Blog Relations

We are still not quite sure if our Alternative Energy Blog is worth the effort, but we seem to have launched just as the phrase is leaping out from every news stand, with the Washington Post and The Economist both leading with the topic. I’ve no doubt that this is a really booming area.

I’m finding the subject interesting – and learning loads as I go along. It feels good to be writing about a topical news subject, with a mass of material. I don’t have to hunt for stories. But the economics of a blog are a bit airy-fairy. If it does well in Google, it could become a valuable property that somebody might want to buy – but that is going to take a while. In the meantime, it’s hard to earn enough ad revenues to pay somebody else to write it. You need to get several thousand visitors a day to make anything like real money. Still, with clicks at about 20 cents + a pop in alternative energy, it’s easier than some subjects to make some pennies. If it does well, there may be some value in credibility. We’ll see. For the minute, it’s a bit of a whim.

We don’t normally write about “hot babes” here – not my turn of phrase – but this is the most unusual suggestion I’ve ever heard for the art of Link Baiting (gettng other people to link to your blog). It comes from John Chow, and I’m sure he’s getting lots of links and diggs just for writing this up. I’m not sure these days how legit link baiting is. A good blog should network with others per se – but this is an interesting approach.

The Trade Show Photo Trick

I meet many fellow webmasters during my party at the Consumer Electronics Show. During the party, I get a few hot babes to take pictures with the other webmasters. They love this because it’s the few occasions when they can get a picture taken with a real girl. The picture gets posted at The TechZone’s photo gallery. An email is fired off to the webmasters, and they’re instantly linking it on their sites to show all their readers what a stud they are.

Unfortunately, I’ve never had the opportunity to try that one out, so I don’t have a pic to go with this post.

Shel on the FIR Podcast notes how the new venture that he and others are involved in (Crayon) has had a warm reception from the blogosphere, including “competitors”. This is one of the rather nice things about social media. We all recognise that we have a common interest in each others’ success – (though we can’t help crowing when the big boys f-up). The more that businesses experience the benefits of transparent and frank conversations with their employees, business partners, and customers, the more likely they are to understand and want blogs, podcasts, etc in general.

It’s also a tribute to the way Shel and Neville have built up a network of online contacts who feel well disposed to them. This store of goodwill is invaluable. Blogging is such a great networking tool. I do believe that a podcast is, if anything, even more powerful than a blog, because people really feel that they know you when they hear your voice regularly. Of course a blog is a great companion to a podcast.

P.S. Matthew and I see ourselves as a nascent media company that does consultancy to fund ourselves in the meantime. Recently we were told on good authority that we have the UK’s second most listened to indie podcast (storynory). I have no means of confirming that 2nd biggest claim, but it’s nice that we are thereabouts. More humbly, if anyone, including Crayon, would like some top audio production skills, including mixing and editing packages and documentaries, not to mention working with actors (both of which most podcasters are not too comfortable with), then we are at your service.

Edelman has been smart and admitted that it’s paying for two more Wal-Mart Propaganda blogs.

Here at Exbiblio I read a motto on one engineer’s wall, “The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off”. This is so true of transparent blogging.

Well done Edelman for facing up to this particular writing on the wall. That’s knocked a few years off your sentence in the Bloggers’ Re-education Camp.