Online Business Communities have rapidly become a competitive marketplace. Companies are investing millions into their own communities, and with mixed results.

According to a recent article on SocialMediaToday.com, author Jerry Bowles writes “…several giant corporations have launched online business communities aimed at engaging small business owners and managers through a conversational social media approach” and lists more than half a dozen companies having invested $1M to $5M each into their Online Business Communities. Membership counts in these online communities range from single digits to tens of thousands. Time obviously a major factor for low member counts, but not the only reason.

Sites such as LinkedIn and Plaxo which are universally geared towards Online Professionals and fall in to the Social Networking category generate a lot of buzz traffic and offer a useful way to keep connected with close and distant contacts have an advantage in that they are not tied to a tight niche market or industry. Online Business Communities for big corporate well-known and established companies such as those listed in Bowles’ article, e.g. American Express, Visa, Dell, Intuit/QuickBooks, have the luxury of pre-exisitng large member groups with common and also recurring needs and interests specific to those organizations and their products also have an edge with their Online Business Communities because of those factors.

But one category of Online Business Communities to question are those in the niche market segments or industries that are starting up. We touched on the subject a couple weeks ago with DrivingSales.com, but there are others. The challenge with such Online Business Communities is their unique value proposition. Without an actual product or service, what are these online communities accomplishing? What can they do to develop and keep an audience aside from developing an audience for the sake of it?

Bowles makes some excellent observations that are good take-aways from his article which such all communities must consider.

3. The quality of the content of a web community trumps the most well-financed demand generation program. No amount of promotion can keep people coming to a community that is not engaging and useful.

6. Participants in smaller business communties are more engaged and likely to participate than those in bigger communities so make your community only as big as it needs to be. Two thousand engaged and qualified potential customers is better than a million page views.

8. That leads to what I modestly call Jerry’s corollary: the online communities that are most likely to succeed are those that are focused narrowly on engaging buyers of specialized, high-end products.

A concern with Online Business Communities that sprout from venture capital and which are designed for niche market segments and industries rather than evolving naturally from its customer audience is that through mere idealism they are putting the cart before the horse so to say in that they expect a software communications system to perpetuate the need for a business model.

MySpace evolved out of the need for bands to promote themselves which led to widespread popularity in promotion of individual persons. Facebook evolved that commodity into a more marketer-friendly environment. Both of these catered to a specific generation (or two). LinkedIn honed that down to a universal class of people, i.e. Online Business Professionals. But these sites are ultimately appeal to millions which is what gives them a chance to be successful.

Banking your model on something that will only appeal to a few thousand people makes for tremendous challenge. It limits advertising capabilities and puts you at the disadvantage with conversions and numbers.

You know you have a good Personal Brand when people want to pay you to stop competing. How would you feel if someone wanted to pay you $20M to stop doing what you love? Well, reportedly, that is what the Green Bay Packers have considered putting in the cards to keep Brett Favre off the field.

Now while Favre is a living legend quarterback, I can understand why the Packers are not interested. They have a future to consider. Favre on the other hand does not, at least not in the NFL. He is done. But is it worth $20M to keep him from competing against you? Seems to be a lot of stock put in to a single human being for a team sport.

And what does Favre have to consider? Sure he could come back for another season or two but the chances of winning a Super Bowl are pretty slim. So what is Favre in it for? It can’t be for the money, otherwise he would take the $20M. Does Favre have some  self-indulgent disease that requires he be in the limelight all the time? His move here is pretty selfish if you think about it. He isn’t thinking about the distraction he is causing the Packers’ organization here. Frankly, he is putting his own reputation on the line.

The Packers are doing what is in their best interest, as they should, but I don’t think offering to pay $20M to keep him from competing is the right way to achieve this. If Favre wants to play and you don’t want him then let him go do his thing and muck up some other organization. Offering money to keep him out sets the wrong precedent. The last thing we need are super star athletes thinking if they retire and then threaten to come back and compete they can collect. That just isn’t right.

So while Favre is putting his legendary reputation in jeopardy, Green Bay is squirming to have their cake and eat it too. It’s almost like divorce.

So Oliver Stone is releasing another flick, this one titled, “W.” Guess what it’s about…

Well, apparently, in Stone’s words, the film asks: “How did Bush go from being an alcoholic bum to the most powerful figure in the world?”

Is this really the best question to be asking, let alone pouring millions of dollars into to make a profit? Stone appears to more interested in his own narcissist conspiracy theories than a true empirical study. Based on reviews and feedback I have seen, Stone may even be putting his own reputation on the line with this flop.

But who knows, maybe the American people will eat it up. No doubt the rest of the world will. I do question the impact this will have on Stone’s legacy. Oliver Stone makes good movies and is certainly a credible name brand, but he is not flawless and this W. movie could very well be a sign of the times for Mister Stone.

