AdAge: Advance.net May Sell Ads Across New Network of Local News Blogs

This week's issue of Advertising Age reports that Advance.net's NJ.com is using Meetup.org to recruit bloggers to dig deeper into local news by drilling down to neighborhood-level coverage of soccer leagues and recycling rules. The NJ.com local blog network can be found here and the editor's invite is here. The AdAge story is not available online yet.

Even more notable, execs from parent company Advance.net tell AdAge that if things go well they will sell ads across their network of weblogs to local advertisers that can't afford Advance.net NJ dailies, such as The Newark Star-Ledger and Trenton Times.

AdAge writes:

"Advance.net's plans are another sign of how blogs are becoming entrenched in the mainstream media landscape. It helps that logorrheic buzzmachine.com blogger Jeff Jarvis is Advance.net's president and creative director."

On the NJ.com Weblogs about page, it says:

"We are starting weblogs here to bring you the best and most notable of the Web on a variety of subjects. You can start your own Weblog with no effort, no expertise, and no expense."

Participatory journalism is getting bigger everyday. Big Media is marrying Micro Media and this will have major ramifications for the PR industry, especially once they find ways to make money from their efforts. Stay tuned.

"Borging" the Blogosphere for Marketing and PR

There's a lot of chatter these days about what exactly a blogger is.

Some say they are reporters, others call them editors. There are those who, like Ross Mayfield, who call them Bloganalysts. Heck, Jane Curtain might even say they're a floor wax and a dessert toping rolled up in one.

This is somewhat irrelevant for PR and marketing pros. They're bloggers. (Why can't something that's new just stay new? Were buses once called "long cars?") Truth is, it doesn't matter what we call them. They're important. Why? Because there are millions of them clustered in micro mobs around the world. Webloggers play a pivotal role in swaying opinions, especially those of 18-34 year-old men who live online.

We have been seeing increasing interest from companies who want to supplement their PR programs with targeted, relevant online efforts that reach consumers and prospects (if they're BtoB clients). One knee-jerk strategy of course is to reach out and "pitch" influential bloggers to write about clients, which you can and should do... but gingerly.

However, another approach we have been experimenting with is what we call "Blogosphere Borging." The name comes from the Borg, a race of cyborgs (half human/half-machine) from Star Trek who assimilate alien life forms into their collective.

"Blogosphere Borging" entails carefully turning clients into Webloggers so they can assimilate into the community and engage in a direct, ongoing dialog with key audiences. We are supplementing traditional media relations programs (which will never go away) with this micro persuasion strategy to put clients at eye level with consumers and prospects and get them talking to each other... frequently.

Microsoft's Channel9, which Robert Scoble discussed here earlier this week, is a terrific example of "Blogosphere Borging." The Jupiter Research Analyst Weblogs are another.

That said, "Blogosphere Borging" must be done very carefully. The blogosphere has protocols that must be followed. Violate these and you risk damaging your brand, rather than enhancing it.

Building Blog Traffic By Posting Comments

Blog Business World has a post on how to promote a business blogs by posting commentary on other sites.

"One proven technique, that is well known and practiced by the internet marketing pros, is posting on internet message boards and forums. By posting on the message forums, savvy marketing people gain visitors, establish themselves as experts in their field, and multiply their success many times over. You can too.

All you have to do, is start to think like a marketing professional. The internet discussion boards, and even some of their other members, will do much of the marketing on your behalf."

Taking Your Questions for Rex Hammock

Rex Hammock who pens the magazine industry Weblog, rexblog, has just agreed to participate in a “Bloggerside Chat” Q&A for Micro Persuasion about his recent experiences blogging his closed-door meeting with President George W. Bush. What you would you like me to ask him about blogging, participatory journalism or PR? Email me and let me know or comment on this post.

Rex, a former advertising and public relations executive, congressional speech writer, press secretary and seminary graduate, founded Hammock Publishing, Inc. in 1991, which helps current and prospective clients find ways to improve their customer and member communications with custom magazines, newsletters and online media.

The Washington Post ran a story on Rex's meeting with President Bush back in February.

Scoble Putting Together Doc on Corporate Blogging Best Practices

Robert Scoble is asking for input on corporate blogging best practices.