Debbie Weil performs liposuction on Alliconnect

You may not have noticed the new Alliconnect Blog,. Alliconnect is a place to discuss weight loss with the creators of alli, an over-the-counter weight control medication, approved for OTC sales in the USA, made by GlaxoSmithKline.

I am not quite sure how alli works.. the blog is coy on the subject, but since it discusses "oops moments" ("Good thing I was close to home so I could change my clothes!" says chief blogger Steve Burton) and "undigested fat floating in the toilet," I can only speculate that the drug blocks fat absorption. Why be coy about that? Were I seriously overweight and committed to losing weight, I am perfectly fine with learning the possible side effects. But since it's a corporate product fluff blog, we can leave that.

The problem for GlaxoSmithKline is that the alliconnect blog has attracted almost no readers and only a handful of comments -- all but one of those are from the GSK "alli" team the GSK "alli" team or prominent corporate blogging adviser Debbie Weil, who advised on the project.

Now, that would normally be a problem between GSK and Weil. But Weil has made the bad results -- the falling short of client expectations -- brutally obvious in a public way. Can things be so bad she's asking PR bloggers to "seed" comments onto the alliconnect blog?

Yes.

David Murray quotes this email from Weil on his blog:

***

Hi everyone,

This is a shameless request. I'm working with GlaxoSmithKline on the
official corporate blog for alli, the first FDA-approved, OTC weight
loss product. You may have seen the TV ads.

While traffic to the blog is growing, readers seem shy about leaving Comments.

You can help jump start the two-way conversation! Take a peek at the
blog at http://www.alliconnect.com.

If you're inspired or provoked, leave a comment on any entry. No need
to say that you know me, of course.

It really is kind of neat that a Global 100 company is doing a blog
like this. It's not easy.

- D

--
Debbie Weil
t: 202.364.5705 m: 202.255.1467
site: http://www.debbieweil.com
blog: http://www.BlogWriteForCEOs.com
book: http://www.TheCorporateBloggingBook.com

***

Weil (an IABC conference speaker, by the way) has truly wedged herself in a tight spot. I cannot believe GSK's alliconnect is going to get a sudden surge of comments from her feeble plea -- you'd have to be an obese PR blogger more than ready to shill for no pay -- and I'm certainly skeptical of her professional ethics. What I wonder is who thought this up? Weil, alone, in desperation? Or did GSK lean on her? Either way, it's another sad ethics tale for our profession.

If you're inspired or provoked, leave a comment on any entry. No need
to say that you know me, of course.

OK! Who can resist!

Technorati : GSK, OTC weight loss, PR ethics, Steve Burton, alli, alliconnect, bad corporate blogs, david murray, debbie weil, glaxosmithkline, possible drug marketing violations

Posted by Allan Jenkins at 10:49pm in Bizarre & Unexpected, Blogging for Benjamins, Corporate Communication, Marketing, Pharmaceutical Industry | Permalink | Comments Welcome! (12)

Chat #14 Better Desirable Roasted Communication Podcast

Drop over to Chat #14 of the Better Desirable Roasted Communication Cafe Podcast: 21 minutes of pan-global erudition.

This week, Lee and I talk about WikiBios (still a bad idea), Second Life, and how social media put the writings of John Evelyn in my hands.

But before you visit: drop by our online store to pick up a handy-dandy BDRCC podcast mug!

Technorati Tags: better desirable roasted communications cafe, comms cafe, PR podcasts

Posted by Allan Jenkins at 06:59pm in Blogging for Benjamins, Podcasting | Permalink | Comments Welcome! (0)

DRC scraped off by Mobitype

[UPDATE: This post was first titled DRC ripped off by Mobitype, a Löic Le Meur venture. At the time of the post, Löic Le Meur was listed as the chairman of Mobitype's board. In the days after this post, both Le Meur and Mobitype denied any connection, and Le Meur was removed from the board list.

Furthermore, after talks with Mobitype's CEO, I believe the scraping is not a cynical attempt at content rip off, but simply an inept effort to bring RSS to mobile devices. ]

Brother Lee Hopkins  interrupted my first Sunday coffee with this email:

Posted by Allan Jenkins at 06:54pm in Bizarre & Unexpected, Blogging for Benjamins, Intellectual Property, Law, Scams | Permalink | Comments Welcome! (4)

Steve Rubel lashes out at the Blogging for Benjamins crowd... about time, I’d say

If Steve Rubel isn't the most cautious person in the communication blogosphere, he's surely in the running. Over the last 18 months, 99% of whatever edginess was in Micropersuasion has ebbed away, leaving little but neutral thoughts and (invariably useful) links.

