No, not branding as in marketing, but branding as in cowboys branding their cattle.
Maybe branding is not the best term, but it does seem that certain categories or classes of bloggers have developed.
Originals: Those who blog the way and with the purpose of the first Web logs. Weren’t Web logs initially nothing more than online diaries? A way for people to “publicly” give their views on a topic, announce personal news, and for self-therapy to get something of their chest. I’d guess you’d call them personal blogs.
Activists: Bloggers who are passionate — not necessarily extreme — about a certain topic, theme or industry. These tend to be very focused . Treehugger is a good one I often visit. I’d say Adrants is another good one.
Corporate: Companies — rather individuals representing their companies — that blog. GM and Boeing are good examples. Blogging is part of their overall marketing efforts.
The Elites: Like Activists, but individuals who are seen or see themselves as gurus on blogging, Internet marketing and/or some form of techie communication. And, come off at times either in their posts or comments as arrogant. Yes, many Elites do see high volumes of traffic, so maybe the “elitism” can be understood.
But, I still need a category for those “experts” in their field who don’t fit The Elites category. HHMMMMM?
So, what do you think? Am I off base? Should we change the names of these categories? Add others? Post a comment and let me and the rest of the world know.
For me, I’m not sure where I fit. Think I’ll have to develop a new category.
– Mike
Technorati tags: Blogging, GM, Boeing, Treehugger, Adrants
