One day later...
So we here at B2B Marketing News entered the advanced blogosphere yesterday with our registration with Technorati. Technorati is the self-described, “authority on what's happening on the World Live Web, right now.” Silly me, I had only heard of the World Wide Web until now.
Technorati keeps its eyes on the Web, researching and organizing blogs and other user generated content. The system allows blogs to have fans and ranks them based on the number of unique links to said blog. You can tag your blog with keywords and other information that allows interested parties to find you.
Any marketer with a blog presence should take a look at Technorati. Not because they’re the self-proclaimed authority, but because 175,000 new blogs are started every day and the blogosphere has more than 18 updates per second. If you are paying attention to what’s out there, how can you expect to break through?
Technorati Time
Here we go, into the wild world of Technorati.
Technorati Profile
What a difference a week makes…
So last week I wrote a riveting blog entry about the insanity involved in purchasing an original “General Lee” for $10 million. Well, the online auction buyer experienced sticker shock.
As reported by CNN, the winning bidder claims that someone else placed the bids in his name after gaining access to his eBay account. The disputed bid is still under investigation and eBay has yet to find proof of illegal account usage. What’s more, according to eBay, a winning bid constitutes a legally binding contract. If this guy was really duped into The General it will be one of the more interesting examples of identity theft.
What’s the take home message for marketers? In the Web world of bidding, blogging, podcasting and Second Life-ing one has to be careful! Make sure your sites have accurate info and that you control who has access to it. Otherwise, you too may end up with an orange ’69 Dodge Charger in your office lobby.
Just some good ole' boys, never meanin' no harm...
I read the most ridiculous thing today. A car that served as the original "General Lee" sold at auction today for $10 million.
For those of you unfamiliar with this mythical automobile, it is the orange muscle-car with (regrettably) the Confederate flag painted on top and the doors welded-shut. Sure, Superman can leap tall buildings in a single bound, but can he jump a river that has a conveniently-placed dirt ramp? Well, probably. But that’s not the point! Attempting such a jump with any other vehicle is life-threatening, with the General Lee it is just another Tuesday afternoon.
With all of its flaws – the aforementioned flag, the depiction of a fictitious “Hazard County, Georgia” (I am writing this from my office in Atlanta), and the recently-released movie version of the show – The Duke’s of Hazzard does hold a place in Americana. But is it really a golden foothold, encrusted with diamonds?
Perhaps this is just a reflection on the amount of money people are willing to spend on things they are passionate about.
A quick side note. You may be wondering why I chose to write about The General instead of Rupert Murdoch’s attempt at spreading his “Fair and Balanced” agenda to more of the world’s news. Perhaps you wonder why I didn’t pontificate about a weekly O’Reilly-authored column that explores the lefty agenda. Quite frankly, the thought of Murdoch expanding the reach of News Corp.’s tentacles sends shivers down my spine.
So back to the 1969 Dodge Charger. This is an example of a brand paying-off. Kit, the black Firebird Trans Am from the 1980s hit Knight Rider, never commanded this kind of cash. Could it be because David Hasselhoff was behind the wheel? Maybe. But as successful as Knight Rider was, it did not have the brand and street cred’ that The Duke’s created in six seasons of television. Marketers make note.
Now I just have to find my $10 million pop-culture brand to auction on eBay. Please, provide your suggestions in the “comment” section below!
