The Buzz on Blogs

A bunch of bitter old people recently convened for the 2005 edition of the Direct Marketers Association conference. One of the more widely attended sessions was "Catch the Buzz with Blogs."

Basically, the session underscored the fact that blog reading and blog writing are on the rise, and that the technology that supports blogs is becoming more widely adopted. The question raised in the session was how can marketers get a piece of this pie?

We at Freshwater Adventures think that blogs should be OFF LIMITS to anyone who's trying to sell something. Our sponsor, Coca-Cola, agrees.

"We would never want to do something so blatant as try to push one of our sponsors, like Coca-Cola, in our blog," said a Freshwater Adventures editor who declined to be identified. "We know better than to think people are going to buy delicious, satisfying Coca-Cola just because they read about this amazing soft drink on our blog."

The DMA session offered a word of caution to marketers intent on entering the blogosphere. Be very careful about pushing products or services because you risk a blog backlash.

For now, it seems, blogs are a powerful viral marketing tool that remains just beyond the reach of most marketers. Drink Coca-Cola and you'll see what we mean.