So it was with great pleasure that I read Steve's swipe at Copyblogger, a blog that purports to teach us poor slobs "how to sell with blogs and RSS."

Steve writes in part (and he's dead on target):

"Arrrgggh! Copyblogger is propagating the whole school of thought that blogging is just about getting more traffic. They have even published a how-to guide. Well, I am here to tell you, it's not."

Cheekily, he invites Copyblogger to pack up and go home:

"My suggestion is that if you're blogging solely for building Web traffic and Google Juice, go build a Web site and advertise it on Google instead. Blogs are about being part of a community. Join it, add value to it, but don't focus on the traffic."

I will give Copyblogger credit for not being as crass as that crowd at Performancing, where search engine manipulation and splogging is the order of the day. But that's the extent of my credit.

Hit 'em again, Steve!

Technorati: copyblogger, steve rubel, micropersuasion

Posted by Allan Jenkins at 01:21pm in Blog Management, Blogging for Benjamins, Communication | Permalink | Comments Welcome! (6)

"Performancing" skewers "blogging for benjamins"

Hat tip to Steve Rubel for pointing to Performancing, an amusing  send-up of all those "make money from your blog" scams and sites popping up all over. While it's not as funny as  the Onion, it's a cackler.

The "mission statement" strikes just the right note:

"To create a home for professional bloggers. A place where those that want to make money from their blogs can learn, and perfect the art of making a living from weblogging."

Performancing.com is a group weblog written by professional bloggers, for professional bloggers. The emphasis at Performancing is commercial blogging.

The business model will become apparent in time, but for now you can rest assured of the following:

• You'll like it
• It won't cost you anything

I'm reminded of John Belushi in Animal House: "Have a beer (belch)... don't cost nuthin!"

Don't know what to blog about? Here's some timely "advice":

When you read advice telling you to "stay focused" when blogging, doesn't it seem like the easiest thing in the world to do? It does to me, but then i start writing, and man, it is not easy.

Really, I can't think off hand of any topic that would force you to stay on track, it's something I find very hard, and im reasonably certain im not alone...

One way i've found to help me stay on topic is to define a question for that topic. With this site, it's "will this post help bloggers make money?" . If i can answer yes to that question, then the post idea is good to go...

Here's how to beat those dreaded "blogging blues" (The prose and spelling are right out of Instant Messenger and the slightly screwy optimism is right out of Up With People):

All of a sudden you feel depressed about your blog. The questions start flying in your mind: why am I not getting visitors? why is it so hard to stay on topic? how do I get my blog seen? Those question mount up to become a beast standing in your way to becoming a professional and popular blogger...

Sound familiar? I'll 'ing bet it does!

Thing is though, that this is all part of it. I feel like that several times a day some weeks, if I didn't, i'd not have much motivation to do anything I think. For me, being on edge about your blogs RSS subs, income, memberships and links is all part of the game -- it's not a matter of beating it, it's a matter of recognizing it, and embracing it as one more weapon in the aresonal.

There's plenty more. Go have fun. And don't miss the spot-on "testimonial" on the About page.

I have been looking for like-minded people, who want to, and are able to, make a profession out of the internet.
I have only just 'discovered' the computer... The thing was, I was scared of it. I thought I would break it etc. But, one day, I was given one...

Technorati Tags: performancing, parody websites, satire, humor

Posted by Allan Jenkins at 09:14am in Blogging for Benjamins, Humor | Permalink | Comments Welcome! (0) | TrackBack (0)

$46,000 and a cup of coffee will get you Desirable Roasted Coffee

Just kidding... we don't blog for benjamins at Desirable Roasted Coffee -- everybody knows that!

But this nifty applet believes the Coffee is worth nearly $47K. Yeah, like I can take that to the bank.

Tip of the hat to the Antipodean Wildman.

Posted by Allan Jenkins at 06:37pm in Blogging for Benjamins, Blogging for the Sheer Hell of It, Desirable Roasted Coffee | Permalink | Comments Welcome! (2) | TrackBack (0)

Hugh McLeod & Ben Metcalfe Take the Gloves Off and Begin Thrashing One Another

It's got drama, fighting words, studied insults, and an audience baying for blood. It's the Hugh McLeod vs. Ben Metcalfe knock-down, drag out. And it's playing simultaneously at Ben's and at Hugh's.

