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 20th, 2005) is the fifth installment of the series and it is about Nathan Weinberg of the BlogNewsChannel. Nathan talks about growing his own network of blogs, his policies on rumors and linking, and the misinterpretation of the freedom of speech by bloggers.

1. How did you get into blogging?

I guess it just kind of happened. Last year, I was getting bored with editorial duties and the fact that I didn’t write articles as often as I’d like, and I was very interested in Google’s IPO. I was reading so many Google-related websites, that I decided to start a LiveJournal community called ‘InsideGoogle’, hoping that others would contribute and save me the effort of doing all the newsgathering. Instead, people started relying on me to publish, and I moved, first to Blogger, then to my own website at the Blog News Channel. I enjoy it immensely, but I never sat down and said, ‘This is what I want to do’.

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

I write both InsideGoogle [rss] and InsideMicrosoft [rss], and I am trying to grow a small collection of review blogs. InsideGoogle and InsideMicrosoft are about the companies titled, about the industries they play in, about their competitors, and about their employees and corporate culture. Besides that, whenever I find something fun or interesting to blog, I spend a few seconds deciding which blog it belongs more on, and post it there.

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

I don’t like reporting rumours. When you are dealing with a company like Google, rumours come down the pike multiple times a day, and I have no interest in mindless speculation. As a general rule, I won’t present a rumour as a story, and many times I will ignore the rumour entirely until it has been proven/disproved, and report that.

Besides that, my goal is to be as broad and expedient as possible. While I currently cannot work on my blog 24 hours a day (although that may happen if the money is good), I try to keep one eye on Bloglines at all times, so that if a story happens, I can be one of the first to report it. Half the excitement of a blog is not the reporting of a story, but the thrill of seeing it unfold, and every time I can be a part of that, I think it adds a lot of value other media cannot compete with.

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

Always link. Link to who I quote, link to whom I get information from, link to who linked to that page, link to who sent me an email pointing me in the right direction. I always link, except when dealing with anonymous sources. There was one incident where I refused to link to a page because it had messy popup ads, but for the most part I link anywhere, even into a bad neighbourhood, using the nofollow if the site is doing something illegal.

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

I’d like to believe so. I’ve never screwed a source, never flamed a person who didn’t deserve it, never made anything up, and I avoid stories that sound untrustworthy, even when they come from legitimate sources. I think that if you want to be trusted, you need to hold yourself with dignity. That’s also why I never use profanity directly.

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

Of course. Many bloggers are indistinguishable from columnists, and many columnists are indistinguishable from bloggers. The protections of a free press in the United States and most other free countries were designed not to protect any sort of media establishment, but to allow citizens public recourse against government actions; to allow accurate information to defeat acquired power. As long as bloggers are publishing information that furthers freedom in this country, the government has no right to stand in their way.

That said, some bloggers think freedom of speech applies to everything. Wrong. Freedom of speech is designed to safeguard the public good. It is not designed to protect you from lying, profanity, false accusations and irresponsibility. If your speech has little value but does significant harm, the government will agree with your right to that speech, but you will still be responsible for the consequences of it. You can say what you want, and no one will stop you. But if the pen be mightier than the sword, then the penalties for misconduct must be equally serious.

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.

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 13th, 2005) is the fourth part of the series and we give the word to Mark Jen, the former Google employee who now works for Plaxo.

1. How did you get into blogging?

I started my original blog when I started working at Google in January of 2005. I switched to my current blog (and imported my original entries and set up a redirect) when I switched jobs.

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

My current blog is called “Plaxoed!” [rss].
It’s about my life while working at Plaxo. My original blog was called “Ninetyninezeros” (http://99zeros.blogspot.com). It was about life at
Google from the inside (the “inside” of a Google is 99 zeros).

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

I follow Plaxo’s Public Communication Policy, but other than those relatively loose guidelines, I blog whatever I’m thinking.

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

When linking to an outside source, if I mention the author by name, I always link to their top level blog/bio/etc. If I talk about an article in particular, I link to the article.

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

Obviously, I think I’m trustworthy. I’ve got nothing to hide and besides, what’s the worst that can happen to me? I get fired? ;)

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

I think this depends on the blogger and on the particular writings in question. If the blogger is acting as a journalist and the writing is reporting on something based on journalistic research, then they should be given the rights and protections of journalists.

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.

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 6th, 2005) is the third episode of the series and it’s all about Martin Fasani, he started the Movil Mobile Community. Jason and I have started this interview series to raise awareness on blogiarism and we’re inviting other bloggers to share their thoughts on linkage and credits with the blogosphere.

1. How did you get into blogging?

It was back in 2000. I was going to London for some weeks and I started a kind of personal diary. I think there is still some of that on the waybackmachine ( link ) Now when I read those old lines, I feel a little embarrassed :/

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

In the beginning of 2005, after doing some easy premium SMS applications for TV and newspapers, I started projecting in my mind a sort of interactive virtual community combining web and mobile. After a few months, when the idea boiled out in the first version of movil.be , I decided to install a blog called “Experiencing mobility and social software” – [rss]. I kind of like the name because it actually describes in 5 words what it’s all about.

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

I try to refer always where the news came from. Sometimes I combine different sources and write my own story, it depends, but basically I’d like to respect the others.

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

Exactly what I described before. I try to avoid copying and pasting a big piece of text without any analysis or personal touch. I think it loses all sense like that…but even if you rephrase, it’s good to link to where you’ve read it first.

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

I don’t think they are many readers really interested in what I say.Movil is kind of an internal development blog where the users can get informed of the new features and state of the product they are actually using.

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

Well, I don’t really know that. Real journalists study some years in the university to get a degree. That doesn’t imply that you will get better communication skills, but hey, I don’t think I would come even closer to write like a journalist. I think they are two different mediums. So that depends on how things evolve in the future. Mileage may vary…

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 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.

