This entry has been updated. Plus... does anyone know who created the graphic below? I'd be happy to give credit.

My post (and a corresponding email to a group of colleagues) inviting folks to visit GSK's new alli blog and -- if inspired or provoked -- leave a comment, has been unfortunately misconstrued by some as inappropriately "asking" for comments on a corporate blog.

The unfortunate part is not that I did something wrong or unethical

This entry has been updated. Plus... does anyone know who created the graphic below? I'd be happy to give credit.

My post (and a corresponding email to a group of colleagues) inviting folks to visit GSK's new alli blog and -- if inspired or provoked -- leave a comment, has been unfortunately misconstrued by some as inappropriately "asking" for comments on a corporate blog.

The unfortunate part is not that I did something wrong or unethical in asking for comments (I didn't), but that a mini blogstorm, replete with misconceptions, inaccuracies and nastiness, can propagate so quickly. It's painful if you're the one being attacked.

Addendum: I made the same request for comments on the alli blog, for which I write as…

I think so. As long as you don't ask too often. Here's why: many folks are shy about leaving a Comment, particularly if they're not familiar with blogging etiquette. If they see other Comments, it can make it easier to jump in.

So here's my request: head on over to GlaxoSmithKline's official corporate blog for alli, the first FDA approved, OTC (over the counter) weight loss product. Take a peek and, if you're inspired, leave a

I think so. As long as you don't ask too often. Here's why: many folks are shy about leaving a Comment, particularly if they're not familiar with blogging etiquette. If they see other Comments, it can make it easier to jump in.

So here's my request: head on over to GlaxoSmithKline's official corporate blog for alli, the first FDA approved, OTC (over the counter) weight loss product. Take a peek and, if you're inspired, leave a Comment.

Doesn't matter whether you're overweight or not, or whether you're considering taking alli yourself. You may have seen the TV ads. GSK has launched a massive educational marketing campaign to support the product launch.

Traffic to the blog is steadily growing but readers seem a…

Writing in his latest Alertbox column, Jakob Nielsen says:

"Blog postings will always be commodity content: there's a limit to the value you can provide with a short comment on somebody else's comments. Such postings are good for generating controversy and short-term traffic, and they're definitely easy to write. But they don't build sustainable value."

- Jakob Nielsen (July 9, 2007)

Hmmm... yes and no. Blog entries don't all have to be like

Writing in his latest Alertbox column, Jakob Nielsen says:

"Blog postings will always be commodity content: there's a limit to the value you can provide with a short comment on somebody else's comments. Such postings are good for generating controversy and short-term traffic, and they're definitely easy to write. But they don't build sustainable value."

- Jakob Nielsen (July 9, 2007)

Hmmm... yes and no. Blog entries don't all have to be like this one.

The best blogging strategy (the one that reaps the most rewards as far as establishing yourself as a thought leader) is to mix up your blog posts. Some should be short and reference another article / site / blog.

Others should be longer. Call them blog essays, call them articles. They'll be more "findable" by Google by…

This is sooo cool. Check out jott.com. You can send yourself voice notes through your cell phone. Draft blog posts, anyone?! Jott turns them into a text email. And also an audio file. Amazing.

Thanks to John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing for the pointer. And grab a copy of John's excellent new book about small business marketing. Highly recommended.

P.S. It really did take only a minute or two to set Jott up with my cell phone and email.

This is sooo cool. Check out jott.com. You can send yourself voice notes through your cell phone. Draft blog posts, anyone?! Jott turns them into a text email. And also an audio file. Amazing.

Thanks to John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing for the pointer. And grab a copy of John's excellent new book about small business marketing. Highly recommended.

P.S. It really did take only a minute or two to set Jott up with my cell phone and email.

I was interviewed yesterday for NPR's Marketplace on the topic of corporate blogging. Google's recent blogging gaffe was the jumping off point but the interview was on the more general topic. Trekked down to the Marketplace studio in downtown D.C. in 95 degree heat... wow it's hot here. And they hooked me up with Bob Moon in L.A. Fun!

Audio replay (podcast) and transcript here.

I was interviewed yesterday for NPR's Marketplace on the topic of corporate blogging. Google's recent blogging gaffe was the jumping off point but the interview was on the more general topic. Trekked down to the Marketplace studio in downtown D.C. in 95 degree heat... wow it's hot here. And they hooked me up with Bob Moon in L.A. Fun!

Audio replay (podcast) and transcript here.

Google's blogging gaffe happened over a week ago and there's still a flap about it in the blogosphere and in MSM (mainstream media).

A quick recap, Google employee Lauren Turner, a sales rep for Google ads, gave Michael Moore's new film, Sicko, a thumbs down in a sort-of-review on Google's new Health Advertising blog.

She then invited "health insurers, health providers, and pharmaceutical companies" (her words) - the targets of Moore's

Google's blogging gaffe happened over a week ago and there's still a flap about it in the blogosphere and in MSM (mainstream media).

A quick recap, Google employee Lauren Turner, a sales rep for Google ads, gave Michael Moore's new film, Sicko, a thumbs down in a sort-of-review on Google's new Health Advertising blog.

She then invited "health insurers, health providers, and pharmaceutical companies" (her words) - the targets of Moore's criticism of limited access to costly healthcare - to get their own version of the story across by placing ads on Google.

Oops, she crossed a line there.

Partisan politics are dicey on a corporate blog

It's not so much that this Google blogger said something politically incorrect: "Do No Evil"…