As most of the free world probably already knows, Hugh is using his blog to promote Stormhoek Wine, just as he promotes  Thomas Mahon's bespoke suits. His belief that social media can be used to launch global microbrands has many observers and -- including Desirable Roasted Coffee -- more than a few believers.

Ben thinks Hugh's promotion of Stormhoek is unseemly, even distasteful. And said so, calling the wine "crappy" and Hugh's promotion of it "pimping". Hugh fired back with one of his trademark cards -- I never want to be a target of one of those -- and called Ben an apparatchnik of "socialist media". Yikes. Let the fur fly!

The spat has generated about 40 comments between the two sites. And while the boys are grudgingly making nice again, the core issue remains. Is it seemly to use blogs to market products (especially using free samples)? Is marketing in keeping with the spirit of social media.

I'm 100% with Hugh's principles on this: what on earth is wrong with marketing using one's status in the blogosphere? It may well backfire on Hugh one day, but I see little that is unseemly or unethical about trying it. And the other side of the argument -- that the blogosphere should be non-commercial -- is just plain silly.

But opinion seems sharply divided -- and I don't think this debate will die anytime soon. The discussion continues here and here.

Posted by Allan Jenkins at 05:03pm in Bizarre & Amusing, Blogging for Benjamins, Ethics, Food and Drink, In Defense of Elitism, Marketing | Permalink | Comments Welcome! (4) | TrackBack (1)

On "Blogging for Benjamins"

Joseph Jaffe is confused about what Blogging for Benjamins is... Bubba, just ask: The Desirable Roasted Coffee Dictionary is an open book.

blog'ging for ben'jamins. The act of weblogging for the purpose of direct fee earning from visitors to the weblog, generally through advertising click-through or the sale of reports of dubious quality; often  characterized by excessive interest in search-engine optimization, Technorati rank, "professional" blogging and "monetizing the blog". [f. E weblogging + benjamins (US street slang for 100 dollar bill, f. image of Benjamin Franklin on bill)]

Regular readers of Desirable Roasted Coffee know exactly the type to which I refer.

Update:  Blogger for Benjamins Muffin Komando writes in today's McPaper about Blogging for Benjamins.  Hey, Steve! Sign her up for the Pro Bloggers Association. I am sure y'all could make her a licensed blogger. She doesn't blog, but her heart is in the right place.

Posted by Allan Jenkins at 08:53am in Blog Management, Blogging for Benjamins, Intellectual Property | Permalink | Comments Welcome! (1) | TrackBack (1)

Conversation Clouds vs. Blog Rankings & Page Rank

PubSub recently finished tearing up and replanting its LinkRanks service; I, for one, like the new look & the results presentation. And while I don't understand how the rankings are calculated, a few test runs on the bloggers I know indicate to me that the rankings are pretty valid.

At about the same time, the Feedster 500 was launched. Another ranking service (congratulations, Neville and Shel).

I don't want to be provocative:  But how much should rank matter?

I know the Blogging For Benjamins crowd is intensely interested, because more rank could mean more "reports" sold. The well-known political bloggers of the left and right are also intensely interested because, ironically, it gets them more coverage on MSM.

But who else cares what your PubSub rank is? If you care, should you? Should I? What does my rank have to do with standing, reputation, place in the community? Everyone in every steel town in America once knew who Andrew Carnegie was, but who had the highest standing in their community? Probably the corner grocer, who helped you at church or building a house (And, lest anyone go astray, Shel and Neville are where they are on these ranks because they help the PR  community).

Dina Mehta -- and I wish I discovered her blog long before Reboot 7.0 -- discusses in her easy, inclusive way why the idea of rankings is flawed. In her post, she's commenting on another post by Adina Levin, that argues for the idea of Conversation Clouds as a better way of understanding relative influence.

As Adina tells it:

The cloud is built from a data set over a time period; the user should be able to scale the time (conversation over a week, a month, six months) The conversation cloud would need to provide ways to navigate through conversation space. If you click on a blog, perhaps you re-center around that blog's conversations. If you click on a tag or topic, you search based on that. You'd need to experiment with several ways of allowing browsing out from the first cloud.

This type of picture would not measure rank. Instead, it would illustrate the connections within subcommunities.

Cloud-browsing represents a pattern of blogsurfing. A reader might start with

Mary Hodder's post on blog metrics, and then traverse to Dina Mehta, danah boyd, Stowe Boyd, Ross Mayfield. 

