People mentioned in this video:

Robert Scoble
Hugh McLeod
Loren Feldman
Shel Israel
Fake Shel Israel

Posted by James at 08:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

I mentioned a little while back that I might be speaking at a conference this September in Dallas about online branding and reputation management...well, that was confirmed, so I will be a speaker. Needless to say I'm excited as online reputation management and branding is of great interest to me...but it seems like I'm not the only one who's thinking this topic.

Here's a video from the social media Super-Hero Gary Vaynerchuk talking about how the tech world of 2008 = the hip hop world of 1985.

God, Gary is a stud.

Posted by James at 08:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you look on the right sidebar of the blog you will notice I have added a couple of new things. One is a MyBlogLog widget, which may be the subject of another post, and a widget marked Twitter Feed. But what is Twitter?

That's a great question - and I always have a really tough time answering it. Tonight at dinner, I tried to explain Twitter to Kristi...and failed miserably. So let's look to Twitter for the official explanation from the website:

Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?

Interesting, but it doesn't really mean that much to me. And actually, after I first signed up for Twitter, I played around with it for a bit and then stopped using it for a number of months. But after hearing a lot of the bloggers I follow buzzing about Twitter (Hugh being the most vocal) I tried Twitter out again...and you know what? I get it.

So here's my best explanation of Twitter, at least the way I see it:

Twitter gives people in different physical locations the ability to quickly communicate their location, status and points of interest to their friends and contacts in what can best be described as a virtual workplace/cafe. This virtual workplace may be the reason why so many web/independent workers find Twitter so useful - it lets them broadcast simple ideas and concepts with the people they care about without going through the formality of a blog post, email or even instant message.

Now I'm not going to sit here and tell most people to use Twitter - it really seems to only make sense for tech industry and web-savvy folks at this point. But if you are an active member in the online community, it might be time to get involved with Twitter...it's a great way to get in touch with and keep up to date with the people you know and the people that matter in the online world.

I think Hugh put it best, half joking - "Note to World: If you're not on Twitter, I don't want to make friends with you." (Here are his thoughts on Twitter).

If you'd like to check out my Twitter page, you can head over to http://twitter.com/marketingpunk.

Posted by James at 07:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Exciting news - I've been accepted as a member of the "press" (meaning I got a press pass) for the 2008 Affiliate Summit West conference in Las Vegas in a couple weeks! Affiliate Summit is the premier affiliate marketing conference series, and once a year affiliate marketers and merchants descend on Las Vegas to learn, network, and let's face it, party for three jam packed days.

One thing that I like about Affiliate Summit is that I've been in the affiliate marketing business long enough to have seen the conference organizers, Shawn Collins and Missy Ward, take the Summit from an unknown series to a world class event. The conference has had its growing pains, but now it has events across the US and even in Europe...a wonderful success story.

Some of you might remember that I went to Affiliate Summit last year through work, but I'm pretty stoked to be going as an independent blogger this go round, with nothing to do but enjoy and document my experience.

I'm hoping to cover most of the conference through video blog posts, technology permitting.

Anyway, more about Affiliate Summit over the coming days. Tomorrow (or soon) - the conference agenda!

Tags: affiliatesummit

Posted by James at 07:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I recently got my invite to try out the social video site Seesmic in it's alpha stage. After watching the activity there I started wondering what the hell Seesmic was all about. I mean, it was like a lot of people posting 30 second video clips and basically having conversations through the clips. Very strange.

Yesterday I put up my really lame first video post (no need to embed it...it's lame), and much to my surprise I quickly had a response from another Seesmic user saying hi. Here is the video response to my video from Dan Light:

Pretty neat. I like that video is moving from this big, formal thing to an impromptu, conversational format. Seems like a good way to make some new friends/contacts...from what I can see there are a number of well connected folks taking part in the Seesmic conversation.

If you have interest, you can sign up to be put on the list for invites to the alpha here. I think it took a couple weeks or maybe a month to get my activation code.

