Comments on: maybe big media is all about being fake and getting away with it

By: gia

gia — Tue, 11 Oct 2005 15:17:36 +0000

Annie, comments will only be ‘unmoderated’ when I am in there…
Thanks, Toby. I guess it’s difficult to understand how someone doesn’t *get* blogs when one has been consumed by them for so long…

By: Toby

Toby — Mon, 10 Oct 2005 01:37:25 +0000

“Just because your client wants a blog doesn’t mean your client “gets” blogging.” Absolutely right Hugh and that’s where the education begins.
Take a closer look at the questions. None of the questions pertain to “strategy.” None of the questions relate to goals, objectives or ROI. (which I think should be included in a marketing blog strategy…it’s okay to throw tomatoes)
However, most of these questions are technical and technique e.g.,
–How slick do the videos have to be?
–Should the videos be rough?
–Do all of the images have to be exactly the same size?
–Do all of the photos have to be landscape or portrait?
–Will readers be unable to deal with photos of different aspect ratios?
It’s part of their learning process. Keep in mind, for most people blogs are a still a strange, new world; I would encourage clients to ask lots of questions.
Would you invest $/resources in something that you didn’t understand? Especially in an internet-based project that has the potential of creating significant global buzz/wom?
Congrats! to Gia for breaking new ground and for educating more people about blogs.

By: AGRADA

AGRADA — Mon, 10 Oct 2005 01:37:15 +0000

Do i need to be schizotypal to be a blogger?
NAH, I,m schizotypal now, i guess i need to be normal.

By: Annie - London Underground Blog

Annie - London Underground Blog — Sun, 09 Oct 2005 03:04:11 +0000

Actually I'm with Assimilated Negro (bizarre name) on this. I assume they're paying Gia to write the blog, and at least they are being brave enough to have open comments - I just made a fairly inane one on Gia's blog to see if there was going to be some sort of approval process, and there isn't. If I were a client I'm not sure I would do this. I don't think they are "over strategizing" I just think they were showing a bit of naivety over the nature of blogging and that in my experience spontaneous and honest looking blogs tend to have more visitors and more comments (possibly) than things which look like a corporate is "totally" running the show. The only two celebrity blogs that I read are Neil Gaiman's blog http://www.neilgaiman.com/journal/journal.asp and Zach Braff's blog, http://gardenstate.typepad.com/ and it's really refreshing that they are clearly written by the celebrities themselves. Jamie Oliver's hideous blog http://www.jamieoliver.com/diary/ for example is covered with promotion for his products and each post relates to trying to plug something that he is on, and makes me wonder whether he writes it himself. Yuck.

By: gia

gia — Sat, 08 Oct 2005 22:32:25 +0000

Hugh was spot on– they *aren’t* evil or stupid (at all), they’re just trying to continue to own and control content in an environment where everyone else is sharing. I just wanted them to let go…
I still can’t believe they did it… I’m convinced it’s because of your post, Hugh…

By: The Assimilated Negro

The Assimilated Negro — Sat, 08 Oct 2005 15:36:22 +0000

Maybe it’s evil, but it’s far from stupid for the paymasters to be asking these questions. They are the paymasters after all.
I’m sure plenty of celebrities and wannabes “don’t take it serious, and just get on with it” …why would bloggers be any different.
Paymasters pay for the blogger, actor, musician to be cool, and independent, and nuanced … and human. And they pay that specifically so they don’t need to be. So they can focus on asking as many questions as possible. Basic information reconaissance. The more you know, the better you are. Especially if you have a bottom line.
Would Gia be better off with the pot-smokin’ disorganized hippie blahrtist as her benefactor? Who just throws the money out the window, you just have to go get it?
Two types of people in this world, right? I’d rather have two than one.

By: gia

gia — Sat, 08 Oct 2005 02:20:23 +0000

Ahhhh, you don’t do html… http://www.sunshinedna.com

By: gia

gia — Sat, 08 Oct 2005 02:19:55 +0000

Hey! Between your post, Hugh, and mine, we’ve convinced them! Weeeeeeeee! It’s *just* gone live: Sunshine…
And I’ve told you, even before I’ve told my mum…

By: My Name is Kate

My Name is Kate — Sat, 08 Oct 2005 01:36:40 +0000

Is "Big Media" about being fake and getting away with it? Once again, Hugh at GapingVoid says what we've all been thinking (or at least what *I've* been thinking but never wanted to say in those TERRIBLE marketing meetings) ...It's OK to have a commercial agenda on a blog. It's OK

By: j's scratchpad

j's scratchpad — Fri, 07 Oct 2005 14:38:46 +0000

Blogging Presents a Different Communication Model

Ok, well, that’s a very unfunny title to use to point to something on gapingvoid.

By: Dustin

Dustin — Fri, 07 Oct 2005 05:53:52 +0000

“The problem is I’m doing something that hasn’t really been done before for a film…”
And that’s why you get all the questions. Trust me, I’m not saying it’s the *right way* to do it. Just the way to avoid all the questions. But too many people avoid the questions and end up with an unremarkable also-ran.

By: gia

gia — Fri, 07 Oct 2005 05:38:55 +0000

Thanks for this, Hugh. I told them you wrote about it… so hopefully they will have popped round for some wise words…
Gia just needs to show them a “blockbuster” blog and then say, “We’re gonna do what they did.”
The problem is I’m doing something that hasn’t really been done before for a film– *I* am writing the blog, not the director, not the producer, not anyone on the production… me… an ‘outsider’… a blogger. I go to the set every day and write about the film, the filming, the cast, the crew and about life on set. I also take photos and video… I do it from my point of view.
I just want it to go live… so that they can see that the best, most important bit about blogging is the interaction in the comments section. (How are they going to deal with *that*?!)

By: Dustin

Dustin — Fri, 07 Oct 2005 03:53:23 +0000

It’s Hollywood. They don’t know how to create stuff until someone else lays out a formula.
Gia just needs to show them a “blockbuster” blog and then say, “We’re gonna do what they did.” It’s the Hollywood way/ad agency way.

By: Andreas

Andreas — Fri, 07 Oct 2005 00:39:13 +0000

Looks to me like an age old problem everybody working in advertising knows only too well: The client’s aversion to white space. The client’s insistence to add everything, AND the kitchen sink, to the copy. In this case, ask too many questions.
Hugh, you must remember this from your own advertising days. I deal with it on a daily basis.

By: AdPulp

AdPulp — Thu, 06 Oct 2005 22:25:59 +0000

Square Pegs In Round Holes

Hugh MacLeod: One thing you notice when you start attending the blog conferences and hanging around the more well-known and respected bloggers on the planet: None of them seem to take it very seriously. They just get on with it.…