Attack of the Camera Blogs!

Nikon has expanded their Web 2.0 marketing from microsites and Flickr to their own blog. Not missing a beat, Kodak announced the promotion of Jenny Cisney to Chief Blogger of their own site. It was sort of like a movie, perhaps "When Jenny Met Joe"?

The media universe is increasingly digital, and as the layoffs from mainstream media continue, and bloggers, podcasters, and other social media properties gain more traction online, marketers are faced with navigating new ways to touch the public. Those companies that learn to dress like blogger wolves in consumer sheep's clothing will be able to take advantage of these new tools.

It is said that the Internet has eclipsed friends and family as the most important source for researching and selecting mobile devices (Forum to Advance the Mobile Experience). When it comes to promoting digital technology, companies like Nikon and Kodak are showing that they have the tech savvy to walk the walk as well as talk the talk. They're having a one-to-one relationship with their customers and fans that's more valuable than a 30-second Ashton Kutchner ad on TV.

Blogging Kills

It's official (because reading about it in the NY Times makes it so): blogging kills.

The article "In Web World of 24/7 Stress, Writers Blog Til They Drop" reporter Matt Richtel describes the insane world of blogging and how one tech blogger for Gizmodo, Matt Buchanan, lives off of a "protein supplement mixed into coffee."

Before we go to the local Starbucks to get a shot of espresso and 'roid rage, it's important to consider the role that the fast-paced news cycle plays in marketing. The competition among these mostly young reporters who are paid by the post to get a scoop is enormous. With that pressure, it's understandable that Gizmodo would fire off what it calls "Lightning Reviews" of products. They simply don't have the time to engage with gear long enough to figure out how to work out the kinks and get to the right settings and menus.

Tech marketers beware. In a world where first impressions of products are formed online by twentysomethings buzzing on coffee and human growth hormone, it's quite possible that if your product takes more time to understand than it takes to whip up a meth milkshake, it will suffer the fate of not being explained for what it is.