Wordless Wednesday: Inside the Lives of Social Networking Users

Blogger Relations 101

An article came out in the Star Tribune a few days ago about a company announcing to a room full of bloggers at the EVO '11 Conference that they would no longer be paying bloggers for reviews and other writing opportunities.

As expected, the bloggers were not pleased and the room erupted into heated debate.

I don't want to turn this into a question of whether or not the company did the wrong thing with their announcement and stance on bloggers. However, I do feel this is a good opportunity to discuss some of the nuances and intricacies of working with bloggers.

The issue of paying bloggers is far from black and white. Surprisingly, even the bloggers themselves have wide range of opinions on the matter. That makes sense, given the different factors that play into the blogger-brand relationship.

Some bloggers worry that accepting payment for a review comes across as "buying off" the review and alienates them from their audience. Many brands feel the same way, and don't want the review to be rendered pointless by the negative light it gets cast in.

I myself have worked with several bloggers on product reviews for companies, and have found that as long as you treat the blogger like you would any other writer or journalist everyone ends up happy.

But companies have different policies for working with bloggers, just like bloggers have varying policies for working with companies, and at the end of the day being open about the nature of the business relationship is vital to keeping everyone happy.

BlogHer '11: 3,500 of your Closest Blogger Friends

What an experience...BlogHer '11 is a wrap! Shelly and I had an amazing time in San Diego with 3,500 social media-savvy bloggers. I tried to take it all in, but there was just too much going on for one person to conquer it all. I found most attendees fall into one of 3 attendee types; the Learner, the Networker and the Swag collector.

• The Learner: BlogHer is packed with 2 days of informational, motivational and inspirational sessions. The Learner is there to soak in as much knowledge as possible from the experts by packing in sessions from 8am to 5pm with some one-on-one time at the 'Geek Bar' squeezed in. BlogHer brings in pros to cover everything from 'Perfecting the Product Review' to 'Boomer Blogging'.

• The Networker: Networking is everywhere at BlogHer, even in the bathroom line. I was warned to have more than enough cards on hand, and I'm glad I did. I would say the business people to blogger ratio was 40/60, which actually made for some great discussions. Bloggers want to connect to other bloggers and find companies they might partner with. Businesses and professionals are there for the same thing. It was great to meet the people I've only talked to on Twitter and to be exposed to so many new bloggers.

• The Swag Collector: Oh the swag! Companies from all walks of consumer goods descended on BlogHer '11 to get their goods into bloggers' hands. It was interesting to see how different brands integrated social media and blogger relations into campaigns. Some target specific bloggers with more private events....others were going for overall brand awareness with interactive booths and suites. Surprisingly, I heard from many bloggers that the 'Tweet to Win' contests were easy to win because few people participated.

I tried my best to be a little of each of these types by learning a lot, meeting great people and taking home a few goodies. The only question left is; will I see you at BlogHer '12 in NYC?

Video Post: Axiom @ the Toast & Taste

Our entire Axiom team enjoyed the Toast & Taste at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum last night. Andrea loved it so much, she's sharing her favorites on today's Daily Axioms video post.

Wordless Wednesday: What are the best video chat services and who's using them?