It's prestigious AND rectangular!

We were honored to win the 2010 Partners In Progress award from Sears Holdings Corporation.  Out of more than 40,000 suppliers and hundreds of entries, we were chosen for our innovative work with Sears-owned Kmart, on the Kmart Design initiative.  Other companies that have taken the award home?  How about Omniture, Wipro, and GE (four years running).  So we’re in good company, obviously.

Less obvious, though, may be what we did to win that award…

According to a Sears press release, “The Partners In Progress program recognizes suppliers for product or service quality, innovation, diversity, and overall market performance.”  Very cool, right?

Yet I still constantly have people saying, “So what do you guys do, again?”

Well… I guess you don’t win awards for innovation when everyone already knows exactly what you’re doing.  Remember the first time you heard about a tweet?

So here I’m going to try to make it very obvious – here’s what we do, period.

AboutFace Media is a content marketing agency. So what does that mean?  Well, here’s our step-by-step, here’s what we do:

1. We make documentary-style video content.  (Check out one of the Kmart Design videos we did with the lovely and iconic Jaclyn Smith here.)

2. We optimize that content and distribute it out across the web and through social media.  (Check out the Kmart Design YouTube channel here.)

3. We keep the message vibrant by keeping the conversation going all over the social landscape.  (Kmart Design Twitter account here, Facebook page here.)

4. We measure the impact and report back to our clients.  (I can’t show you our reports because they’re just for our clients, but suffice to say our clients really like them and that’s REALLY why they give us awards.)

So, in a nutshell, that’s what we do.  I’ve oversimplified it a bit here, but you get the idea.

We work with our clients to understand who they are and what they want to achieve.

Then we go lights, camera, action to capture their stories in a genuine, authentic way – so that consumers out there in web 2.0 won’t smell an ad and run away, but actually embrace the honesty behind the videos and want to watch.

Once we’ve got the videos locked and loaded, we place them everywhere we can, not just on a corporate website, but “out there” in the distributed web.

Next, we keep the building momentum going by adding fuel to the conversational fire – we interact with users in social media, we send videos to influential bloggers, and lots more.

And, finally, we report the results back to our clients, everything from the quantitative (video plays, traffic stats, keyword trending, blog impressions, etc.) to the qualitative (conversation shifts, sample Twitter interactions, etc.).

So, is that innovative?  Are we doing it better than anyone else out there?  Is it award worthy?

I don’t want to brag, but I guess Sears thinks so.

“Shop by Video” is valuable content.

When AboutFace discusses valuable content with its clients—in particular video content—one of the first responses is usually “that’s great and all… but how do we monetize it?”

For many brands the reality is that affecting the conversation and enhancing the brand within social media simply isn’t enough of a ‘win’ as web 2.0 matures.

Enter “shop by video”.

“WHAT’S MY ROI?”

Shop by Video on Facebook

One of our key goals has been to help clients directly monetize their investment in online video. How can a video view translate into commerce?

Last December I blogged about the launch of Kmart and Zappo’s shoppable videos and the potential of shopping within video and how I think could transform the way brands use video.

So how can shoppable video translate into the distributed web?  In other words, how can this technology go beyond a brand’s website and be integrated into the conversations and communities that have formed (and are forming) within social media?

This week we took our first step in bringing shoppable video outside of a brand’s website and into web 2.0.

The shoppable video section of the recently launched KmartDesign Facebook page is, as far as we are aware, the first time a brand has integrated video shopping directly into a brand’s social community.

I hesitate slightly in saying “the first time ever…” as there is so much happening so quickly in the world of content marketing with video that someone else may be launching similar functionality as I write these words.

But if they are, we aren’t aware of it. And it’s pretty cool.

“I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS IS KMART”

To give credit to the team that made this happen, the primary kudos goes to our forward looking, forward thinking client, Kmart, and the team there that is being lead by Mark Snyder and Jeff Fagel. The way they (and all of Sears Holdings) is taking chances and pressing the boundaries of how to use social media is impressive.

Have you seen what Kenmore is doing on Facebook? It’s cool.

Sears Holdings is, in our admittedly biased opinion, experimenting, learning, pushing and re-inventing in a way that you usually only see in much smaller and more nimble organizations.

