks like some are already starting out of the gates without a clue. Jupitermedia CEO, Alan Meckler has started a blog of his own.

But according to Doug Fox, "I think Meckler’s weblog misses the mark. His barrage of attacks against Fred Rosen, CEO of Key3Media, producer of Comdex, may get him some short-term publicity, but it does nothing for his contention that he grasps the premise behind weblogs. Yes, Meckler writes in the first person, but he doesn’t seem to have the slightest notion that blogging is, for the most part, a communal, shared experience."

Robert Scoble chimed in with similar comments: "I wouldn't brag about "getting weblogs" before your competitors have. You still haven't gotten the concept. You haven't linked to a single site that's not on Jupiter's domain yet. Weblogs are all about sharing, not about taking. So far Alan wants all the attention, but doesn't want to share with others. I'm unimpressed."

My own personal comments on Meckler .... looks like he pissed some people off. But I checked out his blog and it is written in a human voice -- it's not crafted in marketing-speak, which is important. Missing links is a big no-no. But hopefully he'll learn. He won't get any incoming traffic he doesn't share -- he'll be an island, as opposed to part of a community -- so evolution might have it's way with him.

The overall message is, beware marketers looking to jump on the bandwagon. You're marketing efforts will self-deconstruct if you don't get it!

Jim Lehrer News Hour Interviews Us at Meet Up

I attended my first Blog Meet-Up event last night in the Washington, DC area and the Jim Lehrer News Hour was there to interview the 4 of us that managed to show up. The interview and round table discussion was very interesting and I think the segment should show much insight into blogging when it airs (Iraq is taking precedence over blogging, I don't get that ;-)). I was a little under the weather, but I think I did okay for my first TV interview!

It's always interesting meeting bloggers face to face -- I think you really get to see the real person behind the words. It was also interesting to talk to people who blog about different subjects other than what I typically follow. It's very easy to get stuck in the circle of blogs you read without exploring outwards.

Here are the three others that were there: John Irons blogs about Economics and is an Economics professor at Amherst College.

James Robertson created a blog for his technology company Cincom Small Talk -- James was the first person who explained the RSS completely to me -- I think I finally get it!

Thomas Bascom is an entreprenuer who has created something called VBlog which helps people with common interests find common websites.

ClickZ B-Blog Conference

Kathleen Goodwin is chairing a 2-day blog conference in Boston sometime in June. I'm sure details will follow. My rule number one to "b-bloggers": Get blogging. Submerge your self in blogging. Before you start one for your business, start one of your own. Become a part of blogging circles that blog about what you're passionate about, become a part of blogging circles in topics your customers are passionate about. If your business starts blogging without a clue, your business will be ridiculed by other bloggers and your brand will suffer.

Bio is up! (at least the short version) plus a picture of my ugly mug. I should clarify, I am still working at TMP (very happily I might add - and this isn't just CYA). I want to explore helping businesses with peer-to-peer marketing which is something TMP doesn't do. If you're looking for the more established online marketing practices, TMP can certainly help out for things like search engine optimization, online media, creative site development, internet yellow pages and online recruitment solutions (TMP owns Monster). If you're going this route, let me know and I'll help connect you with the right person.

Now I just need to work on all those other pages on my top nav bar!

Google Buys Pyra

Wow! I heard it first on Marketing Fix. Google buys Pyra, creators of Blogger.com!

More good stuff here:
Ev Williams (founder of Blogger)
Tony Pierce
Meg Hourihan (co-founder of Blogger)
Boing Boing
Henry Copeland
David Weinberger
Rick Bruner
Nick Denton
Deborah Branscum

As I'm starting to shape my next moves, I'm wondering what peer-to-peer marketing really is. Is it marketing? Advertising? Communications? Public Relations? I guess that's what this blog is all about. Re-shaping these tactics so they fit the current paradigm.

