Embargoes are ways of getting top outlets to publish stories, and give them enough time to digest the information and publish a decent story. Techcrunch bailing on embargoes will hurt Arrington more than it will help him in the long run. At least that’s my belief. There is competition out there and there’s only so much bad will you can spray on the world before the world starts spraying it back. Or just stops coming to get sprayed on.

I think there are two pieces usually missing from corporate blogs that make them successful: 1) A strategy 2) The customer. All the ‘experts’out there talk about transparency, engagement, blah, blah, blah. More marketing words that mean crap.

A corporate blog simply needs to be effective in answering the question the reader came there for! Don’t waste my time with your bloviating, Mr.-Corporate-Marketer-turned-Blogger… just give me the answer! If I like the answer and I trust you, I’ll develop a relationship with you and buy from you. If not, I’m on to the next Search Result.

“In other words, most corporate blogs are boring. Nobody reads them. Nobody cares. And so, most companies handling their own “news” stories will fall on deaf ears. It’s a numbers game. Get the story to the top blogs in the space that cover the genre of product or service, and you get the most eyeballs. Get more eyeballs, the percentage of sales go up.”

Our metrics are all messed up to be certain. Social media Consultants make your client’s blogs not suck! Geoff talked about this a little with the guys at the Blog Council. This conversation needs to continue.