O’Reilly’s Blogging Code Of Conduct Puts Blogs Back In The Dark Ages

So much has already been said about Tim O’Reilly’s “blogging code of conduct“. In fact, the New York Times picks up on the meme and transforms it into a headline grabbing, blogging brand killer entitled ‘A Call for Manners in the World of Nasty Blogs‘. (Further proof that reporters just want headlines and buzz to sell stories.) Translation of that headline and piece to the rest of the world who doesn’t blog? Bloggers are a bunch of... Read More »

Sunday Night Roundup, Links & Random Thoughts

Here’s some links and thoughts I had after a beautiful 70-degree, sunny day here in Cleveland, Ohio. Thought #1: Jason Calacanis interviews Ted Murphy, fucking marketing genius (it’s #1 on Google Ted, you should be proud) and CEO of PayPerPost.com. A few thoughts popped into my head while watching this broadcast. 1. You ever notice how much nicer people are in person as opposed to when they’re calling someone an asshole on their blog? Ok, to be fair, I... Read More »

Jim Kukral To Speak At PayPerPost Conference With Robert Scoble

Ok, not “with” Robert Scoble on stage at the same time, but “with” him at the event as a speaker. I’ve accepted a speaking gig at the PayPerPost “Postiecon” on June 1 & 2nd, 2007 in Orlando, Florida. DID KUKRAL REALLY JUST SAY WHAT I THINK HE SAID? Yes, I did, and let me tell you why. For those of you who don’t read me here or at ReveNews, you wouldn’t know that I was probably one of the biggest PayPerPost bashers... Read More »

Affiliate Marketing & Blogging Disclosure Test, Your Help Needed

Would you help me test something? I’ve posted two links below, both are to the same website, but one will have my affiliate link encoded in and is clearly labeled, and the other will be a straight link. I want you to tell me which one (honestly) you would click on if you saw it on my blog, and why. Link #1 (non-affiliate link): ReviewMe.com Link #2 (my affiliate link, I get a spiff if you use this): ReviewMe.com Would you avoid my clearly labeled affiliate link? Why... Read More »

I’m An Affiliate Marketer & My Blog Has Affiliate Links. What Else Should You Expect?

Mark at 45n5 (what does 45n5 mean anyway?) is talking more about disclosure on his blog these days. It’s good conversation, but it got me thinking. I’m a long-time full disclosure guy, having fought the PayPerPost battles and many other blog battles over the years and recently. So I get the need to disclose, heck, I even invented these blog honor badges. Disclosure is all about deception and intent. If it is your intent to fool or deceive someone for your own... Read More »

How to Monetize Your Blog - The Entrepreneur Magazine eBiz Show

I had the pleasure of appearing on the air with Chris Malta and Robin Cowie of the Entrepreneur Magazine eBiz Show the other day. We talked about how to monetize you blog. The show was broken up into three segments, which can be listened to here. Segment 1 - Mp3 or read transcript. Segment 2 - Mp3 or read transcript. Segment 3 - Mp3 or read transcript. Blogging is one of the biggest trends on the internet right now, but a blog can do more than give you an online voice. It... Read More »

ReviewMe.com Offers 50% Discount + PayPerPost Gets Disclosure Badges

The headline says it all, sorta. Through February 2007, check it out. We have found that advertisers who have used RM have been impressed and keep coming back for more reviews. So our biggest challenge is getting an advertiser to try it once. To encourage new advertisers we are offering a special coupon code that will give advertisers 50% off any review they purchase this month. The cool part is 100% of the sale price will go to the blogger so there is no discount in payout. For... Read More »

It’s Saturday & I Couldn’t Give A Shit About Scoble Pimping PayPerPost

But guess what? Many people apparantely do. The Techmeme coverage proves it. Look, Scoble disclosed it, and you know what? It’s business. He made a business decision based on money. News Flash: Scoble and the other big guns are not real bloggers. They are brands. Real bloggers are 63 million people who write a blog about office furniture or their day at work. It’s a huge difference. Let’s all stop with this PayPerPost chatter as well. I have never, ever,... Read More »

Jeremy Zawodny Commits Headline Terrorism On Andy Beal

What else are we gonna call it? Honestly, what Jeremy did is the worst thing you can do to someone in the online business, and that is to insinuate negative things, purposely, through a link-bait headline. Case in point. He wrote, and I quote, ‘Andy Beal Spamming MyBlogLog?’. Link. For those of you who don’t know Andy Beal, he’s a well-known and respected search engine marketing expert. So to drop a headline with his name, and the word “spamming”... Read More »

I Get Quoted About Flogs

Got a call from a reporter earlier in the week who came across my BlogKits Blog Honor badges and wanted to talk about fake blogs, or flogs. The piece he put out ran in the Sacramento Bee, you can read it here. I come in at the end. But that’s not going far enough for some in the blogosphere. Jim Kukral, a blogger and online journalist, has created graphical badges for bloggers to post on their sites, promising readers they aren’t stealthily selling their opinions... Read More »

Online Marketing Tip: If It Feels Wrong, Don’t Do It

Ok, so we’ve got quite a storm brewing from a story in the Washington Post the other day that basically says that word of mouth marketing, well, read this. The FTC issued an official opinion stating that people who endorse of a products, and who are compensated for their efforts, must disclose the nature of that relationship to their “customers”. Now, some are already trying to tie word of mouth into Affiliate Marketing, which I think is a big, big stretch.... Read More »

Calling All Bloggers: I’ll Pay You $5.00 To NOT Write About Pay Per Post

If you can’t beat em, join them, right? I’ve given up on the Pay Per Post issue. It’s apparant that they’ve sold their soul to the blogosphere publicity devil and cannot be stopped. I mean, c’mon, is this the 3rd or 4th Techcrunch story on them? I’ve never, ever seen coverage like this. Am I wrong? It appears that I need to fight fire with fire. So… I’m going to pay you $5.00 to NOT write about PayPerPost. That’s right,... Read More »

How To Be A Thought-Leader, Garner Respect & Make Money… The Right Way

Read this from Marketing Pilgrim, then come back. Andy says: “I try to be selective about which affiliate ads I run on the site, as I don’t want to fill the site with crap I would never use.” What a mind-blowing concept! Oh wait, it gets better. Andy goes out of his way to fully disclose, in the very first sentence of his blog entry no less! Andy says: “Regular readers will notice the addition of Mozy as a Marketing Pilgrim advertiser.” And... Read More »

Edelman’s Lack Of Creativity Sinking The Ship

I fully expected a big-time PR agency like Edelman to bank hard into the turn and speed up when they got bumped with this entire Walmart fiasco. To me, this wasn’t something you tried to let fade away as a tactic. But then again, what do I know? I’ve never run a madison avenue type PR firm. However, I know bloggers, and blogs, and I know how they think/work, and this was a blogging issue. So perhaps maybe I’m even more qualified than they are? I contacted... Read More »