Working on my bio ... actually have about 7 different versions now. One of the problems I've had is I don't like talking about myself, which can make it hard to promote yourself. And whenever I do, I think I sound a litte narcistic (And since I'm reading Fountainhead I've got all sorts of thoughts on ego running through my head -- but that's besides the point.) Then there's the question of first person or third? So I checked out how some others have done there's. I like Jason Kottke's -- reverse chronological order (he uses first person). It's very natural and unforced.

[LATER]
Okay, I've tried some out and I think the progression is pretty good ... although some of this might be better off on a "Solutions" page. (sidebar: I've always found it difficult freewriting with a computer. I find it much easier to freewrite, brainstorm and complete initial drafts on paper. You can scribble, make notes, change things around, draw arrows, explore multiple ideas more effectively. However, I think I just found a method that's working for me via the computer screen. First, I like Notepad, not Word. Somehow the text seems so much less finalized than in Word -- plus you don't have to worry about auto-correctors, grammar and spelling checkers, formatting and fonts. A lot of times when I'm writing I'll have an overall idea but a certain word or phrase is just a place holder for something better. So what I do is put a "=" before and after the word as a note to find something more powerful. If I think of something I'm writing, I'll put it after the last "=" and then add another "=" for the next word. For example Dennis Miller is =funny=witty=satirical=smart=. I have some examples in the bio entries below). Here are some first stabs:

Hi, I 'm Scott Knowles.

I breathe, eat, sleep, speak, see, sweat, smoke, sigh, fly, drive, ride, drink, think, hear --- understand --- EXLCAIM the future of --

online advertising

online marketing

online media.

My goal is to make the future now.


--------------------


Hi, I’m Scott Knowles. I’ve been helping grow the Web since Al Gore invented it.

---------------------

Hi I’m Scott Knowles. I’ve been submerged in online marketing, advertising and media since Al Gore invented it.--- since studying it’s =uses=power= in 1994 at Ithaca College and =making it happen= at TMP Worldwide for the last 5 and a half years. Now, I’m on a new journey. I am a consultant helping businesses =engage with, understand and utilize= their customers for high impact peer-to-peer marketing.

-----------------------

Hi, I’m Scott Knowles. I subscribe to the belief that successful online marketing and advertising is about

knowing your customers

understanding your customers

listening to your customers

talking with your customers

engaging with your customers


-----------------------

CRM isn’t a mathematical equation. It is a qualitative understanding, knowing, listening, talking and engaging with your customers. CRM is a human equation.

The 10 Commandments of Online Media

Jimmy Gutterman's (a la Industry Standard) 10 Commandments of Online Media (thanks John Engler):

1. Thou shalt not rely on press releases.
2. Thou shalt check facts.
3. Thou shalt seek out new stories not being covered elsewhere.
4. Thou shalt speak frequently to a wide variety of informed sources who aren't the usual suspects.
5. Thou shalt search out and quote people who don't have a financial interest in the story.
6. Thou shalt write brief, informative, provocative leads.
7. Thou shalt provide context, both qualitatively and quantitatively.
8. Thou shalt not commit cliches or lazy writing.
9. Thou shalt not forget who thine audience is.
10. Thou shalt make thine own decision about what the most important part of the story is, not simply agree with conventional wisdom.

Connected and Not Equal

Eric Norlin is blogging up a storm. One item worth pointing out is his praise of Clay Shirky's piece implying blogs are not egalitarian. Eric agrees: "I'm not sure why the uproar about this one -- cuz it dares assert that maybe blogs aren't so egalitarian?? of course they're not. they can't be. they're part of a network - networks, by their vary nature, develop "super-nodes" that conform to power law distributions."

more here and here. i've got some reading to do.... and I think I really like what Henry Copeland has to say (interesting take).

Ithaca College: ... I wrote up a pretty cool entry dedicated to you guys and then it was errased (ergh!). I haven't gotten the chance to crank it out again. Hopefully soon.

In short, blogs are cool and you'll learn tons of practical information and connect with many interesting people. And if you start one of your own, you'll be able to talk about what you're passionate about, whether it's politics, advertising, fish or phish.