Posted by James at 07:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you are working on something totally mindless:

a) Welcome to the club, and
b) Here is a download of a great conversation between Seth Godin, Tim Ferris, Chris Anderson and John Jantsch you can listen to so your brain doesn't continue to rot in your head.

You are welcome.

(Source)

Posted by James at 09:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Let's face it. We bloggers are not traditional media. That's why we've been successful and that's also why we fight for respect from most everyone. Catch 22, blah, blah, blah.

So some of the fun loving folks at Gizmodo decided to pull a prank and use an electronic device to turn off TV screens at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas and make a video of it.

Yeah, it was over the line. And yeah, it was funny.

But hey, people will be people, and the punks of the journalism world (that's the bloggers for those who aren't following) are going to piss people off. But the actions of the Gizmodo folks shows the beauty and the beast that is bloggers operating in the "real world."

We're going to fuck around, we're going to mess up, and hell, we might embarrass you.

But guess what?

We're also going to give the people what they want. We will entertain. We will inform. And we will get the eyeballs that you can't get by being another traditional journo in a sea of frantic, frightened, and confused traditional journos.

Live with it. It's the new reality.

You should check out John Biggs' post on this blogtoversy to see why I decided to write this post which may or may not be fueled by 40 ounces of OE freedom. Here's a taste:

Maybe it’s important they don’t understand this simply because many of these noble savages post pithy and exciting stuff and report on rumors and problems that most companies want to keep under wraps. And then you have a few who turn off a bunch of TVs or puke on a sales guy. While I’m sure editors at Business Week rarely have to sprinkle out sawdust in the break room, they are looking to emulate our style if not our traffic. Unless they’re willing to accept the risk of an asshole move with the promise inspired ones, they’ll be sunk. And unless bloggers are ready to act their age and use their skills, energy, and position to help consumers and not piss of PR folks, they’re also sunk.

P.S. The blogger who switched off the TVs did get banned from CES - an appropriate response from the CES squad. But remember what Snoop Dogg says - "You got to pay the cost to be the boss."

This ain't the Huxtables Bobble.

Posted by James at 08:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Ever since Hugh MacLeod decided to put more work into GapingVoid.com and his personal brand, things have really started to pay off for GapingVoid readers. The blog is fun to read again, insightful, and new cartoons are making their way onto the blog regularly.

Need an example? Try out the latest post, Beware of Turning Hobbies Into Jobs.

Hugh, thanks for getting back on to the blog train. We all appreciate it.

Posted by James at 09:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

During the New Years weekend the Travel Channel pumped the hell out of the new season of Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" and also made sure to point out Anthony's new blog on the Travel Channel website. Tonight I visited it, and I hate to say it was a major letdown.

Don't get me wrong, the one post (YES ONLY ONE) was perfect - classic Bourdain. But there was only one post, and it was from December 17th. I mean, the Travel Channel is using valuable advertising to pimp a blog that looks abandoned before it reached its second post? Why?

I get what the Travel Channel is trying to do, but at this point it looks like some "corporate blogger" pushed blogging on Anthony, he reluctantly wrote a post and is now avoiding posting again or replying to any of the 72 comments left by excited fans.

The lesson here is just because someone is a great writer, and just because blogs are a great outlet for writers, it doesn't mean that every writer is going to be a great blogger. It takes a certain type of person to blog well. Someone who wants to express themselves with or without direct compensation, someone who is dedicated to blogging and someone who is interested in interacting with the people who want to interact with them.

Bourdain is a great writer, but as far as I can tell, he's no blogger. No matter how bad the blog guru at the Travel Channel wants him to be. (And if you're reading this blog guru, let me tell ya, I've been there and I feel for you).

Of course, I'm hoping he proves me wrong...I'm still a Bourdain fanboy, blog or no blog.

Posted by James at 07:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Ok, so I love Wordpress...which is kind of funny coming from a guy with a blog running on MoveablePoop (or MoveableType, whatever). Wordpress is a great example of what community built software can do...and do it does...or something.

