Blogging = Online Marketing

Ofcourse blogging is real work, especially if you are in the marketing business. But here is an article from Media Post that puts an excalamation mark on the Impact of Blogs. Please visit http://Mediapost.com to see full article.

Fred Wilson, managing partner at Union Square Ventures,
says blogging is the "realest" work he does.

He says: "Do You Ever Do Any Real Work? That's a question I used to get all of the time in the early days of this blog. I don't get it so much anymore. Because slowly but surely people are wising up to the fact that blogging is work and it's a very valuable use of my time... the time and energy I've put into this blog for the past five years has built a unique and very sophisticated audience. You are connectors and hubs of influence."

Then he adds: "But in the world of social media, word of mouth and word of link marketing, it is connectors and influencers like all of you that make the difference. And that's one of the main reasons I keep writing, commenting, discussing, and participating in blogs, tumblr, twitter, disqus, and the social media world at large."

I share Fred's sentiments. And as a marketer, I thank him and others for leading with progressive thinking on how businesses and individuals must interact and manage relationships in this age of open connections and online reputation. This is new territory, and he is pioneering by example.

And what about you? Similarly, you, too, are connectors and hubs of influence. Many of you also are my virtual and physical neighbors, friends, colleagues and, often, harsh critics. You share your ideas, build on mine and help shape context in our industry and beyond. You're an important presence in my professional and personal life, which, for better or worse, blurs more everyday. You are why I keep writing, commenting, discussing and participating -- here in this column, on my personal blog, professional online communities and beyond.

For those gifts, I thank you. I hope my attempt to participate delivers similar value in return. And I'm honored by any feedback you have to help me improve.

(Disclosure: It also happened to be Fred's blogging that brought me together with him, and then brought me together with his early-stage portfolio company, Clickable.)