The cloud would show in graphical form what a Technorati or Blogpulse search would -- who linked to the post. And it would also illustrate the repeated links and cross-links as people reply. If you zoomed out the time horizon, you'd see some relationships become more obviously dense, with repeated patterns of links and counterlinks.

I think this sort of presentation would get more of what we're looking for -- a picture of the relationships in a community that reveals participants, both loud and quiet. The ability to browse the conversation.

And as Dina comments:

I think this would very nicely integrate values that I hold important in blog conversations - relevance, integrity and credibility, interest and empathy generated, stretch in teasing boundaries, intimacy with my audience, respect and amicability - rather than blog rankings and ratings.  Making 'invisible' conversations and clusters and communities of interest visible as a result.  I'd love to see comments at posts integrated into these clouds in some way too, as many who comment donot necessarily blog, and often the comments enrich the thought in a post much more.

I'll certainly follow this conversation. Might (don't we wish) kill the A-list meme. And describe what we know to be true: our "cloud" is far more influential than any "top-100" list.

Posted by Allan Jenkins at 08:45pm in Bloggers, Blogging for Benjamins, Communication, Online Media, Public Relations, Social Tools, Society, Taxonomy of Cyberspace | Permalink | Comments Welcome! (2) | TrackBack (1)

PR Bloggers Get Knickers in Twist Over FedEx Protecting its Mark

Update: The more I investigate this episode, the more repulsive it becomes.

Jose Avila registered the domain "fedexfurniture.com" on 22 June 2005. Four days later, Brian Oberkirch, a web consultant, who is Avila's web designer and PR representative , posts that he's been inspired by a Steve Rubel post and NPR interview that suggests FedEx should get on the blogging bandwagon.

Oberkirch (or his employee or whatever) kept up the drumbeat throughout July, practically begging FedEx to sue Avila. And they hooked Rubel, who was enticed to comment to this post within hours of it being put up.

I can smell the Fulton Fish Market from here.

Let any corporation take on the little guy and tout le blogosphere (at least the please-let-me-be a PR pundit, Manhattan section) gnashes its teeth. I'm starting to see why some PR practitioners seem to have no large clients.

This week's case is FedEx vs. Jose the Penniless Programmer. Jose used lots and lots of FedEx packing boxes, acquired free from FedEx, to furnish his crib.

No harm there, not really. Most students and new graduates have had at least one "packing case" coffee table; I know my Navy and college bookshelves were milk crates from the Bi-Lo.

But Avila couldn't stop there. He bought a domain (in June, so this was calculated in advance), bought a hosting service (apparently with the money saved through DIY furniture making), and set up a website replete with photos, donation requests and -- a design that used as much FedEx livery as one could dare to do.

FedEx asked him to take down the site. Now, note, they didn't ask him to get rid of the furniture. Or ask for their boxes back. Or ask for damages. Just take down the commercial website that uses their name, their livery and many, many photos of their stuff.

But to hear tout le blogosphere (p.l.m.b.pr.p (ms)) tell it, Jose's civil liberties are being ravaged and savaged by the mean corporate beast.

Here's an FAQ, if this comes up at cocktail parties this weekend:

1. Why, by the way, is Jose this month's darling? Why, because he's a blogger -- at least, since last month when this started happening. Bloggers are the new holy people -- They can do no wrong, no matter how wrong they are.

2. Is Jose a blogger in the meaningful sense of the word? No.

3. When did he start blogging? Last month, weeks after he registered the domain.

4. But B.L. says he's FedEx's biggest fan! Steve says Jose is "expressing his love!" Really? Utter bullshit. Doesn't say so on his website. Anywhere. I can't find a word that says he likes FedEx.

5. Why is FedEx the big bad wolf? Well, for New Yorkers, a Southern-based, non-unionized company makes a useful target. Of course, they still use FedEx; otherwise, they couldn't stay in business.

6. If FedEx had been really a beast, wouldn't they have flown him to HQ to have lunch with the CEO, and hold a press conference, and then send Jose back to stay penniless? Yes.

7. It's pretty ugly furniture. God, yes.

8. I guess tout le blogosphere won't be talking about this next week. Now you got it!

Posted by Allan Jenkins at 10:47am in Blogging for Benjamins, Public Relations, Rapacious Vegetation | Permalink | Comments Welcome! (12) | TrackBack (3)