Cool Marketing Thoughts

Together with Jason Schramm from Shiwej, I’ve decided to start a guestblogging series which will run on both our blogs at about the same time.
Today (November 28th, 2005) is the sixth installment of the series and we’re travelling to another part of the world to let Sivaraman Swaminathan from Customer World vent his opinion on blogiarism. Swami lives in India and is Sr.Vice President of iContract, a one-to-one marketing services company. He has over 14 years of work experience in the 1-2-1 marketing field and he’s a member of the Institute of Direct Marketing in London.

1. How did you get into blogging?

I have always had a passion for reading and sharing. My friend, Nishad had
introduced me to bloglines. Having had a passion for writing, I found this to be
a useful and easy tool to share. That’s how I got into Blogging.

2. What is your blog’s name, what is it about?

My blog’s name is Customer World [rss]. It is everything to with
customers, technologies that affect customer experience and communication
tools that will enhance relevance, customization and personalization.

3. Are there any policies you follow when reporting on an issue?

I normally give credit to the source. I believe it is extremely important.

4. What guidelines do you follow when linking to an outside source?

I give credit and a direct link. Any article reference and words, I provide
a link so that my readers can have a access to the source. I think the key is
to have transparency and honesty. If sharing is true promise of blogs, then we
have to do it by giving credit where it is due.

5. Do you think you are trustworthy? Why do your readers trust you?

Yes. I would like to believe I am trustworthy because I follow some very strict practices of referencing my articles/posts.

The reason why they trust me, I guess, is the authenticity of the information being provided. And on top of it I have my comments and view of the topic. If you have a point of view on the topic and have a certain reputation that you carry, I think readers will trust you. I believe I am building-up towards that.

6. Do you think bloggers should be treated as journalists and be privy to the rights and protections that journalists enjoy?

Well protecting one’s idea or thought is a must. If you go back to traditional
papers and articles, they always give references. I think that is something
we must adopt. I don’t think we need to "exert" control but we need to"encourage" referencing.

Initiated together with Jason Schramm, this guest blogging series will continue to make people aware of the power of linking and the need to give credit to the people who earn it.
Together, we’re improving the Blogosphere, you can help too if you start linking here !
And be sure to check out Jason’s post here.

Note :

Jason and I are not related but have a common field. Jason writes for the BlogNewsChannel, and takes care of Apple Watch, very surprisingly the Apple section of Nathan’s network.
I sometimes write on Inside Google & Inside Microsoft.