Increasingly I find my professional life entwined with Web 2.0 promotion. In fact, I am now working on three different paid for projects that involve blogging or other Web 2.0 media in some way.

I know a lot of bloggers feel protective of the space. They feel blogging is an independent medium that should never be affected by special interests. Hmm, wasn’t that James Madison’s argument in the Federalist Papers essay # 10? Unfortunately for us, Madison was referring to our federal government and not blogs. Too late on the first account, and given the capitalist nature of the world, blogs will be the increasing focus of marketing professionals.

Much can be said about the use of media to affect opinion. Newspapers and other news media claim to be independent. As a PR professional, I would argue they are more likely semi-autonomous. The influence of spin is significant, and thought many of the major media outlets and journalists like to claim autonomy, they still miss the boat frequently. In fact, one would argue that blogs are this successful simply because people sense a lack of authenticity when reading news.

Why do marketing execs want a piece of blog nation? Why is it so important? Marketing Slave wrote up an interesting summary of a recent Jupiter report on blogging. The essence is that people trust actual product users more than any other media. 77 percent to be exact.

But wait… the taint of marketing begins to fall upon blogs. Check this quote out from the blog entry:

“Riley said word of mouth, defined as online conversations, between two people that know each other is the most trustworthy method to gain information, but it’s losing trust because many strangers are entering the conversation.�

Interesting. Very interesting. As a marketer, I think that we need to be very careful about our approach to promotion through blogging. One must assume that if enough blogs are compromised the medium suffers. I suppose eventually this is inevitable. Then the reader must become discerning, selecting blogs that can be trusted.

As a blogger, I am very hesitant to cite other people’s stuff, unless I think it has merit. I actually think that’s why people may read this thing. The message is clear to me. Blogs for promotion need to offer value to their readers, and they must offer authentic opinion. If the product, knowledge or service is mediocre coupled with untrue shameless promotion then the integrity of the blog is destroyed. And it will lose credibility and readers. This is the way of things. I see it in the tea leaves.

Getting ready for a three day weekend. I’ve delivered everything, given my clients all the promised goods for the week. Whew. Now it’s time for some much needed R&R.

The secret location of our trip is Lake George in the Adirondacks. My wife still does not know, but I’m pumped. A little early taste of fall. Of course this region is the scene of Last of the Mohicans, the great book and movie originally written by James Fenimore Cooper.

I hope not to think about marketing and advertising, start-ups and growth for three days. I hope to do a little canoing and a trip to Ft., Ticonderoga, a well contested fort in the French and Indian War as well as the American Revolution.

Breathing will be good, too ;) All work and no play is a nice theory with start-ups, probably very true. Unfortunately, many times you have to force yourself to take that break. Well I’m physicallly removing myself from the office to achieve this worthy goal.

Looking forward to it. See you next week.

I got the call around 2:30 on Friday, it was expected. My Great Uncle Guy had passed away, and the funeral was to be Sunday. So here I am blogging on my way back from New York City on the late Vermonter.

They say the measure of a man is how many people come to his funeral. Wow, what a packed funeral. It was so sad, but at the same time so touching. A very successful businessman, a clothier, Guy made it in the 50s and 60s. But his story was not one of business, but one of love. It was after retiring that Guy made his biggest impact.

One after another they all came up and talked about Guy the man, and his incredible happiness and ability to love all aspects of life, art, theater, opera, clothes, and in particular his wife of 61 years, Marie Helene, my grandfather’s sister. It was amazing. His last words were to the family before passing, “Marie Helene, Je t’aime.�

I remember they all said the same thing, “Guy made me feel important.� This was coming from family, friend and business acquaintances alike. Talking with family afterwards, it was true that Guy could be a tough, shrewd businessman, harnessing his drive and making great decisions, but in the end it was his care for other people in his life that made the most impact. Even my own memory of him reflects that he always paid attention to me, was willing to engage in conversation, no matter my age or the subject matter.

What’s the lesson to be learned for my business? It matters, yes! But in the end it matters little compared to my life, and the people in it. It was good to be there for my family members, to simply comfort them and listen. My thoughts were drawn to my wife, to watching the Devil Wears Prada with her, and how much I squirmed during the movie. But today I’m glad that we went so I could see her smile and giggle with joy. She loved it, and because she did, I, too, enjoyed the two hours.