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 (October 30th, 2005) is the second installment of the series and it’s all about Randy Charles Morin of KbCafe, who will explain how he treats people who blogiarize, how he lists his sources, and why he is trustworthy.

1. How did you get into blogging?

I first got into blogging in 2002 while working for Opencola. I opened a Userland Radio (paid) blog primarily as a means of figuring out what RSS and blogging were all about. I immediate got excited about the opportunities in this space. I founded a blogging company called Dude, Check This Out! on an idea I had about using associative relevance to determine what you didn’t know you didn’t know.

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

I have two personal blogs; iBLOGthere4iM – [rss] and RVDad – [rss]. I post things on the iBLOGthere4iM blog that I think are cool! Very little on this blog is personal. RVDad is my blog where I talk about personal things, like my motorhome, my family, my adventures and my life.

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

I really don’t have many policies. That said, there are some blog authors who blogiarize (plagiarize blogs, steal ideas and content) or are generally not nice people who I avoid linking to. I avoid linking to any IDG Website as I caught them re-publishing one of my articles on their Website without asking permission or paying me. I emailed the authors listed on their Website and found a dozen more that were never contacted or paid. When I approached them, they told me I was privileged to get one of my articles on their Website. They ignored most of my emails and thru lawyers at me the rest of the time. They refused to compensate me and basically put me in a position where I would have to take legal action to get any compensation for myself or the other authors. I personally wasn’t interested in a lawsuit and abandoned the issue. But, I avoid giving them any Google juice.

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

I usually link to the author and the source when blogging. If you look at almost any blog entry I write, I will link to the original content author within the body of the post, but I will also add a source link in the footer of the post that links to the blog entry that got me started down the path to this great content. Quite often, their might be several sources between my source and the original content author and you can usually click thru to find that path. That said, these are not guidelines, it’s just something I do. It’s not that I’m trying to be righteous either. I’m linking because linking encourages accidental discovery of my own blog. Yes, I’m doing it for selfish reasons.

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

I’m trustworthy, that is, if you are playing fair. When you are not playing fair, then you can be assured that I’ll come down on you. I think my readers generally trust me, because I tend to play on both sides of the fence. There are bloggers out there who think Microsoft (substitute any company name) can do no right and will bash them for donating money to orphans. Myself, I’ll bash Microsoft with the rest of them, but I’ll compliment them on their orphan donations too!

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

Why not? Just because somebody pays you to write crap don’t mean your crap is any more valuable than Joe-blogger’s.

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 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.

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 (October 28th, 2005) it’s all about Philipp Lenssen, who’ll explain how he treats his sources, how he credits people and helps them build their virtual image through a decent linking policy.

1. How did you get into blogging?

I’ve started blogging because my news articles became more frequent, and it was a nuisance to upload them. Also, I wanted to create the kind of blog I wanted to read myself, but couldn’t find at that time.

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

Google Blogoscoped – [rss], about Google and “20% everything else”. It’s mostly tech stuff, with a focus on interactiveness, fun, and art.

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

First, I try to get to the most relevant “source” link. So instead of linking to someone who links to someone that links to something that is the core of the story, I try to link directly to the core. However, the original blog post or news story where I found the link will be credited too at the end of the post. This helps people track the spreading of a meme; it gives credit where credit is due; people can find more relevant information by following the link; and the author I got the news from can see I linked to him in certain backlinks aggregators.

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

I always include a “via X” in the post when I found something via someone else. When someone sent it to me, I credit this with “thanks X” to differentiate between pull (when I found it myself) and push (when someone alerted me to it). I do not credit the sender if he alerted me to his own site I’m then linking to (as it wouldn’t be necessary). I do not credit the “via” if I found it on a search engine or a generic news aggregator (like Google News).

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

Yes, I think I am trustworthy. I follow several principles to be trustworthy:

• I publish my full name, home address, ungarbled email, and photo on my blog
• Every post has a permanent link with a full date and my name below the post
• All posts can be commented on for corrections or feedback
• If I change a post (and it’s more than a simple corrected typo) I will make it clear what has been changed either by using the HTML elements [del] / [ins] which were made for that cause, or by posting an update at the end of a post(which is flagged as such), or by making sure the comments contain the information on the change.
  This way, I won’t report on X, have people link to it saying I reported X, and then change my post to Y, as that would hurt the blogspace discussion.
• I don’t report rumors as facts, and I always state who said what (e.g. by naming the full name — I prefer linking to people who write using their full name — or by linking to the source). I avoid “Some say…” or “Some people argue…” when I don’t have a link ready to accompany this. When I report on a rumor I clearly mark it as such and end the post’s title with a question mark (like “New Google Service XYZ?”)
  and I mention the word “rumor” or similar in the post.
• I come up in official news aggregators such as Google News and am mentioned in other blogs and mainstream news sources.
• I am always available to be contacted and discuss a story, and also, I publish arguments which are against my posts so the other side gets their point of view be seen as well.
• I keep on posting on a daily basis and there is a trustworthy community building around the blog.
• When I did make an error in a post, I clear it up by posting an update. I don’t try to hide this error but make clear that I did it.
  When the post is very fresh and I find out it covers a hoax (even when I warned it might be a hoax or rumor), I rarely remove the post completely; if I do so, I post the full text of the original post in the blog’s forum as reference that it was online.

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

Absolutely. I’m not sure if everybody who registered a Blogspot sub domain yesterday should be given those rights. Maybe there should be a filter critera to separate which blogger gets the “extended rights.” Maybe it could be the blog’s PageRank, or its Technorati, or Blogpulse rank, or its appearance in Google News, or a mixture of these.

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 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.