You want to see why Wordpress rules? All you have to do is look at Kristi’s new blog, which we set up in about two hours, from buying the domain to adding the template to modifying it and importing all of Kristi’s old blog posts. Pretty awesome.

I also set up my sister’s new blog on Wordpress as well. And if I say so myself, it’s purdy.

If you are starting your own blog, you better use Wordpress...because MoveableType has become the abandoned orphan of the blogosphere.

Posted by James at 08:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

One of the issues facing many geek marketers is that we have too many blogs/social networks/RSS feeds that we're publishing, and most people find it hard to keep track of all of them. A recent article from Steve Rubel has pointed out a way to combine all of our electronic outputs into a Tumblr "lifestream."

Tonight I decided to try to set one up, and 15 minutes later, the James Omdahl Lifestream was born. Currently the lifestream has my this blog, my work blog, as well as my Google Reader shared articles. I'm sure I'll add more to it soon...to me, this is very cool stuff. The best thing is that the lifestream is populated by RSS feeds, so I never have to directly post to it if I don't want to.

So if you want to see all of what I'm working on, keep an eye on my lifestream...

Posted by James at 07:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The thing I really like about super talented businesspeople/designers/artists/marketers who blog is that they often share the same insights with their readers as they do with their big consulting clients. A perfect example is Hugh MacLeod’s post, Edelman Talk. If you want to read about what marketing is about these days, make the jump and read the post.

Also, for you design lovers out there, make sure you read Mark Borden’s Less Hulk, More Bruce Lee article from Fast Company. It’s a great story about Michael Jager, his company JDK, and how they won the Xbox 360 account.

Posted by James at 07:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For the last couple months I've been listening to podcasts during my commute to and from work, and I think I have narrowed down my favorites…

The Daily Searchcast – An undernourished Danny Sullivan wraps up the day’s search marketing news…and sings and rants.

Diggnation – There is a reason why this is the most popular podcast on the Intarweb...

BBC Radio Newspod – A daily wrap-up of the top stories from the BBC.

Net Income – Super affiliate, Jeremy Schoemaker interviews important people in the online community.

The Accidental Creative – Thoughts for creative sanity for creative workers who are paid to “create on demand.”

Drum and Bass Arena Podcast – Amazing live sets from the best UK drum and bass artists…this one makes me go CRAZY.

Let me know if there are any podcasts you’re listening to that I should check out…

Posted by James at 07:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

That’s right folks, if you have been thinking about blogging but you are a bit skurred about the time/effort it will take to write, you might what to try out a tumble log. You see, if a blog is like a journal, a tumble log is like a scrapbook, if that makes any sense.

For a great example of what I am talking about, check out Project.ioni.st (killer domain name by the way). And if you want to sign up for your own tumble log, try out Tumblr.

Big ups to Cost-Per-News for pointing these out.

Posted by James at 08:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This blog has been getting completely destroyed by blog spam lately. I think I cleaned out 200 spam comments the other day…pretty annoying.

But you gotta look on the bright side of spam, and luckily there are two comments I got that made my spam-filled day. I wish all spam comments were as funny/interesting as these two. It would make blog maintenance a lot more fun.

Here is the first one:

Bonjour! What a super websight! Very refreshing to peruse from where we live in Paris (France). I eat frogs and drink wine. Woold like more informatons on this. Best regards! Mikael.

“I eat frogs and drink wine” – hilarious.

The next one is not so family safe, so click to read it. It is the longest spam comment I have ever seen, and is quite funny as well. You have been warned…

Continue reading "The Art of Spam" »

Posted by James at 07:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I’m not sure how it happened, but creativity has become part of my profession. An interesting turn of events, especially for someone who thought he would spend his life bullshitting people over the phone to get control of their cash.

Thank god that didn’t work out.

But as I become more involved in creative activities, I also realize that being creative all the time ain’t exactly easy. Which brings me to the link for tonight - Hugh MacLeod’s “How To Be Creative.” I think I have posted it before, but recently Guy Kawasaki linked to a fancy PDF version of the essay that I have never seen before.

