If you care about blogs, or even the direction they are taking this is a quick must read. In essence, it shows the power of the online community, and that people need to take notice of this dramatic shift in the way things are marketed. It's not just about your marcom materials and your PR anymore, your product actually has to be good.

Meanwhile, HBS has an interesting article on defining your primary customer. I can't count how many times a client has said, "Our customer is everyone." Don't be diluted. And another by iMedia is a worthy read on behavioral marketing. It's a quick interview between (Claria CEO) Scott Eagle and Neil Perry.

And on the retail front, HP is going to stop selling iPods, but I can't say that I am unhappy about this.

“They’ve decided that reselling iPods doesn’t fit with their company’s current digital media strategy,” the Journal quoted Apple spokeswoman Katie Cotton as saying.

No duh.

Note to marketers: The crossover reuse of products is really freaking people out.


And it's not fooling anyone.

Isn't it about time? e-Marketing has been held accountable for quite some time, having commoditized media measurement in an effort to direct the dollars to measure what is working. It's nice to see that the Advertising industry is shifting.

A joint-task force composed of members of the Association of National Advertisers, American Association of Advertising Agencies and the Advertising Research Foundation yesterday unveiled an initiative that would shake up the classic equation of advertising math that determines consumer exposure to an ad. It would replace the concept of frequency -- the number of exposures to an ad -- with “engagement,” a metric that could better reflect the growing number of media choices facing consumers, from cell phones and the Internet to video games and podcasts. [AdAge]

When communicators discover the need to measure the degree to which customers are participating in their communities and brands, this will become vital. The best campaigns will measure what changed: did we move markets, change minds and increase sales? It will no longer be just about driving communications accountability, now it will also be about driving marketing accountability, too. And this is a nice change. The transparency that this will create will one one side illuminate the marketing coasters, and on the other, help strategically pinpoint where to go next.

Interesting article by David Kirkpatrick in Fortune.

"Ever since the Internet started to connect everyone to everyone else all the time, people from around the world can more easily contribute energy, ideas, and knowledge to joint projects. Some of the more familiar examples of these collaborative efforts include blogs, open-source software, podcasts, and even the nonprofit online encyclopedia Wikipedia.

Open-source programming has been in the forefront of this movement for years, but the concept is steadily spreading elsewhere.

When users chip in on projects—commercial or otherwise—the experience improves for everybody. I call this phenomenon the contribution economy. This is how it works: If a blogger posts a thought about something in the news, another blogger can add his or her own comment. Or when someone—anyone!—modifies a listing on Wikipedia, value is created that benefits everyone."

Recent iPod ads in Japan.

Alright. So I will admit that this is not easy, keeping up with my blog on a daily basis. And it is bad, because it ends up piling up on me. So I will begin, and state that I will attempt to be better about it.

I'm sure that everyone here is very aware of the current Ajax overtake, and the advertising questions following it. 37 Signals, the makers of BaseCamp, are already looking forward, to the future of web-apps, and what that means for small business. I couldn't agree more. Even their style is starting a trend.

If you haven't been living under a rock, I'm sure you've noticed that everyone is jumping on the design bandwagon, and it's influence on business. I hope this helps get designers the true respect they deserve. Even Stanford is taking notice. If you really are serious about taking the plunge, don't forget to read How To Be Creative, by Hugh. Also seen on Change This, if you prefer the PDF version. He's currently in the process of getting a book published on the subject.