What the heck are blogs and why are they so important to marketers?
 

I thought blogs are simply on-line journals, random thoughts by the author left in cyberspace. I caught the tail end of a news clip that said marketing people are paying close attention to these as they can spark the next big idea or even a product like the iPod.

Have you read a blog? I've read several and I wish I can have those few minutes of my life back. Maybe I'm just not in the know but, so far, I've not found anything useful, entertaining or educational. Is there a directory of blogs, one that categorizes them somehow?

depends on the blog. Some of the best and most creative minds blog instead of using other publication tools/outlets.

and its all about RSS, baby ;)

All depends on how you define "Blog". This forum could be one - but it is really a bulletin board. Slashdot is a blog. Fark could be a blog. There's some interesting stuff on livejournal.

But no, I have no desires to read about the angst of some teenager or English major.

Re: What the heck are blogs and why are they so important to marketers?
 

Every one that I have read I have felt the same way about. I really don't see what all the hype is about. We always need something to hype though, don't we?

I have a theory on why blogs are so popular. It's related to the popularity of the reality TV programs like Survivor, Fear Factor, Idol...and the rest. Seems that 'normal ordinary people' are the latest form of entertainment.

Personally, I feel this is a sell-out. Folks are tuning in to see and read below-par levels of 'stuff,' for the most part. Whatever happened to shows like Hill Street Blues, and X-Files, and other well-acted, well produced shows? Complex plots and great story lines have been replaced with cockaroach eating. :rolleyes: As for blogs, Moby Dick, as mentioned in another thread, is a wonderous literary work. But folks would rather spend countless hours reading about how Joe Shmo fed his hampster, Ziggy, the other day, and how much poop that yeilded in his cage.

Ironically, I'm at fault too. I spend too much time reading Pelican and Rennlist regarding performance driving, when I haven't even cracked open Donohue's Unfair Advantage, a book that has been collecting dust on my table to a number of years...

Maybe 'reality TV' and the lot offer a form of instant gratification that cannot be achieved via a higher level of entertainment and literature.

My $0.42,
-Z.

PS: Mark my words, this interweb thing, it's just a fad... :eek:

Interesting watching people permitting themselves to be humiliated: Hell's Kitchen, Fear Factor, etc.

Like many of the blogs as well, attempting to pander to the lowest common denominator.

The bell curve is flattening out.

no, you guys just aren't finding good ones. Or the good ones don't focus on things you're interested in. Here's a few:

http://www.corante.com/
http://interactive.usc.edu/
http://joi.ito.com/
http://doc.weblogs.com/
http://www.crookedtimber.org/


Also, most good bloggers tend to be liberal. Might be why some of you don't dig them ;)