Fancy or not, I think “How To Be Creative” is one of those things that is worth revisiting.

And yeah, that is a wall of gum...

Posted by James at 08:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In my country there is problem,
And that problem is transport.
It take very very long,
Because Kazakhstan is big.

Throw transport down the well
So my country can be free
We must make travel easy
Then we'll have a big party

(Thanks to Borat for the tune)

Well, I’m glad I don’t live in Kazakhstan and I do live in Denver. This week I decided, since my car is still in the shop (longest repair ever), to start taking public transport…light rail to be exact. And guess what? I really like it. The trains run on time, they are pretty quick, and not having to drive really cuts out stress.

I think the best part about riding public transport (aside from saving the environment, yada, yada) is that I get to listen to a bunch of podcasts on the way to work. One podcast I checked out today and really enjoyed was the Shoemoney show where he interviewed Matt Mullenweg, the founder of Wordpress. Matt is a really smart and seemingly down to earth guy who just happened to create one of the most popular blogging platforms in the world. Way to go Matt – and happy 23rd birthday tomorrow.

Check out the podcast here.

Posted by James at 07:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well, it looks like I recently hit the 300 post mark on Marketing Punk…quite appropriate that it happened right around the new year. Blogging was certainly a big part of 2006 for me, and it looks like 2007 will be a bloggable year as well.

I am proud to say that Kristi (my lady) has started a blog of her own. And I am even more proud to say that she is doing a photo blog, which is awesome. You can check it out at Picture Peaks.

Also, want to say happy birthday to my Pops, a.k.a Mini-Freak, who turned 59 today. He looks about 20-years younger than he actually is, and he acts like he is about 40-years younger than he actually is…which is fun at times, and scary at times too. :)

I hope you are looking forward to 2007 like I am. Even though it is just another day, January 1st makes me reflect on who I am, what I am doing, and how I can improve. If you know me, you know there is a lot of room for improvement, so it looks like I am headed into a busy 2007.

Happy New Year!

Posted by James at 10:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I was thinking when I was driving home tonight, who would be the ultimate blogger? Bill Gates? Naw, too obvious. George Bush? Naw, too scary. And then it came to me…Richard Simmons! Why? Well let me give you the Top Ten Reasons Why Richard Simmons Would be the Ultimate Blogger!!!

1. Blogging takes passion - If you have ever seen a Richard Simmons infomercial, you know what I am talking about. Anybody who can jump, scream, dance, and cry all in the span of thirty seconds when talking about dieting has got passion.
2. Blogging takes authority – After almost three decades of helping people lose weight, Richard is an authority.
3. People want to know about Richard Simmons – Seriously! If you hear Richard Simmons’ name, and you haven’t seen or heard anything about him in a while, you always wonder what the heck he is up to. How cool would it be to have a place to check in on Richard on a daily basis.
4. Richard Simmons’ Daily Message ain’t cutting it – While we like that we can get a daily inspirational message from Richard, we are looking for more. We want to hear about Richards day-to-day life. Stuff like, what the hell Richard Simmons does all day.
5. Richard Simmons is a fashion icon – Shut up. He is. The shorts. The tank tops. The fro. That’s fashion sucka.
6. I am pretty sure Richard Simmons hangs our with Mr. T – I have no proof, but it makes so much sense to me. And if it is true (I am sure it is), can you imagine the shenanigans that those two get into?! SO AWESOME!
7. Richard Simmons can slam the hell out of David Letterman on his blog – If you have ever seen what Dave does to Richard on his show, you know that Letterman needs a big, public, pimp-slapping. Richard can dish it out, and we all want to see it.
8. Richard Simmons would make the best damn video blogs on the planet – Think about it. Richard, on your computer, being Richard. What could be better than that? I’ll tell you what. Nothing.
9. Richard Simmons really helps people – This one is serious. Richard Simmons helps people with weight problems. He is genuine when he does it, and while over the top, you can tell he really cares about the people. And people love him for that.
10. Richard Simmons Loves You (check out the video) – And he should show it by blogging

So Richard, if you are out there, please start blogging. The blogosphere will welcome you with open arms.