Here is the trailer. You decide how you think this will affect the Stone brand.

We all have our problems and our vices. But we still have a role in life. You don’t make it to the White House by being a drunken bum, let alone by being an arrogant dumb ass. There is an element of Providence in that life achievement and to toss it out there as some sort of extreme and mistaken good fortune demonstrates an inability to comprehend, or at least an element of denial for acknowledging a Supernatural aspect in life.

This is bad branding for Stone. I think he will be the fool with this product.

A couple weeks ago there was an ad on television of a Texas gentleman by the name of T. Boone Pickens. It was a good ad on the subject of Alternative Energy Sources. It started off with sound bits and slow-moving imagery of presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama. The advertisement alternated between the two making statements about the United States’ energy situation. Then Pickens himself chimed in.

Pickens is a senior Texas oil man apparently. As Senator Joe Lieberman has stated,

Pickens is somebody who’s in the oil business. He arrived in time to tell us we can’t drill our way out of this problem. He’s for using oil and gas as a bridge to what he, quite directly, says is the “non-hydrocarbon energy future.” He is ahead of us in Congress, so I thought his testimony was educational and, I hope, motivational.

In the ad, Pickens stated that America needs more than talk about our present energy situation and Alternative Energy Sources. We need action. But not just any action. A Plan of Action. And that is exactly what Mr. Pickens has…a plan and it is called PickensPlan.

PickensPlan is no joke. It is a “less than 10-year” plan to save America more than $300 billion dollars a year by shifting our exiting energy usage into new areas and replacing it with alternative energy, primarily Wind Power. I won’t bother re-iterating it here because you can visit the official site and watch a 6-minute video about it, or you can watch it right here, right now.

Now this leads to the other reason I am psyched about PickensPlan for Alternative Energy Sources. Whoever is behind PickensPlan from the Online Marketing standpoint is friggin on his game. PickensPlan starts its Alternative Energy Sources message with its website on the social network Ning. It has a straight-forward video that puts everything in perspective right there on the home page. It is clear and simple. PickensPlan also has a blog where they are reporting on their progress daily. If you look at the bottom of their blog, or in their email campaigns you also see links to places like their MySpace page, their Facebook profile, their Twitter, their LinkedIn page, their YouTube, etc.

Pickens has it. They get it. I don’t know how much they are investing into this and how many people or organizations are involved but whatever they are doing is working and working quickly. In just their first 2 weeks of rolling out, more than 150,000 people have joined the cause and T. Boone himself is hitting the big time networks, Washington, and the Web with his TRUE plan to save America with Alternative Energy Sources.

One of the hotter Dealer Auto Sales Strategy Websites these days is DrivingSales.com. The site is officially in beta mode but it is essentially functional at this point. I have been registered with it now for a few months and recognize numerous names that are signed up. In fact one of my closer contacts is becoming heavily involved with the proprietors.

Anyhow, I have mixed feelings about the Dealer Auto Sales Website. It is designed to be a space where dealers and vendors can network and collaborate. More importantly, Dealers and Vendors can submit an Auto Sales Strategy and receive feedback on it. Dealers can also rate Vendor Auto Sales Website Providers. This is all good in theory, but its a “toot your own horn (or someone else’s)” approach to networking which appears all too common in the Auto Sales Industry.

LinkedIn was one of the first on the scene with this sort of networking system. I have been a free subscriber there for years and have yet established a desire to upgrade to a paid account and LinkedIn is a damn good Networking Space. In order for a Dealer Auto Sales Strategy Website to profit I suspect it will rely on ad revenue. But without appeal to a mass consumer audience this is a tall order.

So, while my curiosity is stemmed, I am skeptical about the Dealer Auto Sales Website. Seems idealistic to me and obviously backed by Venture Capital which I personally find dangerous unless the enterprise entails assembling widgets or is a Finance Business. But for a limited niche networking site how will it pay for itself?

There is a subtlety in this AT&T ad with Bill Kurtis “finding the Internet” on a deserted island with an Amelia Earhadt plane replica in the back drop. See if you can identify it.

Notice when he shows his laptop screen that you see Microsoft Outlook. Every time I see the commercial on TV I chuckle because while I get the point in showing the screen, there is nothing on the screen to indicate an Internet connection.

Apparently, someone picked up on that because the other night when that add came on and Bill showed the screen, the visual was different and appeared to be downloading email messages. I noticed this of course and was quite humored by the fact that they enhanced the ad.

The past several weeks I have made a point to unsubscribe from newsletters and email lists that I don’t utilize. It has been interesting to see how the various systems respond to that. I have been subscribed to dozens of mailing lists over the past several years and am making a point to clean house a bit.