After the funeral I could not help but text message Caitlin, “Je t’aime.� I look forward to our little break from business this weekend, and a complete focus on us for a few precious days. It’s a taste of the future.

I did like Prada from a business perspective. Really Meryl Streep was phenomenal. Too bad most young power hungry types don’t wake up and smell the coffee like the heroine, but it was cute and a valid point: Don’t sell your soul to get ahead. I have seen too many people take out the dagger for power and prestige in my day. How hard is to go to work and deal with the power hungry politics everyday, in addition to actually doing your job?

But now that it’s my ship, I can steer it without these types of distractions. Now the market is my validation and final judge. And that in a way is very comforting.

Monday’s quotes:

“The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best.�

-Epictetus

“Join the company of lions rather than assume the lead among foxes.�
- The Talmud

I don’t think so. In my mind it’s really another distribution mechanism for news and reporting. Perhaps it’s packaged a little differently with a reality TV spin, but it’s still reporting.

Newspapers that claim to offer blog content are really repackaging a soft opinion page. In my opinion ( and that’s worth a grand $.02), this is analogous to a company that places cleverly laid-out advertorial copy in a magazine and tries to pass it off as real editorial. Don‘t get me wrong, I’ve placed an advertorial or two in my day, and know it’s a great marketing mechanism. But it is what it is.

Newspaper blogs also seem to work the blogging system. Just watch any blog roll, and see how many times Washington Express or Washington City Paper end up as one of the the most recently posted blogs. That’s not coincidental folks.

From a PR perspective, I think it’s great. Just another means of hopefully getting exposure for one of my clients.

As a blogger my feelings are mixed. Having been a reporter these newspaper blogs do not offer a real blog experience. If they were real experiences they would tell you how much they hate their editor’s changing the headline, or about the foolish PR person that screwed up a story by providing bad information.

Real blogs talk about the experience of the person doing whatever it is they do. Witness one taxi cab dispatcher: The Blank Top Chronicles is what I consider to be a great blog.

I’d like to see a reporter really blog about their experiences. It would have to be anonymous, but it would certainly be better than the Washington Filibuster (note, a fictitious name) repackage its reporters’ paid-for-content as a “blog.�

Who closes a deal in Washington in August on a Friday afternoon? Well I did. Given what else is left in the pipeline that could be decided this month (or in early September), I’m listing a couple of advertisements in select places. There are two in particular that could demand a full-time staffer.

One must assume growth and be prepared for it. On a macro scale, its by focusing on potential big issues and by being prepared for them that success occurs. For example, having a cushion in case a financial crisis occurs, or having a backup disk in case of hard drive failure. Winners prepare and have alternative plans of action… just in case.

In this particular case, I’ve worked at companies where the executives were too cheap to be prepared to hire, unwilling to have consultants at the ready. This miserly approach to business only hurts the clients, and the staff working on the team. It stretches everyone thin, and service slips. Bandwidth must be at the ready, especially given the service quality I’m committed to delivering.

Moved back into the home office over the weekend. Now that feels pretty good. Still it was working out of Preferred Offices’ King Street station facility, and I plan on using them once I have that long-term reoccurring revenue contract. They saved my business during the flood, and definitely deserve my loyalty.

Business is secured through September now. That’s important to me, I am billing enough to pay myself and cover business costs since the beginning of June. Now I just need to collect.

Looking at a couple of partnership opportunities right now that are brewing. The best one is with an old colleague of mine who may be moving back to town. Another larger ad agency wants to partner as well. This seems a little conflicting, perhaps you could call it co-opetition? Hmmm, we’ll see what happens with that as time progresses.

Monday’s quotes are below:

“If I always appear prepared, it is because before entering an undertaking, I have meditated long and have foreseen what might occur. It is not genius where reveals to me suddenly and secretly what I should do in circumstances unexpected by others; it is thought and preparation.�
-Napoleon Bonaparte

“Success depends upon previous preparation, and without such preparation there is sure to be failure.�
-Confucious

“Success is where preparation and opportunity meet.�
-Bobby Unser