Posted by James at 08:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ah boy. Looks like these big companies don’t ever learn. McDonalds, my favorite company ever, has produced not one, but two fake blogs. Way to go folks – you rule. I will let the Consumerist give the full smack-down.

This is not the first time they have done this - some people might recall the Lincoln French Fry Blog. Of course McDonald's real blogs read like PR drivel, so maybe they should just give up.

Thanks to AdRants for the point.

Posted by James at 09:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Heading into day three of the Blog Business Summit - and I think people might be getting a little blogged out. That said, there have been some really cool sessions going on and I am surrounded by some of the brightest in the business.

I would give you details, but the thing about a blogging conference is that there are always people blogging about every session - so maybe I will try to get some links together for people to check out.

For a little blog humor, make sure you check out the latest PhilTube video - "Did you say blogging?" Hilarious stuff. Big up Phil.

Posted by James at 10:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Alright, so Kerouac didn’t write anything about blogging…since he didn’t have the internet…or a computer. But I ran across an applicable quote in the book “On the Road” that reminded me a lot of blogging. The quote comes from the start of the book – where Dean is learning how to write from watching Jack…

He watched over my shoulder as I wrote stories, yelling, “Yes! That’s right! Wow! Man!” and “Phew!” and wiped his face with the handkerchief. “Man, wow, there’s so many things to do, so many things to write! How to even begin to get it all down and without modified restraints and all hung-up on like literary inhibitions and grammatical fears…”

That quote is key. Most of the people I talk to about blogging say something like “yeah, I would love to blog, but I am worried about not having anything to write” or “I want to start a blog but I am afraid of looking stupid because I’m not a good writer/not good with grammar/etc.”

If you fall into that camp, learn from Dean – there are so many things to write…get it all down without modified restraints and don’t get hung up in literary inhibitions and grammatical fears. That is SO key to blogging.

If you are on the fence about blogging, just stop worrying about it and start writing.

Posted by James at 07:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I just got back from my first real speaking gig. I spoke at in Santa Barbara about blogging to a crowd that I would guess was a little over a hundred. I had an awesome time, met some fantastic people and got some really good feedback.

I think the coolest part was getting people excited and passionate about the opportunities they have in their businesses. And I was amazed by the number of companies that are “thinking about blogging” and I hope I got some of them motivated enough to take the plunge and start a blog of their own.

On an unrelated note, if you checked this blog yesterday you probably noticed that I was out of bandwidth. Thanks to the Bregar for hooking me up with more bandwidth – I swear I will stop freeloading and move this site to a new server soon.

In other news, Banksy is making more headlines, and instead of linking you directly to the news I am going to send you to my Banksy page on Squidoo, where I have updated the links section. Please go and visit the page, check out the RSS feeds, etc. I just broke the top 1,000 lenses on Squidoo and I want to see if I can keep the momentum going.

Oh yeah, and when you are there take a second and rate the page (the stars up at the top) – I think that is a part of the Squidoo ranking algorithm. Yeah, it’s a little cheap, but hey, a guy has gotta experiment right?

Posted by James at 08:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Robert Scoble writes an interesting post on the Web 2.0 bubble that is forming in Silicon Valley. Please give it a read.

I would agree that there is a bubble (the excitement is always going to wear out), and I like how Scoble describes it as a frothy bubble…maybe just because I like the word “froth.”

I also like this Gapingvoid cartoon that Scoble inspired with his post.

One thing I would add is that the logic behind the Web 2.0 concept is still something to learn from (bubble or not). Companies like the one I work for are inspired and benefiting from the spirit of Web 2.0 – even if the inspiration leads to businesses that are not 100% Web 2.0. No, we are not going to give our service away for free (our company still likes money), but we are going to start giving people more of what they want in ways that they want it.

