(2002-05-10) h

Chris Locke interview on commercial support for the WebLog world: (BroadCast is) all about we-tell-you content that's developed behind the scenes at high cost and then shot out through cannons, and the whole purpose is to have a carrier wave for Advertising... My idea was areas of interest - this is what I've been preaching forever. Internet audiences aggregate by areas of interest, not top down but Bottom-Up. What would pay for it was the opportunity for corporations to attach themselves to areas of interest, and not only keep them afloat with money, but participate with those audiences in a meaningful way...What I'm telling them is: drop this invasive, intrusive advertising - it's not going to work any more - and build relationships around shared interests, and that will create good will towards your company. Instead of turning people off, you can turn them on by hooking them up and getting out of the way. And if this works, I see trillions of dollars shifting towards a bottom-up artistic web renaissance. What could come out of that is a cultural flowering that we can't imagine, just as the Middle Ages couldn't imagine the Renaissance. I don't think that's a whacked-out vision. (This is the basis for his Gonzo Marketing book.)