5 easy steps on how to get sued as a blogger

1. Create a blog. (www.antiquiet.com)
2. Post content that attracts people. (music reviews and news)
3. Take a CD that has been in the making for over a decade and stream the tracks online. (Guns N' Roses "Chinese Democracy")
4. Get massive traffic on your blog. (Servers overloaded)
5. Get arrested. (at 6:59am in your pajamas)

A blogger who goes by the name Skwerl has been arrested for streaming 9 tracks off Guns N' Roses unreleased album Chinese Democracy. If convicted, he faces up to 5 years in prison. Read the article from the Smoking Gun and follow updates from Skwerl's associates here.

AMC: kicking the old marketing habbit

AMC's show about an advertising agency set in the '60s, Mad Men, has been causing a commotion on Twitter. Three of the characters have accounts on Twitter and have been giving updates. The thing is, AMC didn't create those accounts and doesn't know who did.

AMC got worried that someone was representing characters on their show and was concerned about what they might published. AMC then filed a DMCA takedown notice of the Twitter accounts.

It is my belief that AMC definitely jumped the gun and panicked with the Twitter accounts. Why they took it down: they couldn't control the message. Why they should have never taken it down: free publicity. They eventually restored the Twitter accounts with some convincing from their marketing team.

Interesting side note - by ordering the suspension of the Twitter accounts and then reinstating them, Mad Men has received a lot more publicity than if the Twitter accounts were left alone.

Managing Mistakes For Brand Control

Talk about good public relations. After a recent Ohio concert, famed singer Neil Diamond apologized for a disappointing performance due to a raspy voice caused by acute laryngitis. Instead of leaving a bad taste in his fans mouth, Diamond responded, "I haven't let you down before and I won't let you down now" offering a ticket refund to anyone who requests it.

Now that's a good example of listening to your customers, interacting positively with whatever feedback you receive, and making a mistake right (even if the mistake would have been something hard to control) . How could marketing companies use this approach when trying to control brand image?

RIP Steve Jobs...oh wait, you're still alive...oops

Bloomberg Financial newswire accidentally sent out Steve Jobs' obituary. Gaffes happen and this was a pretty big one. In the last few months rumors have been circulating about Steve Jobs health. So it is ironic that Bloomberg accidentally sent out an obit for Jobs.

This is something that I'm sure Steve Jobs will be interested in reading. Who wouldn't want to see who shows up at your funeral?

Read more about this here, including the obituary.

What's in a blog name?

One of the blogs I read on a weekly basis changed its name today. It went from "The Origin of Brands Blog" to "Ries' Pieces." Why the change? Who cares about a blog name anyways? Laura Ries covers these questions in-depth here.

It is rare to see an industry professional admit a branding mistake, but she confesses that she picked the wrong blog name and stuck with it for four years. She gives a few good examples of how brand names matter and how change can be difficult, but often times for the better.

Check out her thoughts on double-branding below.

Resisting the Resistance

Remember LonelyGirl15 and her 15 minutes of YouTube fame? She starred in a series that was scripted, and some people thought that it was real...? No?

Well, anyway, CBS has decided to fund some kind of internet spin-off, with commercials in between. Check out the commercial below, I'm inexplicably reminded of the Animorphs.