While the financial side of Web 2.0 might dry up when the bubble pops, I think the legacy of Web 2.0 will live on after the fervor goes away. I have a hard time believing that the lessons of Web 2.0 are going to disappear just because VC interest does. And sure, companies will disappear, but for the companies that can do it right there is still plenty of opportunity out there.

Posted by James at 08:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I was happy to get my monthly copy of Business 2.0 today and even happier to see the cover story “Blogging for Dollars.”

The story is a good one. It discusses blogs like Fark, Boing Boing, GigaOm and TechCrunch and their increasing visibility as advertising platforms. For example, Fark owner Drew Curtis is expecting to start pulling in $600,000 a month in ad revenue from advertisers like Maxim Magazine and the NHL.

But that wasn’t the best part. The best part of the article was this sentence:

“Despite all the ferment, a critical question remains unanswered: Do blog ads work?”

Why is that exciting? Because the question isn’t “are blogs just a fad” anymore…the questions is about the monitization of the medium not the medium itself. To me, that is a big step. The mainstream acceptance of blogs seems to be getting there – which should hopefully make my job a little bit easier going forward :)

[Bonus - All Your Snakes are Belong to Us video...son of a bitch this video is popular]

Posted by James at 08:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The most popular video blog on the Web, Rocketboom, has blown the f-up. It seems that the host and apparently 49% partner, Amanda Congdon has either been fired or has decided to go Hollywood and leave the show.

Like the West African Warthog Wrestling Team, things are getting dirty. I will sum it up here:

The Official Rocketboom statement
The Blog of the Angry Ms. Congdon
The Huffington Post Take on the Replacement
Amanda’s Last Bitter Rocketboom Post

So for those of us getting into video blogs, looks like there is room for a new Rocketboom.

As usual I have to give the credit for the best comment to Hugh -

How to kiss $40,000 a week good-bye.

Posted by James at 07:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yes, this is a “me too” post…but I am pretty tied up with work stuff and I figure I will just point you to bloggers with better content at this point. Sorry.

I was not sorry, however, to watch this video podcast of international blogger extrodinaiers Loic and Joi talking about online games (mostly World of Warcraft), video podcasts, blogging and being a big nerd.

This is worth the 50 minutes, at least to listen to as you do something else.

Much props to the video podcast…can’t wait to do my first.

Posted by James at 08:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Bloggers are a funny bunch, and it looks like there is help for blog addiction - Bloggers Anonymous is here to help.

I enjoy the The "Mock 10" Signs of Blog Addiction.

Posted by James at 07:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

With the departure of Robert Scoble and Bill Gates (kinda) in the same week, Hugh Macleod thinks Microsoft is on its way out…eventually…kinda like GM.

The post is worth a read.

So what do you think? Is MSFT on its way to the GM wasteland?

[Update: More from Hugh]

Posted by James at 08:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you haven’t noticed, I am a blog dork.

It seems there are a lot of us out there. Check this post on “thinking in blog.”

If you are a blog dork too, admit it to yourself and embrace it. Then find a way to get paid for it. :)

Also, make sure you read this post - I am not sure I could have written it any better (actually I know I couldn't)

Posted by James at 07:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Take time to run through Seth Godin’s 56 Ways to Get Traffic to Your Blog.

Important stuff for all of my new corporate bloggers out there…

[Also notice that Seth actually turned on comment!]

Posted by James at 07:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

So I have kinda become the “blog guy” at work – which is my fault because I never really shut up about blogs. You have issues with surveying? Create a blog. You are having communication problems on a IT project? Build a blog. You want to breed a culture of communication? You better blog.

You get the point – I like blogs and blogging.

But I know many of my coworkers and the people around me are wondering if blogging is going to become a standard fixture in the business community or if blogs are just a passing fad. I mean, many people have a tough time seeing why people or companies would want to be involved in blogging or reading blogs – which is understandable.

But I would argue that these people have yet to open their eyes to the fact that the new business landscape will be democratized and will rely on social networks for making most buying decisions. People will join together to become more efficient in purchasing everyday goods and services, and the companies that can find themselves involved in this feedback loop early can reap the rewards of this communication.