I've listed my favorite blogs on the left. In the mean time, I'd be curious as to some of your experiences with blogs .... what do you think? Waste of time, or pretty cool? Shoot me an email: scottwknowles@excite.com.

Iraq

I'm going to hit the war blogging bandwagon here for a second. Admittedly, I've been a little wishy washy on what to do about Iraq. I do think we are totally justified in going to war with them ... they've been playing games with our inspectors, cheating the system and the agreement that was set forth at the end of Gulf War I. I think we should have gone in 5 years ago. However, with the shadow of September 11th hanging over our nation, my hesitation in supporting the war was, shouldn't we be focusing our efforts on the war on terrorism? I've made the determination that I think Iraq is worth our efforts. Even if we cannot prove ties to al Queda, I'm a believer in if al Queda does get a hold of Saddam's weaponry -- and it sounds like they may have already -- there will be no warning shot. Iraq is porous, if not in collusion. We cannot afford that risk. Terrorism aside, I also think we can handle two fronts -- Terrorism and Iraq.

So France, Belgium and Germany, what gives? I understand dissent. I have no problem with that. I think it is vital to world balance. But not supporting NATO backing if Turkey was attacked by Iraq is selfish, stubborn and destructive. This would be the first time in NATO's history that it would not support one of its members if it were attacked. Regardless of what the United States is doing, there is no justification of not supporting Turkey if it were attacked.

Great coverage at the NY Times and I'm sure other blogs -- though I haven't been following this in the blogosphere.
back to our regularly scheduled programing....

Oscar nominations are out. I've only seen a couple of the nominated movies: Gangs and Chicago ... also Road to Perdition. Still on my list are About Schmidt, Adaptation, Two Towers, The Hours. I think the big one I'm rooting for this year is Daniel Day-Lewis for best actor. I was pretty amazing. I can't say I have a favorite for Best Motion Picture ... and I'm a little surprised Two Towers made it .... although I haven't seen it yet to judge.

DC DOT COMM Introduced to Blogs

Henry Copeland writes in his blog, "only 10% of the audience had ever read a blog and only 2% had actually blogged." Which is why it was so important that Henry closed with some final statements and told the audience, "go to Google and type in blog plus something you're passionate about .... It will change your life."

I wish the panel could have focused more on blogging, although we created the "Battle of the Blogs" to be a panel of experts (mostly bloggers) on the internet to discuss issues revolving around online media, advertising and marketing. I'm not sure if the audience left understanding what a blog is and why it's important that they know. Hopefully the audience will listen to Henry.

Regardless, I think the panel worked. There were some great conversations about Spam, Pop-ups and the effectiveness of online advertising in general. However, the biggest sign of hope the online marketing world is starting to get it, was the discussion of community. Who would have thunk it? Marketers are starting to realize the importance of online communities. Someone from the audience (I think it was the audience) asked an interesting question. "Would an online community on the Omaha Steaks website work?" The big picture version of the question is, are brand websites the appropriate place to host a community. The general consensus was "hell no", because why the hell would Omaha Steaks host a discussion about how much Omaha Steaks suck (not that they do suck, but someone's bound to start that discussion).

I beg to differ with that thinking. The Omaha Steak would be a great place to host a community. Loyal customers could talk about their favorite marinades or spices. And big deal if someone starts talking about how much they suck. Omaha would be better for letting that conversation happen. They could even join in. It makes the brand more real, and less reliant on advertising. Same holds for communities on sites like BMW, Kodak or Budweiser. Every brand has loyal customers and they should embrace and utilize them.

I had a great time speaking with Henry Copeland who was the only one I had a chance to talk to from the group of panelists I had anything to do with being there. Henry was the first blogger I've met in the non-blog world. We started talking about Crossing the Chasm, a book he strongly recommended to me. I've thought about the concept as Henry described it almost ever day since the conference. The premise is that in order to establish a new market all you have to do is find a small group who can help champion your cause, product or service. So if I want to introduce a form of blog marketing to one of my franchise accounts. My goal should be to seek out those who already see the value of online community or who already blog --- engage them in the idea, watch it work and spread the knowledge.

