The popular Tim O’Reilly and the O’Reilly Radar have launched a would be code of ethics for the blogosphere. In the wake of the Kathy Sierra controversy, this could not be more welcome. The facts are the blogosphere needs this kind of code. While it may not be honored, at least people of decency can find a common way of interacting while understanding that the hatchet job of the wrathing blogger is not an acceptable reaction.

This is particularly prescient for business communicators. BusinessWeek ran an article this week called “Crowd Control” about how to handle negative blogging comments. Greg Verdino accurately notes, “Sometimes online backlash is a bona fide sign that you need to fix a problem, rather than simply an invitation to engage in a shouting match with your dissatisfied customers.”

Hear, hear. With venomous reactions and such, bloggers should know that though their point is negative, honest feedback can be provided without throwing vicious comments around like a bad Martin Scorsese movie. See code of ethics again…

In the same issue, David Armano wrote an article on blogging, called “It’s the Conversation, Stupid.” It’s yet another piece about how company’s don’t get the changing dynamic of the consumer economy with new media, and how they need to build relationships via blogs, not hard sell. I wonder how long its going to take for companies to wake up and smell the coffee on new media. In that same vein, our next interviewee Brian Oberkirch of Like It Matters fame says corporate blogging isn’t about getting it, it’s about participating…

If you haven’t seen Communications Overtones yet, written by Kami Huyse, check it out. She’s doing a great job writing up social media and its impact on the marketplace. She does a great write up on the Digg phenomenon and whether or not it means something (more often than not it just equates to a server crash.)

We had a client that got Dugg (mandatory server crash occured) and we filled their pipeline with leads. Worked for us! At the same time, though not in the same league, I recently got Stumbled upon on my blog and it had zero long term affect other than jacking my blog stats up for a few days. Ultimately, social network hits have to act as a branding agent, and I guess it does. It just may be “intangible.”

Also, Buzz Bin friend Matt Smith has launched Integrative Media. When asked why he took the plunge he said, “I don’t know, just because…” Spoken like a true blogger.

So, I’m in this Mastermind group and we’re all big into the Secret. The Secret is the Law of Attraction. Now some folks think it’s kind of hokey, even ridiculing people who believe in the Law of Attraction, but for me the proof’s in the pudding. My experience demonstrates that it has worked in the past, and now that I’m refocusing on it, it’s working again.

The Law is simple, if you think about positive things, they manifest themselves in your life, and conversely, when the mind turns towards negative things, you attract them. As marketing pros, this should be obvious. When we put out attractive marketing to our target audiences, they are interested. But if it’s negative or false, it fails.

Politicians have learned this lesson, too. Look at Obama’s messaging: The Audacity to Hope. Much better than Not Wanting to Succumb to Terrorists! No wonder this guy’s a huge hit… And he doesn’t even say much on the substantive policy side.

So on a small business level, if you focus on creating a million dollar company, building a great marketing campaign, etc. serendipidity, coincidence and whatever other higher powers there may be come into play and deliver these amazing results. Conversely, if you always think about how bad your cash flow problems are, I guarantee your customers won’t pay you until past 60, or even 90 days.

While this is not the first time I have been introduced to the Secret (a la Earl Nightengale’s The Strangest Secret and Denis Waitley’s The Psychology of Winning), it has never had as profound an effect as now. Though I find the current iteration to be a bit “cheesy” in its presentation, I truly realize any success and difficulty I am encountering is self manifested.

The exercises I am engaging in via Mastermind seem to be really shifting my thought patterns towards great success. Further, I can redirect my current notions of success to a much better future than I believed. I had a conservative growth goal for the year. This weekend it was doubled, and why not? I’ve done more in past years.

Perhaps, some of the best benefits to these excercises is the return of creative visioning. Suddenly, there are book ideas, one business, one fiction. This is the first time in a year that I’ve come close to having any book ideas of worth (I have actually drafted two novels in the past).

So, believe in The Secret or not, positive thinking brings great results. And who wants to do business with a storm cloud, negative-type of person, anyway? I see it as a no-lose type of attitude.

Here are this week’s beginning of the week (Monday for most)’s quotes for you, provided by the Positive Attitude Quotes blog:

• “Our limitations and success will be based, most often, on your own expectations for ourselves. What the mind dwells upon, the body acts upon,” Denis Waitley.
• “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow,” Albert Einstein.
• “The greatest barrier to success is the fear of failure,” Sven Erikkson.

Many in the blogosphere may be aware that Kathy Sierra was recently attacked on her blog by some of her contemporaries and competitors. These “men” used the anonymous comment feature to send her sexually abusive and, in some cases, death threats. One of these men includes “Cluetrain Manifesto” co-author Chris Locke, author of the Rageboy blog, which as a result of this incident should be boycotted (note that he is not linked). I won’t recite the quotes here, but I will say that the comments were absolutely frightening.