IDEAS ARE EASY… EXECUTION IS HARD

Shop by Video on KmartDesign

I often press on our team here at AboutFace that ideas are over rated, and it is making these ideas come to life that deserves the accolades. And in this case, the content we created and the idea they inspired is the springboard that led to many months of development, design and integration. For that, we thank our partners at Hanson Dodge and Allurent.

Allurent has built many ‘shop by’ applets and technologies, and anyone in retail who hasn’t seen the work that Graeme Grant and his team at Allurent are doing is missing out. Video is now (thanks to this project) a new arrow in their impressive quiver. Check them out… they programmed this work, built on the Brightcove platform.

Hanson Dodge, in addition to being good friends of AboutFace, is also a brilliant group of designers and digital marketers. Integration, marketing and mapping the content to the products we are selling — in short, they built the bridge between Allurent and Kmart’s digital assets that our content is traversing.

So check it out… and maybe even buy something. The experience is novel now, but it won’t be for long. In our humble opinion, this is a glimpse into the future of online retail.

We launch more shoppable videos VERY soon. Stay tuned.

Just launched!

Join the Kmart Apparel team as they travel to Barcelona and London to find the latest trends in shoes and accessories.

This is the latest in our BEHIND THE DESIGN series.

Directed in Barcelona and London by Jack Davidson.

Trend Trip #1: London.  Watch Kmart Accessories Designers, Robin & Ruby, begin the design process as they get inspired by colors & trends in London.

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Trend Trip #2: Barcelona.  Watch Kmart Footwear Designer Steve trek around Barcelona, getting inspired by European style for future Kmart shoe designs.

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Trend Trip #3: London.  Watch the continuation of Kmart Accessory designers, Robin & Ruby’s trend trip to London. They look for next year’s “must-have” items and find inspiration for women’s purses in a hot military jacket. Learn why they say design is a visual language.

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Trend Trip #4: Barcelona.  Watch the continuation of Kmart Shoe Designer Steve’s trend trip to Barcelona. Learn how it’s more than just sketching a great shoe…It takes years of technical experience to bring a great look with great quality at a great price.

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Content alone isn’t enough. “If you build it, they will come” worked in the film Field of Dreams, but it doesn’t play out in real-time. People will not show up to view your content unless you let them know about it first.

How did those baseball players know Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) had built that baseball field? Well, it’s a mystical movie, so they just knew. (They’re ghosts, after all.)

For the rest of us, we have to build something compelling and valuable, with targeted outreach, that prompts our audiences to show up.

There are variations on how to accomplish this. Here’s a taste of what we’ve learned:

STEP 1. Get Focused On The Marketing Goal

Many video campaigns start out with a cool idea, instead of creating a cool idea around a marketing objective.

The right order is: Objective first, creative second. Figure out what you want to accomplish. What are your goals for the campaign?

For Trek Bikes, About Face Media created a series of online videos, called “Document Unscripted” which chronicled the behind-the-scenes journey of Lance Armstrong, the Trek Bicycle 2009 Tour De France Team and their fans.

The goal was simple: to illustrate how the brand weaves into the lives of the Trek customer.

And how did we know they would want to watch? We knew that the biking fan base in enthusiastic, and that they would follow the entire team, which included Lance Armstrong.  We knew that Trek customers would like to ride along with the team.

So it was simply a question of asking: What would the Trek customer find useful and entertaining?

Marketers are used to carefully identifying the goals and scope of potential projects. Content marketing strategies require the same. The creative content will be more successful if the strategy and goals behind your social media campaign are targeted first.

STEP 2. The Audience (a.k.a. Identify Who You Want To Reach)

What is the primary target audience?

For instance, “Ask Quill” was produced for Quill.com, the business to business e-commerce division of Staples Corp.

The project is aimed at the twenty-something office managers who are being asked by their bosses to become ‘tech savvy’ in a new media age.

What questions are these managers asking? What sites are they visiting? What blogs are they reading? What search terms are they using? Where are they going to learn how to integrate new software and hardware within their offices? What questions do they need answering?

By drilling into these questions, we identified a very specific target,  and a precise focus for the campaign.

Content marketing strategies must be planned in advance. They are different than broadcast strategies: Social media strategies are narrow, not broad. The content must be of use or entertaining to your audience.

One broad video won’t cut it. One size does not fit all.

This brings us to messaging and the brand experience.

STEP 3. Desired Results/Goals (aka Quantifiable Bang For Your Buck)

What is the ‘brand’ experience you want the media to convey? And once you identify the experience you want conveyed, how will you convey it?

