Bloggle

Archive for April, 2008


Posted on April 9, 2008 - by deCadmus

April 9, 2008


Posted on April 8, 2008 - by deCadmus

April 8, 2008


Posted on April 8, 2008 - by deCadmus

Starbucks’ Extreme Makeover Continues

Continuing its excruciatingly public extreme makeover, Starbucks does a full-court press (release) on… a new coffee blend. Oh, goody.

Sure, while most every other coffee roaster in the land releases new roasts seasonally — you know, to align with new coffee crops and all that — Starbucks’ latest blend is different, apparently. Word is, it’s not… you know, burnt. More, Howie would have us believe this is a pivotal event in Starbucks’ history, even suggesting that it’s a peek into a future that isn’t steeped in an espresso + milk monoculture:

“We’ve been so focused on espresso … that we haven’t done anything to reinvent brewed coffee,” Starbucks Chief Executive Howard Schultz said in an interview.

Profoundly true. Not only has Starbucks done virtually nothing to reinvent brewed coffee — or even support it — their general disregard for drip coffee, press coffee and the like spilled over into the marketplace, where thousands upon thousands of competing independents likewise ignored the possibilities of unique origin coffees. Unless, of course, they could chuck it in a portafilter with decent results. It’s fair to say that only very recently, I’d say the last five or six years — or a time line roughly consistent with the rise of the Cup of Excellence auction program — that the indie retailers have promoted non-espresso coffee with particular enthusiasm. Coincidence? I don’t think so.

And then Howie slips in this dubious bit…

Mr. Schultz says he believes Starbucks has underplayed its expertise in selecting and roasting coffees, something its main competitors don’t specialize in.

It’s left as an exercise for the reader whether Schultz is suggesting Starbucks’ ground-game at origin is better than that of Peet’s, Green Mountain, Stumptown, CounterCulture, Intelligentsia, The Roasterie, Terroir, Thanksgiving, and a few hundred assorted smaller roasters, or whether he doesn’t view them, individually or collectively, as his competitors. Either way, it’s a low blow. And one that may well come back to haunt him.


Posted on April 7, 2008 - by deCadmus

Wayback: Back the Net Day? Hooey.

I’m taking a day off. Yes, really.

In lieu of the new and stunningly original piece of pith (I could have phrased that better, I’m certain) you were expecting to find in this space today, I offer this from the Bloggle Archives, circa April, 2001.

It’s a beaut if I do say so, myself.

Dear Netizen:

Your help is needed.

Fueled by a “viral lack of confidence,” the Internet economy has slipped into a recession. If this trend continues, you might soon lose access to your favorite online store, greeting card site, news source, music site or financial chat group. Imagine the Internet without Excite, Yahoo! or Amazon.com.

But you can help the Net regain its respect. We must band together and send the world a loud, clear message that the Net will not only survive, but thrive.

That’s why we’re asking you to demonstrate your dedication to the Internet. On April 3, join us in “Back the Net Day.”

Michael H. Tchong
Editor & CEO
ICONOCAST Inc.

Dear Mr. Tchong:

I can appreciate that you feel threatened by the current state of affairs on the Net… we’re in what’s probably an overly-corrective downturn, and the costs in terms of both human and financial capital have been severe. Just the same, it was precisely this kind of hollow media hype that led to the grossly inflated capitalization of the “Internet economy,” and the grossly inflated expectations of its investors. [Not to mention the grossly inflated egos of media hucksters, but you're far more familiar with that than I.]

I find it highly unlikely that yet more hollow media hype — which is what your “Back the Net” campaign is — will serve any useful purpose. Especially hype that sows the seeds of fear, uncertainty and doubt [FUD]. The Internet has been around a while now, long before it provided either you or I with our milk money. I’d wager the Internet itself isn’t going anywhere any time soon. Now, Net based companies with business plans that don’t translate into revenue… those are another matter, entirely.

Don’t get me wrong, Mr. Tchong. I back the Net every day. I’m probably the most determined supporter of the Internet I know. Day after day I teach, I consult — I’ve even been known to evangelize — on the Internet’s capacity to create intimacy between companies and consumers, for their mutual benefit. Certainly the Net has the intrinsic ability to do far more… but frankly, we’re still struggling with the basics of spatial navigation and information design, meaning and metaphor.