So anyway, I am going to keep on bloggity bloggity blog blog preaching – because I think it is the right thing for my company to be doing.

Who else thinks blogging is important these days – try the LAPD. Check out their Crime Blog. Pretty cool stuff.

Also, the fella who showed me how to blog, Dave Taylor, has a good post on one of the hardest part of blogging – finding your voice.

Posted by James at 08:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

HOLY GOLDEN ARCHES BATMAN! Looks like 2 months and one day later, Bob Langert of the McDonalds Consumer Responsibility Blog has made a response to my February 12th post.

Here is what I have learned about Bob and McDonalds:

1. Bob likes McDonalds


2. Bob plays tennis


3. Bob posts to his blog once a week if he can


4. Bob is a big fan of the company stance that people’s decisions are the problem, not their wildly unhealthy food


5. Bob might want to realize that by making his company’s food more healthy, he could help a lot of people


6. Or Bob should push for free tennis lessons for all McDonald’s eaters – because tennis works for Bob (see #2)


7. Bob is unaware that getting into the blogging game so publicly, and then being so uninvolved in the blogosphere, makes him look like a bit of an ass

Thanks for the comment Bob – better late than never, eh?

Posted by James at 08:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My girlfriend Kristi and I had Kristi’s parents over for Easter dinner on Sunday. We had a great time and, as usual, I had an enjoyable conversation with her father, Neil.

Neil is a very successful marketing guy who has decided to leave the marketing world and pursue his passion - human sexuality and counseling. A very big change and one that he is enjoying immensely.

The funny thing about Neil is that he is still a marketer at heart, and he can’t help but see the marketing opportunities that abound in his new industry.

Anyway, long story kinda short (and meandering), Neil and I talked about blogs, sites like Flickr, and Seth Godin’s Squidoo. I am very excited about the concept of making the users of your Web site the creators of the content and I think all of these site we discussed leverage the power of users and readers to create content.

So today as luck would have it (and strangely, my luck usually does), I ran across a very appropriate reading material that delves into this topic a bit. The book, Seth Godin’s short e-book “Flipping the Funnel,” is a good starting point for many people who are trying to understand some of the new trends in the online space.

This is the second time I ran across “Flipping the Funnel” but the first time I actually read it – and I am glad I did.

Pay special attention to the idea of Squidoo. I have said it before, I think Seth is on to something.

Posted by James at 07:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

You know, some times I go too fast when explaining things.

I realized today all this talk of blogging, search marketing, etc. might be a bit over your head. So let's get back to basics.

Here is a very good explanation of the difference between the real world and the Internet.

Posted by James at 09:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

An angry comment from one Gregory Kohs has hit yesterday’s Strumpette post.

Accusations fly. Strumpette is a suer pants and has a penis, etc.

These PR people are a vicious bunch, eh? I guess I would be too if I operated in a business as crazy as theirs.

Here is Gregory the Angry's Blog of Power. Behold and take heed (and enjoy the first comment on his post)

Posted by James at 06:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The new Strumpette blog is causing a lot of buzz in the PR industry. Calling people whores tends to do that.

I will let you read for yourself, here are some of the essential links:

About Strumpette
Main Blog Link
Edelman Attacks

Have fun reading - keep on rockin' Strumpette...

Posted by James at 09:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

So I am in-between places, so my internet access is limited-ish. For that reason I won’t be posting too often for the next couple weeks. But I will try to get a post in when I can.

Now I am going to surf around a bit before this person sees me stealing their wireless connection.

I love you guys.

Posted by James at 08:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Just to follow up on my earlier post about our company taking on another, more personal, corporate blog.

The meeting went very well. Better than expected actually. Very exciting things to come.

And that’s all I have to say about that…(for now)

Posted by James at 07:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Tomorrow I am going to sit down with my COO and pitch and hopefully start planning our company’s third, and most important blog. Our first two blogs were created to help our customers and our affiliates, and fit more into the informational blog category. I hope this new blog will be more personal - a window for the world to look into our extraordinary company.