Henry also thinks I should be blogging more, and he's right. I will.

All in all DC Dot Comm was a great experience. It was the first time I helped produce a conference and I'm very happy that Hank Dearden -- who produces the show -- embraced my blog idea and we were able to introduce it to the DC Ad community. I'd like to thank Henry, Sean Carton, Meg , Jennifer Kronstain and all the other panelists. Hopefully next year people will be screaming for more blog talk. I just hope they listen to Henry.

I'll post some pictures of the panels tomorrow...

It's tomorrow and here they are:

(Hollis Thomases, Sean Carton and Robbin Zeff)


(Jennifer Kronstain, Meg Hourihan and Henry Copeland)


(Mark Lees, Frank Cumberland and Missy Shorey)

Blogging on Jupiter

Jupiter Research has joined the weblog world with a blog by senior analyst Michael Gartenberg and 6 other analysts. I think this is going to be an invaluable element to the research Jupiter puts out. Hopefully it will provide us with insight behind the numbers in a real voice. Michael tells us what he wants to accomplish with his newly formed blog:

In an ever changing world, the access to new information and analysis is growing. The Weblog medium allows for something that goes beyond our traditional research deliverables and also enhances them. Look to this space for thoughts on the new and exciting but also on the offbeat. It’s a chance to get closer to how we think as analysts and the thought process that goes into final research positions.

I spend my days as well as a good deal of the nights and weekends pondering the issues that relate to digital ubiquity as well as working with a host of interesting technologies. Some are breakthrough, some are half baked. The results of this process of thought and interaction go into the presentations and research reports that we create at Jupiter. This blog will hopefully open that process of thought, commentary and analysis up to a wider audience and in a different format.

Rock on Jupiter. ">Gonzo marketing is taking shape.

Visual Thesarus

Cool new tool for all you writers out there: Visual Thesarus.

Role of Color

This article comes a few weeks late as I was trying to put together a color pallette for my new site. I searched everywhere and couldn't find anything very good. GrokDotCom helps answer my question by explaining how colors can impact your website. Here is what Grok had to say about the colors I chose:

Gray
Gray is the color of neutrality, "neither subject nor object, neither inner nor outer, neither tension or relaxation." Gray feels as though it is not colored, not dark, not light - a separation between two distinct entities, a demilitarized zone free from stimulus. Gray communicates an element of non-involvement or concealment. It's a color that remains uncommitted and uninvolved.

Blue
This is the color of calmness, repose and unity, symbolically the color of sky and ocean. Looking at blue relaxes the central nervous system - blood pressure, pulse and respiration rate all go down, which allows regenerative systems in the body to work on healing. When folks are ill, the physiologic need for blue actually increases! The physiologic associations with blue are those of tranquility. The psychological associations are of contentment, gratification and being at peace.

Yellow
Where red stimulates, yellow suggests. It can elevate body rates as red does, but its effect is less stable. Yellow is primarily the color of happiness, cheerfulness, expansiveness, lack of inhibition. It is the welcome warmth of the sun and the glow of a spiritual halo. While calming and relaxing, the color does suggest a desire for change, that things are never quite at rest - people who favor yellow may be very productive, but that productivity often occurs in fits and starts.

Orange -- poor oragne was neglected. Nothing here on orange. [much later]: While orange may suggest fire, vitality, warmth and energy, all lovely associations, it’s the color most-detested by Americans (it is more popular in Europe and has particularly strong appeal in Latino and French cultures). Maybe it’s the 70s associations you guys are stuck on. But the research suggests if you’re going to use orange, it’s best tolerated when you are evoking a natural association. Like carrots. That, or go for a deeper orange that is earthier.

[Much Later] -- Grok follows up with some more practical uses of colors.