Is this about Kathy, or is this about men behaving badly? I definitely think the latter. The Washington Post summed this up succinctly yesterday, and cited Salon editor Joan Walsh. I went online and read Joan’s opinion article, which is fabulous, and reveals quite a lot about our “anonymous” culture. Here are some quotes from the Salon’s piece:

• “…when I first read Sierra’s complaints, my knee jerked with my conditioned reaction. I focused on what seemed to be her over-the-top response, quoted above, as well as her decision not to attend the Emerging Technology conference this week in San Diego because of the threats. I thought: If you curtail your activities or your speech, Kathy, the bad-boy terrorists have won. And then I read the graphic, threatening posts on Sierra’s blog and elsewhere, and I felt a little less sure of my reaction.”
• “Ever since Salon automated its letters, it’s been hard to ignore that the criticisms of women writers are much more brutal and vicious than those about men — sometimes nakedly sexist, sometimes less obviously so; sometimes sexually and/or personally degrading.”
• “The fact is, in my nine years here, I’ve learned misogyny grows wild on the Web.”

To me this Sierra event and the Salon article were pretty eye-opening. Who would have thought that women have to deal with this kind of thing online? And how messed up is that? I mean, aside from the actual event (which was horrible, and I feel bad for Kathy Sierra who is now in temporary reclusion), it’s quite sickening. It makes you realize that no matter how much we clamor for social progress, our society ultimately reverts back to base instincts and acts in medieval fashion (hello Iraq).

Men who participate in this kind of abuse should have their ISP connections turned off for at least a year. Is this harsh? Is it harsh to take away a gun permit from someone who shoots innocent people? An unfair metaphor? I think not. A criminal is a criminal. And e-abuse is still abusive. Period.

Other Implications

Many people have been decrying the anonymous comment tool as a result of this controversy. I think this is probably a little overblown, but I do heavily believe in comment moderation. If you are afraid to show who you are, God bless you. Speak your mind, but if you are going to abuse anonymous commenting for a personal attack, then I’m sorry, your comment deserves to be deleted. And ignored. Period. Manners and etiquette still have a place in this world.

I’ve received a few tasty pieces of anonymous email from some of my less pleased business associates in the region. These are always from people that I’ve walked away from, that I refused to tolerate their business behavior. You know what? I love these little pieces of e-hate. They don’t get published, but I keep them. Maybe I’m twisted, but I use them as motivation. Like Michael Jordan, they sit on a blackboard in my mind, and I look at them thinking about how I am going to absolutely succeed in spite of these attacks. Because I am a winner. And I realize that when there are winners, there are also losers. Sometimes there are sore losers.

Most importantly, I forgive these people, too. I realize they are sick. In a zen sense, enlightenment for some only comes through the journey of pain, and people who engage in petty commenting and personality attacks are definitely hurting inside. I won’t tolerate this behavior in my life, but at the same time, retaliation is not necessary, nor is it worth giving energy to these people.

In fact, it’s better to walk away and succeed. Ultimately, they want what you have. Maybe they’ll get the message and do what you do.

Lee Odden’s firm TopRank Online Marketing provides Search Engine Optimization (SEO). And is it any wonder that his blog, The Online Marketing Blog, has become one of the top ranked blogs in the world? This new media guru took the time to answer a few of our questions about blogging, SEO and social networking. Here’s what Lee had to say…

How did the Online Marketing Blog become one of the highest ranked blogs in the world?

Links. It’s all about the links. Actually, I’d like to think that we’re offing unique value to our readers. While we’re not a huge company, we do pretty well in our category and I am very open about providing both strategic and business issues information as well as tactical recommendations related to search engine optimization, blogs and social media as well as online PR.

Like every other SEO agency out there, we’re finding answers to the questions and problems of clients on a daily basis and tend to wonder out loud on the blog about how we’re finding those answers along with industry trends. Between the interviews, conference blogging, photos, videos, how to articles and industry news, people seem to respond well to that.

How has blogging benefited your business?

Blogging in conjunction with blogging and speaking at conferences has been the most profitable marketing investment we’ve made. For a consulting business like TopRank, a blog is a goldmine for creating thought leadership and attracting interested potential clients. Our best client conversations have started with, “I’ve been reading your blog for the past 3 months and we’d like to find out how to work with you.”.

How critical are blogs to search engine optimization efforts?

SEO for a web site can certainly succeed without a blog. That said, some websites use content management systems that are not practical for optimization. A blog can offer such a site an easier way to provide users and search engines with easy to find and understand content. Blogs are also prone to link to each other which drives traffic and can help search engine rankings. In the right hands, blogs can be formidable tools for creating a competitive advantage in search engine visibility.

What’s the biggest challenge facing the blogosphere?

It used to be blog scraping and comment spam which are still problems, but now I think it’s just plain noise. It’s so easy to publish content using blog software and so many people are blogging that it’s become more difficult to find original, insightful content.

But for those marketers and PR professionals that really know what they’re doing, it’s still a pretty straight forward thing to make a blog stand out from the crowd. Those that have been publishing for a while also have a distinct advantage over new blogs.