The good ones remove me instantly. Some say it could take several hours to several days. Some do not have an unsubscribe button but instead instruct me to reply to the email requesting to unsubscribe. Those are the more traditional List Servs that seem to be losing ground to contemporary Campaign systems such as AWeber, which is the automated campaign system I utilize.

Then there are the small handful of systems that could not unsubscribe me. This of course is really annoying. Interestingly, these seem to be from companies within the Automotive Industry. As a result, I have had to mark some as SPAM so that they would cease appearing to my inbox.

While some people are quick to mark email as SPAM if the do not want it, being one heavily involved with Email Marketing campaigns I try to avoid it at all costs. I guess it is an act of karmic conscientiousness. But Email Marketing has become a challenging and complex science and art, much like Search Engine Marketing. There are tactics and techniques that work and many that do not. By paying attention to how other organizations and individuals market to you via email you can learn a lot of good techniques and be aware of bad ones.

When the 2008 Cadillac CTS was awarded the Motor Trend Car of the Year I must confess I felt a bit rubbed. Having been a Benz fan for sometime and with Cadillac not really on my radar, I did not see it coming. I was pretty confident the 2008 C-Class would take it this year.

Right around the time this award was announced, Cadillac began a series of TV ads that continue to this day. Surely you have seen them - a young, styling, attractive individual calmly driving his/her Cadillac through a metropolis view with blurred lights streaking by like a laser. The ads speak energy, contemporary, and style.

Seems Mercedes-Benz wasn’t the only Brand this year to tap a younger market audience. Gotta love the timing.

Last week I ended up renting a CTS during my visit in the Florida Keys. Let me say. That was a nice ride! Weighty, which both I and my wife prefer. Sporty with some pep. Cozy, yet roomy at the same time. And yes, it was styling. We both really enjoyed the ride. Enough to consider it alongside the 2008 C-Class.

Interestingly, the CTS is priced higher than the C300 Sport by nearly $2k. That’s a significant difference at that price range and I grew curious to know how these base prices come to be. Even more interestingly, if you visit Cadillac.com and do a competitor vehicle comparison, the C300 isn’t even compared. Instead, the BMW 335i and the Lexus ES 350 are, and both are priced higher than the CTS.

It’s pretty cool watching the Car Manufacturer brands going after one another. I think MBUSA has more effectively positioned the all-new C-Class in its targeted new markets based on price and overall value. From a marketing standpoint, BMW and Lexus have been far too quiet. When I watch TV, which is about 1-2 hours a night, Mercedes-Benz and Cadillac seem to be having a boxing match with their advertising. I love it!

One of my favorite brands today is the Bill O’Reilly brand. This guy sets new precedents in numerous areas:

1. What it means to be a True American
2. Journalistic Integrity
3. Knows how to keep it real
4. Personal Branding
5. Corporate Loyalty
6. Has fun

His show, The O’Reilly Factor, explores important topics empirically with balance and fairness.  He holds crooks accountable and calls spinners out on their own game, backing himself up with facts. This is what sets O’Reilly apart from his counterparts.

His website is rich with quality information, free for the curious and only $5/mo for member access, revenue he reportedly generates for charitable purposes. He also effectively brands ancillary artifacts such as t-shirts, coffee mugs, hats, jackets, etc. Revenue again for charitable contributions.

Bill is passionate. He is personal. He is personable. He is marketable. He is profitable. All things which are marks of a good Brand.

While O’Reilly is a controversial figure to some, that controversy breeds his success. The realistic and understanding mind must have a sincere appreciation for what he does. I think O’Reilly has done more for this nation of United States then most Americans in history. At the risk of putting O’Reilly on a pedestal, O’Reilly is a legend of his own time. A true Patriot.

Thank you Bill.

Did you catch wind of this Jazz singer Rene Marie in Denver that was invited to sing the National Anthem and instead showed up to sing the “black” version. What the heck?

It’s funny how press and people are jumping all over this with beef, outrage, and concern. You can not get more publicity than this for a Jazz singer. As annoying, ludicrous, and ignorant as this might seem, this should serve the Rena Marie brand well.

I am curious to see the results of a poll that would show the racial divide this is going to stir. Race can not be ignored here. We are a proud people today. Proud of our country. Proud of our religion. Proud of our color. Proud of our gender. You name it, and we should be too. That doesn’t mean we need to be polarized about it, but we can’t suppress the fact that race matters.

The singer created the race issue in this case. She did not have to express herself in this setting. That wasn’t the invitation. She can do that in her own clubs and shows, but not at a civic gathering like this. That is just selfish and ignorant I don’t care what color you are.

Not to be a Monday night quarter back here but I seriously think I would have interrupted her. I am surprised no one approached her, took the mic and asked her to step down. She would have deserved it.

Actually, if you watch the video there does not appear to be much of a fuss at all. Maybe the fuss is only the Media and Bloggers. There was not a thunderous standing ovation after she sang but there was a bit of clapping going on.