Every time you reach out and communicate to a customer, you affect your brand. Keep this in mind as you create your strategy.  Here’s an example from KmartDesign:

At the same time, remember that what you communicate has to be useful and entertaining to your targeted audience. Avoid confusing what is useful for you, the marketer, with what is useful to your audience. Be hard on yourself.

For instance, with our KmartDesign initiative, we wanted to create curious disbelief about Kmart Design and use that to get across our message that Kmart has changed for the better. Every communication we put out there – from our videos to each little Tweet—is wrapped in that brand experience, in that message. The exchange below, between @shopsmartgirl and @kmartdesign is one example:

In Kmart’s kids series, there are two “how-to” episodes that highlight an activity parents and their children can enjoy together—how to customize jeans, sweatshirts and other apparel.

The viewers watch the episodes because they are entertaining and offer useful information. At the same time, they learn more about the Kmart brand.

How is your media useful or entertaining to your audience?

Are you looking for a measurable action on the part of your customers in addition to an overall branding experience?

Both are valid objectives, for which video is perfect.

We did this series of videos for Florida Tourism (Agency: BVK) — a great example of “entertaining” as well as useful to the target audience of people considering a visit to the St. Pete/Clearwater area.

“Eli’s BBQ” is one of our favorites in the series:

Now it’s time you think about how to get it out there.

STEP 4. Delivery (aka Get It Out There In The Right Way)

Where will the media be placed?

Video hub at VisitStPeteClearwater.com.

Your corporate web site?

Social networks?

A customized mini-site to supplement the main site?

Do you have affiliate partners, strategic partners or other “friends” who will help you get exposure for the media?

Make an inventory of any resources you might have that can help get the word out.

With Art Chicago we used The Merchandise Mart’s broader resources like their email database, and their general website to promote the launch of ArtChicago.TV.  But even more importantly, they used partner and affiliate groups (such as the Art Institute of Chicago) to send promotional emails out on their behalf.

You’ve just thought through what assets you have at your fingertips to aid your campaign. You may have realized you have a ton of low hanging fruit to pick, or you may have come to the harrowing conclusion that the shelves are bare as far as assets go.

If you’re in the latter camp, don’t Tweet “This is the end” just yet. There are ways to get the message out whether your assets are an embarrassment of riches or not.

You’ve just thought through what assets you have at your fingertips to aid your campaign. You may have realized you have a ton of low hanging fruit to pick, or you may have come to the harrowing conclusion that the shelves are bare as far as assets go.

If you’re in the latter camp, don’t Tweet “This is the end” just yet. There are ways to get the message out whether your assets are an embarrassment of riches or not.

STEP 5. Syndication/Viral (aka Even More Getting It Out There In The Right Way)

One reason KmartDesign has been successful is that we’ve used a number of methods to drive video plays, website visitors, and social media impressions. These methods include video syndication, e-mail blasts, and blogger outreach, amongst others.

How else will/could the media be syndicated or released?

Brightcove? TubeMogul? YouTube?

Paid or unpaid video sharing sites? There are lots of options available on any budget. It is your task to map out which options you will take advantage of.

V-Blast for QuinnStories, a "behind the scenes" video series for IL Governor Pat Quinn

Will you use e-mail blasts? Blog outreach? Offline distribution, such as screenings at meetings or DVD’s?

Do you have current e-mail lists?

How robust are your lists? How targeted are they? Video can be very effective when sent to a robust, targeted list of people who will find value in what you have to say.

Now you know your distribution options and your plan. Some more thought will help maximize your impact in the end.

STEP 6. Your Website (aka Your Website)

Social Media "Side Bar" at KmartDesign.com

What is the strategy behind the placement of the content on your website?

You’ll need to have a strong strategy behind how you are presenting your media and by extension your message.

Does your media site encourage interactivity?

Do you have a solid strategy behind tying together your site, your media, and any additional social media outreach in which you are engaged?

KmartDesign.com was built to be a hub—a place to put our best foot forward while being a part of the overall, integrated campaign. Our strategy was to give a visitor a strong impression at a glance while enticing them to dig in deeper by offering them useful content.

STEP 7. PR/Advertising (a.k.a. Yes, Non-Online Exposure And Outreach Is Still A Valuable Tool)

How did all those baseball fans find out about the ghost-filled “Field of Dreams” ballpark? Who knows, but, depending on your budget, doing paid advertising or paid PR can draw attention to this media.