What tips would you offer other business bloggers?

Set measurable objectives for the blog according to the business goals you’re trying to reach. Based on the type of blog and your goals, seek to understand your audience and create an editorial schedule that feeds both your communication needs and the interests of your readers. Ask others in your organization for help in making posts and socialize with other blogs in your niche. Use analytics to monitor performance, make adjustments and measure results.

Do you see social networking as an art or a science?

Both! Being creative (the art) cuts through the noise of all the social networkers out there that are not offering anything of value. At the same time, you have to be disciplined about it (the science).

For example, before attending a conference, I make a list of people that I want to connect with in person. Between those people and people I meet at random, I come away with a great group of new contacts. The focus is on a quantity (science) of quality (art) contacts and at the end of each day I make notes about each.

Within a day and no more than two after the conference I send a personalized message offering something relevant from our interaction. It is at that time that I send an invite to connect on a network like LinkedIn on a follow up email. I think the art is being creative and relevant. The science is in the planning, execution and discipline of follow up.

Last December’s Time person of the year article really seemed to legitimize blogging and other web 2.0 technologies. What’s next for the blogosphere?

One thing I thought we’d see more of by now is ecommerce blogs. I think the blogosphere could be significantly affected if it was easier for bloggers to monetize their content in ways besides contextual ads and affiliate programs. Tying blog software to a shopping cart platform could be a big opportunity for millions of small businesses seeking to conduct commerce online.

A fellow marketer recently asked me what I think of the current state of business-to-government technology (B2G) blogging. For those of you who are not familiar with B2G, there exists an entire subculture of government contractors in the DC area that are serving a $70 billion plus federal IT budget. This sub-marketplace has its own unique culture, including publications, meetings, best practices, and marketing agencies. It has become very secluded to subject matter experts, because there are so many nuances to it. Experience matters here.

As usual, the B2G technology marketplace is the last to adopt innovative marketing tactics. The market is so risk adverse, so afraid to say the wrong thing that this actually inhibits blog marketing. This is because of the amount of black eyes government takes from the national media anytime an IT project goes wrong. No one wants to put their reputation on the line (Unfortunately, we don’t hold the private sector to the same scrutiny or else we would see better results than 70% success rates in software development). You have to be willing to state your opinion in a blog because it’s a dialogue, and as such B2Gers are deathly afraid to blog.

The so-called current B2G blog initiatives are mostly publication driven; i.e. FCW Insider, other 1105 blogs, and Government Executive blogs. As a “real blogger” and someone who has helped several companies with blog strategies in the past six months, I don’t consider magazine or newspaper blogs to be real as the entries tend to be short news bursts, and lack opinion or personality. In essence, because they are published under the masthead, they must adhere to the masthead’s journalistic standards.

A blog is not a professional journal. Chris Dorobek’s FCW Insider is close to the real deal, and I like his willingness to let us into his life a bit. If only the B2G journalist blogs would go out on a limb about some topic like integrators who fail, or the ravaging of the middle market integrators to feed Wall Street-hungry top-tier stocks. Then we might have something to talk about.

These starter blogs may inspire an innovator to take the plunge. It’s inevitable that someone with enough “chutzpah,” someone that has enough of a maverick streak to them, will start the first real successful B2G blog. An Amtower or a CDWG will come along and do this, and they will be wildly successful and hailed as brilliant marketers.

They will be successful because the target audience that has made blogs and social networking successful work in government and associated contractors, too. Namely, anyone mid thirties or younger, and most folks 45 or younger in technology businesses. This audience will welcome a real B2G blog, and the first one to do it successfully will gain an extremely strong and loyal customer base.

Brief LComm Notes

There’s very little work this weekend, and that’s a great relief. I’m very tired after having worked the past six to seven weekends, and need to get my self some rest. This is a welcome break. You have to have some balance or perspective slips by…

I actually bought some business clothes yesterday, a new suit and shoes. These are the first major wardrobe buys since lance summer prior to the flood. Very needed. You have to look the part. It’s not enough to assume it. You have to look it, feel it, and believe it. I felt like it was time. We are rapidly evolving out of the bootstrap phase.

The Hoyas lost yesterday. As an alum, this was a big disappointment, but perhaps the cup should be looked at as half full. They got further than most expected, and certainly declared the program returned. I just hope at least Hibbert will stay for another year. Green’s probably going pro. OK, no more sports mania until the Nats start tearing up the division or the World Series (my prediction is the latter comes first).

OK, Monday’s quotes:

• “Costly thy habit [dress] as thy purse can buy; But not express in fancy – rich, not gaudy. For the apparel oft proclaims the man.” Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act I, scene iii.
• “The difference between a man of sense and a fop is that the fop values himself upon his dress; and the man of sense laughs at it, at the same time he knows he must not neglect it,” Lord Chesterfield.
• “I knew if I really believed and made it happen, well then that would be nothing short of magic,” Bret Maverick (form the movie, Maverick).