November 13, 2005

Overload?

I read that - on average - a new blog is launched every second.

I also read that about 35 million workers - one in four people in the workforce - visit blogs and spend an average of 3.5 hours (9% of the work week) engaged with them.

Blogs are a powerful trend, and it's very difficult to anticipate what their ultimate impact will be.

For sure, they add to the transparency of news. That is, there's not much that can be hidden from or by the media. This could lead constructively to a more open society. But it could also lead to a culture acting upon mis-information, as the flow of blog info is so swift, sometimes at the expense of accuracy. (Well, that's always been a threat in any news-deadline context, I suppose.)

What is especially exciting is the possibility that workers (and others) are using blogs to explore ideas and interests that they don't have the opportunity to pursue in the normal course of their lives. What will that mean, though?

Line Extension

Many marketers have always been suspicious of line extensions. They fear that line extensions dilute the brand and make take management's eye off the core business.

I wonder, then, what the effect will be of Whole Foods testing small adjacent shops that carry lifestyle products like organic jeans, recycled glass plates, and low-toxicity paints.

They launched one in West Hollywood after testing it successfully in Austin.

Irrespective of whether this venture is successful, I think we'll see lots more movement into earth-friendly products.

Meanwhile, what gives with Kleenex?

Yes, Kleenex.

There was a powerful full-page ad in The Times last week with the headline:

"How to destroy the boreal, North America's largest ancient forest, in 3 easy steps:

"Step 1: Pull out a Kleenex facial tissue

"Step 2: Put it to your nose

"Step 3: Blow"

The ad goes on to say that Kleenex is destroying thousands of tons of trees to make disposable tissue products instead of choosing more recycled fiber and less trees and committing to environmentally sound logging operations.

This high-impact ad is sponsored by NRDC and Greenpeace. I think it really packs a whollop.