Consider print, TV, banner ads, PPC ads, or press releases. Keep “targeted,” rather than “broad,” in mind as you develop these.

Remember: Generic e-release blasts miss their marks. Be prepared to segment your target audience, and hone in on fine-tuned interests.

STEP 8. Data Collection And Metrics (a.k.a. Cold-Hard Stats)

Are there metrics that you would like to track?

Make sure that your social media strategy will get you the kind of data and metrics that you can use in your next social media campaign. Tools like Google Analytics, TubeMogul and Radian6, can often get you what you want to know. If you’re having great success with one type of video, genre, or length, it follows that you should increase your focus on that type moving forward.

Conclusion

Marketers are finding that putting a traditional corporate video or television commercial up on YouTube or a company’s website often provides little return on their investment.

You don’t necessarily have the magic of Hollywood to fill in any shortage in planning the way The Field of Dreams did—so, yes, build it, and make sure it is something your audience will want, and then make sure you know how to get it out there in front of as many eyeballs as possible.

Keep producing great videos, and exploring other ways to use them in the future. A quick example? Kmart’s shoppable videos. Pretty cool stuff—you can watch a video, and click on the items within the video and drop them in your shopping cart.

You name it. Whatever you want to accomplish with your content marketing project, it’s hard to imagine that there isn’t an opportunity to connect the dots between the video and your call to action.

A few years ago… probably around 2000 or so, I was having dinner (I think it was, believe it or not, fondue) with Chris Smith and Sarah Price and we were enjoying that mainstay of millennial conversations… brainstorming potential Internet companies.

Chris had a good idea… a nationwide online treasure hunt where everything (and I do mean everything) was sponsored — the things that contestants are hunting for, the things they are wearing, the tents they camp in, the food they eat.

And best of all, you could buy all these sponsored items all with a click… right there within the video.  Someone unfurls a sleeping bag, you click on it, it goes into a shopping cart.

A great idea, not so easy to execute.

I am reminded of this conversation as we launch our “shop by video” section of KmartDesign. Essentially, everything that  we imagined that day is now happening. Shopping is now an interactive, rich media experience.

Check it out:

In fact, I only know of one other company doing anything like this right now… and that is Zappos:

But… IMHO… ours is better.

We pitched the idea to Kmart nearly a year ago… as a key part of the evolution of our KmartDesign initiative.

We reached out to e-commerce experts Allurent to build the application, and they worked with the web development team at Hanson Dodge Creative to integrate it into the KmartDesign.com website.

The KmartDesign shop by video tool is highly interactive, allowing customers to go from video to video and retain a shopping cart full of items.  As soon as the customer is done shopping, they can check out by clicking on their cart which takes them to Kmart.com to pay.

Pretty nifty. And there are lots of applications here beyond e-commerce.  Fundraising? Education? Ticket sales?

You name it. Whatever you want to accomplish with your content marketing project, it’s hard to imagine that there isn’t an opportunity to connect the dots between the video and your call to action.

So behold these first steps into the whole new ball game of marrying video with shopping. It’s going to be exciting to see where this can lead.

The sky is the limit.

New this week, join the KmartDesign Apparel Team in New York as Fashion Week hits.

What would Kmart have to do with Fashion week?  Watch this three part series from our BEHIND THE DESIGN series on KmartDesign,

Ep. 1: See the behind-the-scene action of the Kmart collection as a celebrity stylist, fresh from the high-end shows, works with Kmart Design Team to create affordable, wearable looks at Fashion Week.

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Ep. 2: Kmart designers find inspiration for on-trend, approachable styles on the runway and the streets of Fashion Week.

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Ep. 3: Fashion Week culminates with the Kmart Design Editor’s Suite. Our design team have taken the best looks from the runway to showcase on-trend design at affordable price tags.

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We just went live with a new batch of KmartDesign Designer Profiles.

These profiles are being used to supplement the BEHIND THE DESIGN behind the scenes webisodes.  They allow people to drill down further into the individual personalities they are watching in the webisodes.

They are particularly useful in micro-targeting audiences… Home?  Apparel? Children?  Single parents?  Each profile targets a different affinity group, telling them an authentic story that they can relate to.

Here is the latest that just went live.

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TORI.

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BRUCE.

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MARK AND ELISHA.

