08.14.06
We’ve been reviewed! (& a discussion on character blogs)
We’re delighted to have been featured on the blog Pajama Market as “Small Business Blog of the Day” at http://www.pajamamarket.com
Here’s the link to the review:
To remind some of you, our blog has stemmed from our online store, www.pawpathlittermat.com. Although this blog was created to post updates on our store and bring traffic into our store, an equally important factor is to showcase our beloved cats, Leo & Bambi, and connect with other cat lovers and cat bloggers, whether or not they become customers.
The blogger of Pajama Market, Brian Brown, is absolutely charming in our correspondence, and his review was very well written and thorough, and 100% appreciated. The review has constructive criticism about character blogs (blogs written by ficticious or non-human characters), and recommends that we should stop letting our cats using the computer…so, for the sake of argument, I’ve asked Bambi and Leo to, er, hold their tongues on this post. This got me thinking about arguments for and against character bloggers. And this topic is not so cut and dry, folks.
Here’s an exploration about character blogs (as a marketing tool, and not a purely personal site) and I’ve sited some references on both sides.
To start, I am a big fan of Dave Taylor - I’ve read his books (Growing Your Business With Google & Creating Cool Web Sites) and his sites & advice are extremely informed and eloquent. Check out his take on character blogs at www.askdavetaylor.com. Dave writes, “My personal opinion is that since anything goes in the world of blogging, character blogs are an interesting experiment and I’m glad that some companies are pushing the boundaries to see what will transpire.” So in a nutshell, if a blog is worth reading, it should fly.
Also, Shel Holtz writes about character blogs and defends the much-talked about the now defunct ”fake” blog by Captain Morgan: “So it’s a fake blog. On the other hand, it’s attracting consumers who are enjoying engaging-as artificial as the engagement may be-with the company. They’re having fun. The brand is being reinforced.” Read more on Get Used To Fake Blogs on www.webpronews.com. Apparently, Captain Morgan didn’t have a very effective blog, so it went down.
Steve Rubel has a well-known article lashing out at character blogs, claiming “character blogs are a waste of time, server space and bandwidth.” I felt that his supporting example of Mickey Mouse not having conversations with kids in Disney World didn’t hold water. Mr. Rubel says that if Mickey Mouse were to speak to kids, the person inside would likely complain about the heat inside the suit and reveal his or her real name. He says that in the same way Mickey Mouse shouldn’t speak to kids, blogs shouldn’t feature fictitious characters. Perhaps the reason the person inside the suit is silent is because he (or she) can’t imitate Mickey’s voice? And it would be too hard to train all the mascots to speak in Disney-approved sentences? And what about fake Santas at department stores? They talk to kids! I think a blog by Mickey Mouse or any cartoon character would be a fun way to promote the cartoons and/or products to children. Personally, I would have loved to read a blog by My Little Ponies or Rainbow Bright as a little girl. Any well adjusted kid would be able to discern that these characters weren’t “real;” it would just be a fun way to follow stories and expand their imagination. And I don’t think this concept should stop at children. After all, we adults have plentiful imaginations, too!
Here’s a very well-rounded article by B.L. Ochman where she quotes articles from various people who wrote for and against character blogs, and Ochman concludes that although many attempts at character blogs are, indeed, lame, “I don’t agree with Steve Rubel that all character blogs are a waste of time. Character blogs will evolve the same way websites have and eventually the cream will rise to the top.”
Some notable character blogs include blogs “by” Barbie, a fictitious character named T. Alexander at The Gourmet Station, Moosetopia, a blog written by the mascot for Moose Tracks ice cream, and the aforementioned Captain Morgan’s blog promoting the rum, which has been discontinued.
An essay on Character Blogs As A Branding Vehicle explores this topic further. It points out that there is a “…place for both ‘transparent’ blogs and for ‘character’ blogs, with each serving a different purpose. Character blogs are pure entertainment, while ‘transparent’ blogs serve as a communicational channel between the company and its many audiences.”
On that note, our blog is attempting to bridge the gap between “transparent” and “character” blogs, to bring the best of both worlds together. Bambi & Leo inspired our Paw Path, and we’d like our blog audience to get to know them just for fun, as well as show our clients that we are real cat lovers. Also, we do have postings that were not “written” by cats, such as our summaries of Cat News and Recommended Sites, as well as our article on Why Cats Don’t Paint, which could be useful and entertaining for visitors who may be put off by “blogging cats.”
My conclusion is that a blog in which the writer does not inform her audience that the blogger is, indeed, a fictitious character, would be ethically wrong (such as using an alter ego that is not obviously fictitious or non-human). However, if the intention and audience for a character blog is clear, there’s no reason it is a ‘wrong way’ to blog. If there is a blog Rule Book that bans character blogging, so what? Rules were made to be broken, no?
I do see Mr. Brown’s point in our review in the Pajama Market, that the concept of blogging cats might be too cute or “lame” for some and repel them, but for the time being, I’m sticking to my guns, and letting our cats continue to “blog.” Our blog was never purely a character blog to start with, so we’ll probably continue to split the posts 50/50 - straight posts with cat posts! Cats have plentiful personality and thoughts…what’s the harm in using a little imagination and translating that into English and conversing with other fun cat bloggers? Our blog is very new, and we’ve yet to see if this works out or not. So we’ll keep you posted!
Readers, I’d love to hear what you think! And please visit http://www.pajamamarket.com for sparking this train of thought!
-Juli
