I just got an email blast from Ad Age editor Jonah Bloom giving an update on their plans for the Power 150 ranking. I am assuming that this went out to all of the hundreds of bloggers now on the Power 150. I did chuckle a bit when Bloom added in the email blast that 'one blogger' accused Ad Age of 'hoodwinking' bloggers about the Power 150.Based on the quotes from Bloom right after the Power 150 was announced, I was certainly given the impression that Ad Age had a (smart) long-term plan for the list beyond simply slapping it on the site and giving everyone a nifty badge to put on their blog that links back to Ad Age's website. For example, this 'quote' from Todd And's site when the Power 150 was announced is what got me excited:
Jonah Bloom, editor of Ad Age, said the publication will use the Power 150 as the main editorial benchmark when referencing bloggers in print and online (i.e., “according to David Armano’s Logic+Emotion, No. 15 on the Power 150 ranking of marketing blogs.”).
I also referenced this quote in my Daily Fix post about the Power 150 back in July, and Bloom actually commented on this post.
This is really the biggest beef I have with what Ad Age has done with the Power 150 in the 5 months it was launched, which is nothing. But by mentioning that the site will 'use the Power 150 as the main editorial benchmark when referencing bloggers in print and online', I kinda thought they would do exactly that. Because they said they would, and because it makes an incredible amount of sense. By getting quotes from members of the Power 150 for their articles, Ad Age is creating better content, and giving the bloggers cited a reason to want to promote the article, and the Power 150 list. A win-win for everyone.
But for whatever reason, that has never happened. A shame since it was a feature that myself and other bloggers voiced our excitement about to Bloom when the Power 150 launched. So no, it isn't fair to say that Ad Age intentionally deceived bloggers about their plans for the Power 150, because there's no proof that they did, and if Bloom or anyone else thinks that's what I was claiming, I apologize. However it happened, many bloggers, including myself, were under the impression that Ad Age certainly planned on doing more with it than they have so far, as the comments left to this post show.
So that's why I'll take today's email about the plans for the Power 150 with a grain of salt. Fool me once...
Tags:The Viral Garden, Marketing
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4 comments:
I agree. I got the same "Dear Blogger" email ... but have yet to see any substantial development or innovation beyond Todd's great achievement.
For what it is worth, I have taken the Power 150 logo out of my sidebar. It was just a waste of space.
I did not get the email/memo so I must be in a parallel universe ;-) I usually get my news about the Power 150 from Todd And... I am thinking of cleaning up my sidebar as well.
Here's another point: I wonder if Ad Age is making a conscious choice NOT to cite bloggers as sources in their articles because they feel it would make them seem 'less credible' with their mainstream audience? I scanned some of their articles yesterday, and I saw plenty of chances for them to get a quick quote or two from industry experts that were also bloggers, but they whiffed on all of them. I just wonder if they are fearful of how their readers would view them if they started using bloggers as sources. For example, in a recent Ad Age article where they said that the senior marketers they surveyed said that Seth Godin was their 'top marketer', no mention was made of Seth's extremely popular blog, or the fact that it is right at the top of the Power 150.
Like Valeria, I didn't get an email. Aside from that, I've actually noticed that the press calls from Ad Age have declined since they started publishing the P150 - before that, I got calls quite often. Could be a coincidence or, as you suggest Mack, could be a heightened concern over credibility. Total weirdness.
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