You can see our previous KmartDesign designer profiles here.

I previously posted some youtube videos about my “top secret” trip to Hong Kong for an unnamed client. Well, the videos have launched and now I can tell you they are part of our Kmart Design “Behind the Design” series.

Even though the KmartDesign campaign has launched and is in full swing, the production and editing of additional episodes is ongoing.

Director Srinivas Sunderjan in Hong Kong

To document the Home Design Team’s trip to the SHC Quality Control Lab we sent Director Srinivas Sunderrajan and me, Production Supervisor Ryan Dembroski along.  Srinivas came in from Mumbai, where he lives.

Here’s what we shot…

Episode #1: KELLY AND JAY. In vibrant Hong Kong, home of the KMart Global Sourcing Headquarters, the sourcing team prepares for the arrival of their Design counterparts. Organizing artwork, conference calls with vendors, and managing the 40 different countries and over 5,000 factories KMart product is made in are some hefty tasks. Kelly, KMart’s Senior Sourcing Manager says, “The biggest challenge is making sure we have all the samples.”

Episode #2: BARNEY. The KMart Design team reviews Jaclyn Smith final samples in their Hong Kong Global Sourcing Headquarters. Jay, DVP Global Sourcing says, “I really enjoy seeing something go from somebody’s concept that goes to a three dimensional product that gets sold to our customers in our store.” We witness an unusual example of this process – Jay’s feathered friend Barney inspires a whole line.

Episode #3: THE LAB. “Everything we produce, we also test,” says Jay, KMart DVP Global Sourcing, commenting on the stringent quality standards for KMart Design products. Watch as the team shakes, scrapes, washes, and even sets on fire Jaclyn Smith products for quality and safety in the largest in-house testing center of any retailer in the United States.

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BEHIND THE DESIGN continues with another series of Jaclyn Smith “Behind the Scenes”, beginning in NY as she prepares for an upcoming TV commercial shoot and ending with her spending some time at home with her family.

First up, POINT OF VIEW.  Jaclyn Smith visits the diverse New York City KMart Design team.

With “so many points of view”, Jaclyn says, the team is able to “meet the needs of a 20 year old to a 60 year old to a teenager… we’re able to do so many wonderful things at an affordable price.”

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In the second episode, BELIEVE MORE, watch as Jaclyn Smith and the New York City KMart Design team plan out her new TV commercial shoot, “Believe More Beautifully”. KMart Director Of Advertising Beverly says Jaclyn represents “iconic beauty for every day elegance… she really really cares about her customer.” In Malibu on the set of the commercial shoot, in Jaclyn’s own words, “When I think of my line, I think of quality and detail, and that’s a wonderful gift.”

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Next we visit JACLYN’S HOME.  Iconic, beautiful, simple, elegant, family, Jaclyn Smith, and KMart Design. See how all these things fit together as Jaclyn and her daughter show us their home and the inspiration for great design and great value.

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Finally, learn more about JACLYN’S VISION. “Jaclyn doesn’t do something if she doesn’t believe in it,” says Dr. Brad Allen, husband of KMart star designer Jaclyn Smith. As Jaclyn Smith expands her line into home decor and outdoor living, we go inside her home and see the love and inspiration that goes into her work.

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We’re very excited to have Jaclyn Smith and Women’s Fashion Design VP Kathy Huynh joining our KmartDesign twitter effort.

Jaclyn set up her own Twitter profile, and Kathy is tweeting with our team.

As her first tweets, Kathy introduced herself and then uploaded a couple of great behind-the-scenes photos of the Vogue photo shoot in New York.

Kathy offered to answer fashion questions from our Twitter followers and we can expect her to get plenty of takers in the coming weeks as our 500+ followers get accustomed to her unique voice. All of Kathy’s tweets can be identified by her trailing initials.

We continue our KmartDesign “Behind the Design” series in Malibu CA with a three episode visit with iconic beauty Jaclyn Smith.

These episodes were shot in January of 2009 by Casey Suchan.

“The one thing I’ll say about KMart is that they are a family store” Jaclyn says. During a photo shoot in Malibu, Jaclyn lets us into her world and her motivation for working with KMart on her own line for over 20 years.

Wardrobe Assistant Katie lays out the options for a photo shoot featuring Jaclyn Smith and her new KMart line. We go behind the scenes and see Fashion and Celebrity Photographer Matthew Rolston make the choices on what to wear and what to shoot. Katie sums up her observations on KMart’s design – “Really more trendy, tailored, wearable – I think over the last couple of years they’ve really stepped it up.”

