1,000 Postings and Running

The Brand Autopsy blog recently passed the 1,000 posting mile marker. What a ride.

This all began in December of 2003 when I begged Paul Williams to work as his tag-team partner on posting entries to the Fast Company blog. At the time, Paul was a Customer Care Manager with Starbucks and I was about a year into my role as the Director of National Marketing with Whole Foods Market.

Fast Company approached Paul about guest hosting their blog for a week. Before Paul committed, he called me to kick around a few ideas. We talked. And the more we talked, the more I became jazzed about weaseling my way into being a part of guest hosting the Fast Company blog with him.

Paul pitched this tag-team posting idea to Heath Row at Fast Company, and Heath greenlighted it. However, Paul and I were totally new to this blogging thing. I quickly studied up on blogging by reading some of the early marketing/business blogs out there. Seth’s blog was helpful. John Porcaro’s blog was also helpful. From these blogs I leaned to be brief, be smart, and be sure to have an opinion.

It’s fun reading through our Fast Company archive. We covered a lot of territory from Slouching to Commoditization ... to ... Transaction-based vs. Relationship-based Loyalty Programs ... to ... The Anatomy of a Starbucks Customer Experience Program ... to ... Making Marketing Plans Bullet-Proof.

Reading these posts again has reminded me how much blogging increased my work drive at that time. Here's why. In order to find material to blog about, I was purposely being more open to finding business learnings from any article I was reading, whether on the web or in print. The interaction with readers online through the comments was engaging, but the real engagement I found was how I was making sharper, more strategic business decisions at work. Blogging was making me a better marketer and a better mentor/teacher to my team.

So here we are … four years and 1,000 posts later. Much has changed with me. Partly because of my blogging activities, I decided to open up my own private practice – the Brand Autopsy Marketing Practice. The blog also gets credit for pushing me to write a marketing book, TRIBAL KNOWLEDGE. And this blog gets credit for having me go from writing words to speaking words all over the globe. Again, it’s been quite a ride.

A heartfelt thanks goes out to every one who has read the Brand Autopsy blog. Thanks for riding shotgun with me for the first 1,000 posts. I look forward to where this ride take us both in the next thousand posts.

Comments

[Geoff Livingston]

That's a major milestone, John. Congratulations and keep blogging!

[Dan Schawbel]

Congrats...great achievement. Look forward to more out of you John.

[Mack Collier]

Wow now THAT is a milestone! Congrats John and thanks for all the knowledge and great discussions you've sparked!

[Shama Hyder]

Congratulations John! And thank you for the continuous inspiration and wisdom.

[Jackie Huba]

Congrats John! Keep those Hot Marketing Opinions coming : )

[Spike Jones]

It won't be long before you add another zero to that one, eh?

Congrats, John. And thanks for being a continuing inspiration.

[Heath Row]

Happy to have had a hand in your birth as a blogger, John. Keep up the good work!

[Bill Gammell]

John,

Thanks a lot. As if I didn't have enough to do, now I have more posts to read over at Fast Company! Anyway, congrats on the first 1,000 posts.

[Jay Ehret]

Kudos and congratulations, John. You are truly a thought leader in the world of marketing and a great teacher.

[Matt Steele in the Hour of Chaos]

Remember John: someone in Fort Worth loves you.

[Lewis Green]

John,

Congratulations on the milestone. Blessings of peace during this holiday season and best wishes for a fabulous 2008!

Don't forget to send me your address, if you want a complementary book.

[Ainsworth]

Congrats on the milestone! I greatly appreciate your full-syndication RSS, it puts it at the top of my to-read list even when I'm busy.