I picture the blog as a place where our top management will be able to openly communication with customers, business partners, business analysts, the media, competitors, and potential partners and clients. I also see it as a place where we can tell our company’s remarkable story – not on a static, boring “about us” Web page, but as it happens.

The question is, are we ready to bare our company’s soul to the world? Are we willing to take the time to do something remarkable? Are we able to take the possible criticism, questions and change that come along with this blog?

I think we are ready, willing and able – but we will see what the big guy has to say tomorrow. :)

Posted by James at 07:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I ran across Dave Naylor’s new blog today and I love it. This blog is a bit more personal than the other one – which is great because he is a really nice fella.

One of the coolest things about the blog is the use of hilarious cartoon characters, which he calls mini-me’s, that are pretty damn good parodies of some of the top people in search. There are cartoons of Matt Cutts, Tim Mayer, Greg Boser, Mikkel deMib Svendsen, along with others.

Definitely check out the story about Dave riding the mechanical bull in his underpants in New Orleans – classic!

Posted by James at 06:52 PM | Permalink

Alright – full disclosure, I am a vegetarian. I have been one for over a decade, so McDonalds’s doesn’t really do much for me. I have no real positive affinity to the golden arches, so I come into this post with a more negative view about McDonald’s than the millions of overweight American who love the fat filled goodness that lies between Ronald’s tasty buns.

I am passionate about blogging and the power of corporate blogging, and that is why I am making this post. When I see one of the largest companies in the world stepping into the blogosphere I am going to have an opinion about it.

Enough disclosure - on to the post…

McDonalds has once again entered the blogosphere, this time (hopefully) with better intentions than its ad agency contrived Lincoln French Fry Blog. The McDonald’s Corporate Responsibility Blog is intended to open dialogue with McDonald’s customers and shed light on all of the great things that McDonald’s is up to.

The blog is authored by Bob Langert, the Senior Director for Corporate Social Responsibility at McDonald’s. Looks like a nice enough guy, and fairly health (from the neck up anyway). I wonder how often he eats at McDonald’s. Bob?

The navigational categories on the blog are Balanced, Active Lifestyles, Community, Environment, People Policies & Programs, Responsible Purchasing, and Ronald McDonald House Charities.

Just from those categories, this blog shows the potential of going one of two directions. The first is to be a PR factory for McDonald’s, where they spend a lot of time tooting their own horn about the wonderful things they do. With the size of McDonald’s, I would hope they have a lot of horn tooting to do. If they cannot come up with a wonderful story about their company on a daily basis, there is something wrong.

But telling people all about why McDonald’s is so f-ing neato is totally the wrong thing for Mickey Dee’s to do. It will come off as insincere, and it avoids the biggest issue of them all. Why is McDonald’s still leading the pack in selling fast food that decreases the life expectancy of its regular eaters?

It is the big ass, stinky elephant sitting in the middle of the room, and if the McDonald’s blog does not attack that issue head on, then their attempt at “transparency” is a sham.

So what will the McDonald’s blog do in the end? Will they recognize that their mass-produced, low quality food is killing its regular customers, or will they keep pointing around the room saying “but look at this great thing we did?”

I hope the former, but I would bet on the latter.

So if you are out there Bob Langert, let’s see you recognize that big ass elephant. Even better, leave a comment and let me know that you are actually “joining in the conversation.”

Remeber that your name and reputation are on the line here Bob, don't let McDonalds drag you through the grease trap.

Posted by James at 05:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

For some reason I have run across two separate blog posts about the 1999 Cluetrain Manifesto today. Looks like today’s forecast did call for cluetRain.

Ha ha. What? Not Funny?

Anyway, Hugh has a great post that talks about what comes after Cluetrain. It always amazes me when I think how relevant the Cluetrain Manifesto still is after 7 years – and how few companies are actually hopping on the ‘train.

It also looks like Hugh is starting to reconsider his earlier assumption that corporate blogging was going to catch on like wi