On the set of a Jaclyn Smith photo shoot, single mom and KMart Creative Director Jenni says having a ten-year-old means being responsible “about how you spend your money”. That’s where KMart Design comes in. Having kids of her own, Jaclyn can relate.

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The first batch of designer profiles for our KmartDesign content initiative is live.  You can see them at KmartDesign and throughout the web on video sharing and other social media sites.

The profiles are supplemental to the Kmart BEHIND THE DESIGN webisodes, giving more in depth profiles of the people who populate the series.

Here are the first batch.  There will be many more to come.

KIMBERLY.  See where Kim’s passion as a Kmart Children’s Clothing Designer stems from as her own daughter interacts with embroidered girl’s clothing she designed.

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FABIAN. Whether designing women’s dresses or graphic tees, Fabian’s passion for beauty — passion to make people look beautiful and feel good — comes to life.

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CEASAR. Kmart Stores’ Graphic Tees are inspired by New York’s energy and art. Watch great design come to life as Cesar redraws graphic images.

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MILLER. Kmart’s Home Décor speciality products, like Christmas decorations, are influenced by Design Director Miller’s life and Martha Stewart Collection experience.

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JENNIFER. Watch Jennifer’s daughter, Sophia, delight in wearing the kid’s skirts and girl’s gloves her mother designed. Kid’s clothing. Great value from Kmart.

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THERESA. Theresa is inspired by Kmart stores’ customers, the pattern and color trends she sees, and her family. Design science influences her home products and her design team.

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GLENN. From comic book artist to menswear design, Glenn’s gift is graphic images. “I’m a very lucky man,” Glenn says, and he chose Kmart.

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ESTHER.  Great design doesn’t have to be complicated. See where Esther gets her home products inspiration and how fashion style relates to her overall life as she prepares for a dinner party

“Good design is good design.”

We just launched TREND TRIP, the first of our KmartDesign “Behind the Design” webisodes on Youtube, at KmartDesign.com and throughout the web.

I’d like to show you this pilot mini-series — a “behind the scenes” journey following the Chicago (Hoffman Estates) Home design team, shot in August of 2008.  Here we follow the team as they travel throughout the US and Europe, seeking trend inspiration for the 2010 product line.

In Ep. 1 we visit Theresa, Chief Design Officer for Kmart.  She introduces us to her team, made up of designers from company’s like Pottery Barn, Martha Stewart and Macy’s. Review design boards, hear the strategy and learn how KmartDesign is radically transforming the image of this “American icon”.

Directed by Frank Anderson:

In the second episode we follow as Kmart’s top Home designers unearth spring fashion as they research fashion style, home trends and color trends in Paris.

This episode two was directed Frank Anderson at Hoffman Estates and by Dan Ollman in Paris:

“I can’t believe this is Kmart.”

I’ll blog later about the goals of the project, bur for now suffice to say that the project is a video document of the story of Kmart’s journey to change the perception of the brand.

In episode 3, from London, KMart’s Chief Design Officer Theresa says, “There’s a lot of science behind design, it’s not just creative”. During their trip abroad, Trend Director Rick notes the KMart Design team checklist – color, shape, fabric, finish, pattern, and texture.

We see how the team takes that information and translates it into product that’s adaptable for the KMart customer.

This episode was directed by Dan Ollman:

In this final episdoe TREND TRIP, the KMart Design team looks closely at both apparel and home design in the shops of New York City as the two “are closer together these days.”

“Just because we’re Kmart doesn’t mean that we can’t offer great design at great value.”

In the final episode we meet the New York Apparel design team (who will be featured in upcoming episodes of “Behind the Design”).

Trend Director Rick says of their design products, “You want to make it the best that you can and still make it affordable for the customer”.

Scouring the streets of style mecca New York is part of that process.

Episode 4 was shot by Jonny Leahan in New York:

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Jeremiah Owyang has an in depth analysis of the pay per blog work being done online, focusing on Izea and with quite a bit of analysis on the recent KMart work they’ve done.

There is a lot of great links here to other bloggers, articles and opinions on this rapidly emerging (and highly debated and controversial) space.

I personally think it’s generally a bad idea, but Jeremiah is warming up to it, and he’s no dummy: