Greg Storey of Airbag Industries wrote recently about how blogs are now being used to sell computers.
Last night I came across a back-to-college commercial for Gateway computer. Nothing any of us haven’t already seen already: ultra low cost computer systems complete with a free printer, after a fifty dollar rebate. Except this time I caught a slight difference in the advertising message:
“…perfect for blogging or sending email…”
I can’t be sure because I rarely read Adweek anymore, much to the disappointment to my college mentor I’m sure, but I’m almost positive that’s the first time a computer company has used blogging as an activity that their products are perfect for. Amazing how in less than five years blogging has replaced gaming, video editing, and homework as the criteria of choice for purchasing a computer. Interesting.
Perhaps Six Apart should get in there and co-brand a Typepad/Gateway laptop, complete with a Lance Armstrong knock-off rubber wristband, baby-blue and stamped: TYPESTRONG.
One of the comments to Storey’s post says:
Not saying they’re going away, but the burning up part is the migration of the cool factor to greener pastures. Blogs were cool. Blogs were punk. Blogs were anti-establishment. Blogs will soon be completely mainstreamed, commercialized, co-opted, de-fanged. Something more interesting will come along. Once something has been featured in a Gateway ad it’s no longer cool to those who care about cool, from the geek universe to the high schooler. It will take a while, but inch by inch more and more of those 14.1 million who thought they were doing something besides wasting their time will start to give up faced with the effort that creating a good blog requires. They’ll be gradually replaced by corporate blogs and blogs from local news stations all sanctioned by the PR department and the marketing agency. The vibrant independent blogger will grow older and tired, and move on to other things, more rewarding financially and personally. I say bring it on, I’m ready for the next. This medium needs a kick in the pants.
Amen.