K-Praxis - Topic: Blogging - Blogging, Blog selling, and the Ancient Silk Route-Print

Blogging, Blog selling, and the Ancient Silk Route
July 6, 2004

The Ancient Silk Route

It is said that the legendary Silk Road came into existence when people began trading goods with one another during their wanderings on the route between China and Byzantium during the Tang Dynasty (A.D.618-906). The ancient silk route was essentially a trade route, first by land and then eventually by sea, for bartering and exchanging products of mutual value and worth between far off lands. Interestingly not only were products bartered and exchanged but it fostered a cultural exchange as well as exchange of information regarding new techniques and even religions.

Blogs and Mutual Linking

Since many blogs link with one another, there is a kind of click-route, so to say, which is reminiscent of the silk-route. A series of clicks takes you to many places, where one meets new ideas, socio-political comments and commentaries, reviews, reflections, meditations, and many belief-systems. Naturally, one can also sell stuff in these places. A look at the numerous blogs on the 2004 elections gives a clear image of the wide range of opinions and political statements around that issue. This range and reach is potentially useful for selling things.

Blogs also have the viewer's comments facility, and these could soon acquire a larger significance. These allow interaction between blogger and reader, and both could benefit from it.

Blogs can make one famous as well: take the example of "the daily kos" blog written by Stephen Yellin. This liberal political blog by a fifteen-year-old writer is so popular that he has now landed the job of political operative with a democratic presidential nominee. He has campaigned extensively for his views and has even run for office.

Selling the Blog and Selling through the Blog

In order to sell through a blog, one must make that blog popular; receive a large number of hits. In order to do this, there are a few things one needs to do:

One must write as frequently as possible-once a day is a must-and one must write engagingly (and provocatively with a definite periodicity!), and one must freely share information and opinion or analysis.
One must always remember that there is nothing called bad publicity.
One must learn from once readers. Blogging is not always about expressing oneself or talking about one's experience, but also about interacting.

Once a blog is popular, one can 'sell' not merely ideas, feelings, poems, pictures, but sell things for money as well. There is a word-of-mouth quality to blogs that can make or break a reputation quickly. This is extremely useful for selling things (as opposed to 'marketing' which corporations do), and comes very close to viral marketing.
There are definite advantages to selling things on the blog. One can choose what one wants to sell-one's camera, one's car, or perhaps the cottage cheese that one's aunt make so well. If this is partly reminiscent of Craigs List, and social networking software, it should not surprise us, because blog-selling shares some of the features of the last two.

Blogs Are Here to Stay

Blogging has caught on so much that one can be confident that bloggers will continue to blog and interact. Soon, no doubt, there might be serial novels available as blog installments. Soon, we might be able to sell things really on blogs, in a relaxed, non-anxious, non-consumer manner-unlike all other ways of selling and buying.

A potential buyer too would benefit, because he or she will not have to face any aggressive marketing, any sales-pitch. One could be casually be reading something interesting on ecology, and end up buying cottage cheese.

Blogs might be good for informal economic activities as well as cultural and informational exchanges, like the Ancient Silk Route was.

	Making sense of online textual information and information management technologies

	Blogging, Blog selling, and the Ancient Silk Route July 6, 2004 The Ancient Silk Route It is said that the legendary Silk Road came into existence when people began trading goods with one another during their wanderings on the route between China and Byzantium during the Tang Dynasty (A.D.618-906). The ancient silk route was essentially a trade route, first by land and then eventually by sea, for bartering and exchanging products of mutual value and worth between far off lands. Interestingly not only were products bartered and exchanged but it fostered a cultural exchange as well as exchange of information regarding new techniques and even religions. Blogs and Mutual Linking Since many blogs link with one another, there is a kind of click-route, so to say, which is reminiscent of the silk-route. A series of clicks takes you to many places, where one meets new ideas, socio-political comments and commentaries, reviews, reflections, meditations, and many belief-systems. Naturally, one can also sell stuff in these places. A look at the numerous blogs on the 2004 elections gives a clear image of the wide range of opinions and political statements around that issue. This range and reach is potentially useful for selling things. Blogs also have the viewer's comments facility, and these could soon acquire a larger significance. These allow interaction between blogger and reader, and both could benefit from it. Blogs can make one famous as well: take the example of "the daily kos" blog written by Stephen Yellin. This liberal political blog by a fifteen-year-old writer is so popular that he has now landed the job of political operative with a democratic presidential nominee. He has campaigned extensively for his views and has even run for office. Selling the Blog and Selling through the Blog In order to sell through a blog, one must make that blog popular; receive a large number of hits. In order to do this, there are a few things one needs to do: One must write as frequently as possible-once a day is a must-and one must write engagingly (and provocatively with a definite periodicity!), and one must freely share information and opinion or analysis. One must always remember that there is nothing called bad publicity. One must learn from once readers. Blogging is not always about expressing oneself or talking about one's experience, but also about interacting. Once a blog is popular, one can 'sell' not merely ideas, feelings, poems, pictures, but sell things for money as well. There is a word-of-mouth quality to blogs that can make or break a reputation quickly. This is extremely useful for selling things (as opposed to 'marketing' which corporations do), and comes very close to viral marketing. There are definite advantages to selling things on the blog. One can choose what one wants to sell-one's camera, one's car, or perhaps the cottage cheese that one's aunt make so well. If this is partly reminiscent of Craigs List, and social networking software, it should not surprise us, because blog-selling shares some of the features of the last two. Blogs Are Here to Stay Blogging has caught on so much that one can be confident that bloggers will continue to blog and interact. Soon, no doubt, there might be serial novels available as blog installments. Soon, we might be able to sell things really on blogs, in a relaxed, non-anxious, non-consumer manner-unlike all other ways of selling and buying. A potential buyer too would benefit, because he or she will not have to face any aggressive marketing, any sales-pitch. One could be casually be reading something interesting on ecology, and end up buying cottage cheese. Blogs might be good for informal economic activities as well as cultural and informational exchanges, like the Ancient Silk Route was.