The New York Times puts in its two cents on corporate blogging. Surprisingly, Fortune 500 CEOs have been slow to get on board: Sun Microsystems’ Jonathan Schwartz is the sole example. Arguably, other CEOs are ignoring a powerful tool:

Capital markets function as they should when the flow of information is strong and unimpeded. Mr. Schwartz has shown ably that for the chief executive sincerely interested in increasing information flow to the fullest range of stakeholders, a blog is a hydraulic wonder.

Among the conspicuously silent: Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer, and Steve Jobs. And then there are the perils of half-hearted attempts:

[Whole Foods CEO] Mackey has made a total of six posts over the course of 10 months, and these consist of reprints of speeches and interviews and similar materials created originally for a different purpose. Using blogging software to park a reprint once every two months does not a blog make.

Large corporations are spending enormous amounts of money on advertising and public relations campaigns that arguably (if, for example, the authors of Naked Conversations are right) cannot produce nearly the return on investment as honest conversations with customers. It might help to think of blogging as the stock market’s verbal incarnation. Further (chant after me): customers crave market transparency.

Speaking of the market, Jonathan Schwartz used his blog effectively to mollify investors after Sun’s quarterly earnings were down—but not by spin and “marketese”:

After the earnings release, Mr. Schwartz itemized on his blog the many positive developments that he sees in the company’s business. Viewed alone, it would be easy for unhappy investors to dismiss. But read as the latest installment of candid self-evaluations of the company’s strategic initiatives and performance, Mr. Schwartz’s optimism exerts a tonic effect.

To adapt a political phrase: it’s the honesty, stupid.

Here’s an amazing blog by tailor Thomas Mahon, a small-businessman who takes his craft and makes it fascinating. There are countless lessons to be learned here, but I think the following elements are especially important:

• Mahon’s blog is honest and personal.
• Mahon is genuinely interested in sharing his craft, and he does not shy away from the nitty-gritty of his process.

The effect of combining these elements is to accentuate a potential customer’s appreciation of the product. Tailoring is, after all, a very personal service in which customers are interested in paying for customization and personalization (to return the idiom to its source, in having things tailor-made for them). Mahon’s blog brings us even further into this world—where quality and personalization are connected; without trying too hard to market anything, he is both advertising his service and adding value.

As broadband penetration into the household continues at its fiery pace, watching video online is no longer the pie-in-the-sky dream it once was. As more and more people watch their favorite video programming on the small screen—via download, streaming, or mobile device—the advertising that makes it possible to view this programming for free is going along for the ride.

And even better, the ride is an interactive one. Online technologies are giving advertisers and marketers immediate and extremely accurate feedback concerning the effectiveness of a specific ad or placement. Read all about it in this ADOTAS article.

Care to comment on the effectiveness of Nielsen’s people meters vs. the new tracking methods being utilized online?

Where do rejected network TV shows go to die? YouTube, apparently. And like Lazarus rising from the grave, the 300,000+ views of “Nobody’s Watching” are breathing new life into the show and making network execs take notice. They are not the only ones who should be paying attention, either. If you’re in the business of marketing (marketing anything—ideas, products, entertainment), I’d encourage you to read the following article, published yesterday on CNET News. Increasingly, sites like YouTube and MySpace are going to become an important part of any marketing mix that desires to reach the 13–25-year-old demo.

In an interesting twist of technology-meets-subversive-counterculture-classics, Abbie Hoffman’s Steal This Book has been made into a wiki that anyone can edit.

The wiki concept goes one step further.

Could a marketing piece be as infectious as these?

Viral videos—those short Internet downloads found on Web sites like iFilm and YouTube—are America’s most exciting new media, the New York Post reported.

The award seeks to honor news and documentary programming that appear on such nontraditional delivery platforms as broadband, iPod video, mobile phones, and other portable media players. The nominees’ entries must be original to new media and not debut on TV or radio and then be repurposed into the new media.

More

(It’s already here.) A recent article on the power, positive and negative, of online word-of-mouth:

But as angry clients increasingly turn to the Internet to settle scores, companies, independent retailers, and everyday wrongdoers are learning that consumers can have the last word—and often the last laugh. The Web has turned into a place where shame and humiliation are sometimes the strongest weapons in fighting scams and unfairness.

Public relations has never been easier, except that it requires a good product and customer service. Otherwise, caveat vendor. Feel free to discuss…