Sometimes I get so fired about about something that I just have to sit down and crank it out into a blog entry. Now is one of those times, and it’s best I do it now so I can relax with a cold, green Harp and relax for the rest of the evening. After all, it is St. Patrick’s day, and I’m Ukranian, heh.

The backstory: Tony says the a-listers refuse to acknowledge the ‘blue-collar bloggers’. Calacanis, an a-lister target, says the a-list doesn’t exist.

Tony, you’re right, and wrong. Blue collar bloggers do exist, but they’re not in the a-list because it really doesn’t exist beyond an idea conceived by those who aren’t in it. Again, the a-list is nothing more than an idea. It exists in people’s minds, yet, it’s not real. It’s like the Matrix.

Jason, you, on the other hand, are ignoring the reality that perception is in fact the true reality. That is, dear sir, is that of course there is no real a-list, just as their is no real Santa Claus either by the way. However, there is a very, very real “perception” of Santa (especially by my 5-year-old), and on the same meme, there is the same very, very real perception of the supposed a-list in the real blogosphere. Sorry, like it or not, that is the reality.

You, Jason, do not get to define the perception as true or false, mostly due to your current status.

It’s the same as a billionaire trying to say that Walmart sucks because it kills the little guy. But guess what? That billionaire doesn’t have to shop there, he doesn’t know exactly how much Walmart means to someone who is forced to shop there to feed his family. His perception is NOT the vast majority. Therefore, it’s the minority, and last time I checked, the majority is usually what drives just about everything in this world (except a US election).

Is it possible to end this a-list, z-list conversation?

No, it’s not, because this is what humans do. We feel comfortable when we class ourselves into levels of status. It’s not going to change anytime soon.

By the way, the Big Brown Box is very real :)

Now, where’s my bottle opener.

Super blog powers unite! Shape of… a big juicy charitable blog meme!

I can feel something starting to happen. A meme you say Jim? Yes, Shawn, a meme! Earlier today I wrote about how bloggers like Jason Calacanis and others could/should be selling ads or sponsorships, or whatever they can, on their blogs for the simple sake of giving the money they don’t need to charity.

I mean, why not? If you can help people with your blog super powers, why not, right?

Well, check it out. It appears we might have something going here. Turns out Jason bought into the idea and is offering space on his blog for a $100k donation to a local school.

Jim says I’m throwing away 100k by not having ads on my personal blog. That’s probably a little high since I only get 5k page views a day/200k a month. At a $25 RPM that would be $5,000 a month/$60,000 a year.

Anyway, the reason I don’t sell the space on my blog is because:

a) I don’t have the time to sell it
b) I like the way the clean design looks
c) I make money building profitable businesses, not selling ads on my business card (and that’s what I consider my blog to be).

That being said, if someone wants to sponsor my blog I will give them three ad units on the page and a huge hug if they donate $100,000 to the Bay Ridge Prep Opportunity scholarship fund (the same one that PodTech and Godaddy sponsor for my podcast–oh yeah, time to do one!).

The scholarship goes to folks who could never afford a private school education, but who the school feels could really benefit from it. So, it’s not an academic scholarship for folks who have amazing grades, its a scholarship for folks who didn’t get dealt the best hand in life.

THE CHALLENGE FOR US ALL

Game on. Our job is to find that buyer for Jason. How do we get started? I want to see this followed through, and those kids get that money. Any advice? Maybe we could get three or more companies to pool the money and share the ads? Let’s work this out!

Then we’ll put the pressure on Seth, Mark, Guy and Scoble too :)

Today over at my BlogKits blog I wrote about how 5 of today’s big top bloggers are leaving close to half a million bucks on the table by not monetizing their blogs. The piece was interesting because I enlisted the feedback from several expert online marketers who provided detailed advice and projections about the topic.

Even Seth Godin himself left a comment on the blog entry, check it out.

If Robert Scoble, Jason Calacanis, Mark Cuban, Guy Kawasaki & Seth Godin monetized their blogs and let an online marketing expert professionally optimize them, they could collectively earn half a million dollars a year. Or at least that’s what BlogKits estimates, along with some other top online marketing/blogging experts. View all of that data below.

Oh yeah, I launched the BlogKits BIG Blog $$$ Survey today. If you have a blog, take a minute to add your thoughts?

Have a blog?
Please click to take short survey.

Andy Beal writes an enourmously powerful and helpful blog entry entitled ‘Five Secret Strategies to Add $1 Million in Revenue to your Interactive Marketing Agency in 2007′. Go read it, now. Ok, assuming you’re in the online/marketing/interactive agency business. If you’re a shoe repairman, you might not find it so intriguing. :9

One of the most common questions I am asked by marketing agencies seeking my advice – especially those that are newly-started or still relatively small – is “how do I attract new clients and grow my business?” While there are many ways to accomplish this task, depending on your resources and your target market, there are some proven strategies that any marketing firm can implement.

The five secret strategies listed in this guide are tried and trusted. I have used them to help grow one firm to $25+ million in annual revenues and another to an annual run rate of $2+ million in its first year. However, the strategies suggested below are not just confined to the companies I have worked with, they are evident in many successful agencies. Take a look at any successful marketing firm – whether it focuses on search, web design, email, viral or interactive – and you’ll likely see they’ve followed at least half the strategies I’ve listed.

I don’t want to sound like one of those overly-tanned, bright-smiled, “gurus” you see on infomercials late at night but, if you follow the strategies I’ve outlined, I’m convinced you can add at least $1 million in new revenue for your agency, over the next twelve months.

I can relate to all 5 points, and tell you that he’s dead-on. If you want to be successful, you’ll read this and follow it.

Jason, man, nice work. This innocuous sound bite of information is so perfectly crafted to get attention, yet so utterly meaningless. Check out the story.

You said… “SEO is bullshit, if you generate a web page with good content Google will rank the page properly.”

Now, everyone read this in the voice of Mr. Scott.

DIRECT HIT CAPTAIN! ALL SEO PROFESSIONALS AND BLOGGERS RETURN FIRE, PHASERS SET TO KILL!

Good work man, seriously, I’m impressed.