Sunday, July 31
Our favourite case study tells their side: Kryptonite speaks.
by
Tris Hussey
on July 31, 2005 08:33PM (PDT)
Thanks to B.L. for this link to a good (not great, good) interview with the PR person from Kryptonite about that little PR problem they had (understatement of the year, I know)— Naked Conversations- Kryptonite Argues Its Case. The interview is just good and not great, because I was expecting (hoping for) a little more (okay a lot) transparency from Kryptonite spokeswoman. I still have to wonder how they didn't know about being able to pick these super-locks with a freakin' Bic pen. That being said, she did admit that they blew it. They don't, and rightly so, feel a blog would've solved the problem. It would've helped for sure. What they are doing now is monitoring the Blogosphere more closely. That's a good thing. Proves my earlier point ... you have to keep close tabs on the Blogosphere. Watch your brand and your people. I think now that Kryptonite has come out publicly and said this—the Blogosphere's favourite case study and whipping boy—other companies should start to take noticed. Hey, this isn't a total pitch for Qumana Services, but this is what we do for a living. Yes, I have ego (blego) searches. Yes I monitor all references to Qumana and Lektora and all the folks associated with it (good thing we all have pretty unique names).  Yes I do read your posts and review and comments and leave comments of my own. I try to practice what I preach (I do wish, though that more blog systems had the automatic "e-mail me when a new comment is left on this post"). In fact Arieanna and I are venturing down to Seattle to talk with folks about Qumana, Qumana Services, and this whole blog consulting thing. Oh yeah, I'm dropping Susie Gardner and Arieanna off at SeaTac to get to BlogHer (yes Toby, I remembered ... almost forgot my passports, but I remembered the other stuff). Regardless, if you'd like to know more about blog monitoring and blog-enabled competitive intelligence. Drop me or Arieanna or Jon a line. We'd be happy to chat with you about it.
Tuesday, May 24
Interesting take on the value proposition of the professional blogger
by
Tris Hussey
on May 24, 2005 02:02PM (PDT)
I'll
be frank, I'm not enthused about his proposed pricing model. I
think the price per post is too low and the linking bonuses could
be hard to track. Personally, I would take less per post only if
I were getting a percentage of the sales for an e-commerce site, or
maybe some other performance bonus, but the effective price per post
has to be worth my time effort and expertise.  Despite this lack of enthusiasm for the pricing model, Will does explain the professional blogger value proposition pretty well from his introduction: Blog
publishing has lowered the barrier for businesses to start their own
publication. Whether you're looking to publish your own news, establish
your company as a firm of experts, engage in a conversation with your
customers and colleagues or raise your profile for key topics in search
engines the costs are so low that it can make economic sense for many
businesses. You
can do the writing yourself, but to really benefit from a blog you must
publish as frequently as you can. Let's face it, how many
businesspeople really need another distraction? Sometimes hiring a paid
blogger to write blog copy for you can help you benefit from blog
publishing without distracting you from your real job.The upside of
hiring a paid blogger to write for your company is that you can (for
now) pay below traditional copywriting rates. The cost per word goes
down because it's on the web, the articles are shorter and there isn't
editorial review.
 This is exactly
the professional blogger value proposition. ProBloggers can
quickly and cost effectively seed your blog with top-notch
content. There is nothing worse, IMHO, than a business blog that
starts off with a few great posts in the first week and then people
discover their "real jobs" have been suffering and stop posting.
Before you know it a couple weeks have flown by and the blog has lost
momentum. A ProBlogger, though, will make sure that you
have new content each and every week. I don't agree that
ProBloggers should be paid below traditional writing/freelance
journalist rates, that doesn't fly with me--or some other ProBloggers I know--
but, hiring a ProBlogger still it is cost effective way to increase
content on your blog while also letting your employees do their work,
and blog, too.
Qumana Services can provide you and your company with:
- Blog strategy
- Blog consultation/training/coaching/mentoring
- Blog setup and customization (using the blogging platforms Blogware, Bryght, and others)
- Professional blog writing services on virtually any topic
If
you are interested in a blog for your company contact Tris (tris AT
qumana DOT com) or Arieanna (arieanna AT qumana DOT com) for a free half hour consultation.
Tris Hussey
is the Chief Blogging Officer for Qumana Software and Managing Director
of Qumana Services. He can be reached at tris AT qumana DOT com
or tris AT trishussey DOT com.
Biopeer officially launched!
by
Tris Hussey
on May 24, 2005 01:56PM (PDT)
Last week at the Bio-IT World Expo Eric Gerritsen (a fellow Canadian but living in Boston) and Simon Darby of Christchurch NZ officially launched Biopeer-- Biopeer Blog Debuts at Bio-IT World Expo May 18.  I'm, of course, writing for Biopeer and helping Eric and Simon on the ins and outs of the blogosphere. Interestingly the other primary writer for Biopeer, Pamela Clarke, is not only Canadian, but also located in B.C. Just goes to prove, again, that the best bloggers are B.C. Bloggers! This project and collaboration between Qumana/Qumana Services and Biopeer/Global Seed Capital is a classic example of the kind of blog consulting services that we at Qumana/Qumana Services provide. We are providing Biopeer with not only professional blogging services but also blog strategy and consultation--including bi-monthly one-on-one training sessions--plus the QumanaLE blog publishing software. Biopeer gains a leg up on the competition by tapping into a cadre of blogging thought leaders, who are also published scientists in their own right, who cost effectively provide value-added content and blogging expertise. Qumana Services can provide you and your company with: - Blog strategy
- Blog consultation/training/coaching/mentoring
- Blog setup and customization (using the blogging platforms Blogware, Bryght, and others)
- Professional blog writing services on virtually any topic
If you are interested in a blog for your company contact Tris (tris AT qumana DOT com) or Arieanna (arieanna AT qumana DOT com) for a free half hour consultation.
Tris Hussey is a professional blogger, the Chief Blogging Officer for Qumana Software, and Managing Director of Qumana Services. He can be reached at tris AT qumana DOT com or tris AT trishussey DOT com.
Monday, May 23
Have blog, will travel..more on the "hired-gun" blogger
by
Tris Hussey
on May 23, 2005 08:10PM (PDT)
Arieanna found this post by Doug Fisher this morning while she, Ianiv and I were eating breakfast-- Common Sense Journalism- Hired-gun bloggers. She fired off a comment post-haste-- 12-09 PM--I followed this evening-- 10-53 PM. Doug's post was a little tongue-in-cheek bit expanding on some of the BloggingHelp content and Will's post from over the weekend.  It seemed
that Doug was making a jab at pro bloggers, but I don't think so.
I think he is just making sure everybody's hyp-o-meters and
scam-o-meters are on and functional. Blogging, as a business
model, is becoming very similar to the web design and development
model. There are going to be lots of people who are going to spin
and jargon their way into business. I was talking to a friend at
the Market on Saturday
who had paid a few hundred dollars to a "kid in Victoria" who doesn't
seem to be doing diddly. Me, I think a nice simple blog could do
a lot for him. When we chat I'll go through the pros and cons and
let him decide. This, BTW, is called being a professional. This
is the attribute that is going to separate the wheat from the chaff,
but thanks Doug for poking a bit to make sure we are all paying
attention.
Tris Hussey
is a professional blogger, the Chief Blogging Officer for Qumana
Software, and Managing Director of Qumana Services. He can be
reached at tris AT qumana DOT com or tris AT trishussey DOT com.
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