So, Mr. Tchong, if you don’t mind, I’ll just get back to work. I’ll try today, as I do every day, to make the Internet a more meaningful, more useful place — one site at a time.

Best regards,

-deCadmus


Posted on April 7, 2008 - by deCadmus

April 7, 2008


Posted on April 6, 2008 - by deCadmus

*Good* Advice For Would-be Bloggers

This week I gathered some of the conflated and oft conflicting advice for would-be bloggers in my inaptly titled post, Ur Doin’ It Wrong!. To my surprise and delight, Teresa Nielsen Hayden dropped by to dispense some good advice. To wit:

As far as I can tell, the weblog rules that matter are:

1. Have good content. If you’re good when you stick to a specialized subject, then write about that. If you’re good at a broader range of subjects, that’s fine too.

2. Update frequently. Monday morning is the most important time to have a new entry up.

3. Don’t publish lackluster articles just to have something new. Frequent posting makes people who are already reading you more likely to come back, but dull, slack, hackneyed, or error-ridden articles make readers go away and not come back at all. Bad writing can do a lot of damage fast.

4. Use clear, simple, declarative titles on your articles. That’s all your RSS subscribers will see. If they can’t tell what the article is about, they’re much less likely to click through and read the whole thing.

5. Make yourself easy to find and link to. A name and an email address are good too. You don’t have to use your full legal name, but you should give people a way to get in touch with you.

6. Go ahead and optimize your site for search engines, but please understand that there’s only so much it can do. Good content is far more important.

7. Cherish your good commenters. When one of them says something smart, promote it to the front page. Everyone wins.

8. Kick out the jerks and trolls. They cost you far more traffic than they represent or bring in. While you’re at it, always clean out comment spam as soon as you spot it.

9. If you want people to link to you, link to them first, and say why you’re doing it. This is far likelier to convince the blogger you’ve linked to that you are a person of superior taste and perception. Also, never fail to credit a link you pick up from someone else.

10. Don’t blog to make money. Blog because you love it. If you keep loving it, and your readers love it too, start thinking about selling ads.

–TNH

Good advice, all of it, and I’ll be passing it along to my new school of blogging folk, even as I endeavor to follow it myself.

Have *you* got any great advice for newly hatched bloggers? By all means, join the conversation!


Posted on April 5, 2008 - by deCadmus

April 5, 2008


Posted on April 4, 2008 - by deCadmus

Forty years… for many, still only a dream.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.”

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.


Posted on April 4, 2008 - by deCadmus

April 4, 2008


Posted on April 3, 2008 - by deCadmus

Ur Doin’ It Wrong!

It would seem that for the last eight years I’ve been going about this blogging thing all wrong. Let me ’splain.

I’m putting together a blog project for a new-sprung group of budding bloggers — folks who, for the most part have never blogged before, in many cases aren’t familiar with blogs. I thought it’d be helpful to gather some of the collected wisdom on the state-of-the-art of blogging, and in so doing found more material than I’d realized existed on blogging for fun and profit. Mostly for profit.

I’d known there were folks who make a living by way of their blogs and the resulting ad revenue. I hadn’t imagined just how *many* of those folks there are now… nor had I imagined how many exist for the singular purpose of extoling the virtues of, and methods for, making money by blogging. I guess it’s a new millennial variant on the late-night infomercials of yore: “You, too, can make money without hardly tryin’!”

A sampling of the tenor of these modern-day Guthy Renker wannabees:

  • 43 Web Design Mistakes to Avoid (I guess they couldn’t manage another seven)
  • 30 Traffic Generation Tips
  • 28 Ways to Make Money with Your Website (sic)
  • How to Write Your ‘About Me’ Page
  • Double Your Website (sic, again) In 30 Days

If I were to apply the very bestest, most oft-offered advice, I should: focus on a single niche, differentiate my blog from all others, do interviews, write really good titles, offer free stuff, be opinionated and — apparently — write a dozen different blogs, each on a different subject. Oh, and post every day. Preferably many times.

Funny thing is, there’s actually some really good advice hidden in there… especially for someone who has no intent of becoming a professional blogger, or a professional huckster of blogs. And I’ll get to work on that ‘About Me’ page presently.


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