Friday, July 22, 2005
A Worker Bees blog is San Jose Merc's 'Blog of the Week'
The San Jose Mercury has revitalized its interactive approach. Whereas before they perhaps relied on Dan Gillmor to give them all of their bloggy cred, they have now vastly expanded their interactive approach. And it's not just reporter blogs, which are nice too...they also are encouraging reader participation. And they are creating interaction between their online and print editions.
They're doing this in a variety of ways, from encouraging readers to review the same cultural events and restaurants that their reviewers do, and giving prizes to those who get chosen for publication (either print or online.) They're encouraging people to send their blogs in for inclusion in the blog roll and are choosing one a week to highlight, both online and in print.
Today the 42nd St. Moon blog that I write for the San Francisco theatre company of that name was chosen as this week's Blog of the Week.
I actually really like the qualities that web editor Jon Fortt chose to highlight:
-It's not just an ad for 42nd St. Moon
-I post often and regularly
-I try to serve the interests of my reader community
I feel vindicated by Fortt's comments, and I don't mind saying it.
Last night I had a rather long chat with new Pheedo-ite Dana VanDen Heuvel blogging as a marketer. And how I saw that it was an easy meme for people to repeat that marketers can't make good, authentic bloggers. As though marketers aren't people too, with real thought and opinions and feelings. As though marketers don't have to spend most of their careers adapting as it is! now that I've virtually "met" Dana, I feel doubly bad about always reverting to Swedish Chef-voice when I've said his name out loud. Like telling Jory and LIsa, "Yeah, I'll talk to Dana VanDen Heuvel von Feufel later this week."
As a woman whose had her surname bastardized with references to animals, bodily emissions and I won't even tell you what else, I should really be ashamed. (Or have simply figured that Dana must have developed the same sense of humor about it long ago as I have...hope so anyway.)
But I digress.
Which is what one is wont to do in a blog...marketing person or not!
They're doing this in a variety of ways, from encouraging readers to review the same cultural events and restaurants that their reviewers do, and giving prizes to those who get chosen for publication (either print or online.) They're encouraging people to send their blogs in for inclusion in the blog roll and are choosing one a week to highlight, both online and in print.
Today the 42nd St. Moon blog that I write for the San Francisco theatre company of that name was chosen as this week's Blog of the Week.
I actually really like the qualities that web editor Jon Fortt chose to highlight:
-It's not just an ad for 42nd St. Moon
-I post often and regularly
-I try to serve the interests of my reader community
I feel vindicated by Fortt's comments, and I don't mind saying it.
Last night I had a rather long chat with new Pheedo-ite Dana VanDen Heuvel blogging as a marketer. And how I saw that it was an easy meme for people to repeat that marketers can't make good, authentic bloggers. As though marketers aren't people too, with real thought and opinions and feelings. As though marketers don't have to spend most of their careers adapting as it is! now that I've virtually "met" Dana, I feel doubly bad about always reverting to Swedish Chef-voice when I've said his name out loud. Like telling Jory and LIsa, "Yeah, I'll talk to Dana VanDen Heuvel von Feufel later this week."
As a woman whose had her surname bastardized with references to animals, bodily emissions and I won't even tell you what else, I should really be ashamed. (Or have simply figured that Dana must have developed the same sense of humor about it long ago as I have...hope so anyway.)
But I digress.
Which is what one is wont to do in a blog...marketing person or not!
// posted by ElisaC @ 10:49 AM 
