David Meerman Scott misses this one:

Many marketers steeped in the tradition of product advertising naturally feel drawn to start a blog to prattle on and on about their damn products and services. But I have news for you. Nobody cares about your products and services (except you). When I visit a product-oriented blog, I immediately leave. And judging from the lack of comments on these blogs, most everyone else leaves too.

That's fine advice if you live smack in the middle of the mainstream, and "everyone" knows about your product. If you're a niche player, on the other hand - and especially if you're a niche player in the technology space - then you pretty much have to have content about your product. It's the best way to start building a wider community - provide useful technical information about your product (like I try to do with Smalltalk Daily), and generate some "let me try that out" level of interest.

I could try his sideways suggestion, but it wouldn't really work. People who might be interested in Smalltalk need to be able to find the stuff I post directly, not via some indirection.

The more I think about it, the more I think that there are very few universal rules for PR/Marketing - it really is very specific to your product, your market, and your standing in that market. Budweiser has the problem he speaks of. Less well known technology products? Not so much.

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