First of all I apologize in advance for reading USA Today but when you are living in a hotel for two weeks it is at your doorstep each morning. Today, instead of stepping over it I decided it would make good bathroom reading.
Turns out there is an interesting article in the Money section about blogs (can you make money off a blog?) Warning Your Little Blog Can Get You Fired by Stephanie Armour of USA Today.
Check out these stats from Armour’s article: "About 20,000 new blogs are created daily and an estimated 10 million U.S. blogs will exist by the end of 2005. Together these blogs link up to create what is known as a blogosphere, a collective Internet conversation that is one of the fastest-growing areas of new content on the web. More than 9 million adults in the US have crated blogs, according to two surveys and 32 million Americans are blog readers."
My friend Kevin Smokler Editor of the just-published anthology Bookmark Now: Writing in Unreaderly Times and the person who convinced me to start a blog, claims that blogs are hottest and latest trend in marketing. From these numbers it is clear that they are the newest form of word-of-mouth marketing and illustrate Malcolm Gladwell's discussion of the personality types of Connectors, Mavens and Salespeople.
But buyers beware. Some blogs, like gossipy emails, are a forum for airing gripes, spreading rumors and making mischief. The written word is easily shared, especially on the internet with our ability to copy, paste and sends. My advice – stop, consider the consequences before pressing the send button, and realize that what feels powerful is actually the ultimate wimpy act.
This blog is a place for self exploration, reflection, discussion and advancement of ideas. Letters that I published here are always sent to their addressees prior to being posted on the blog. Responses are not published unless I seek and obtain permission from the writer. If I can’t say it to someone directly, it certainly won’t show up in my blog.
