What's so great about bloggers?

The more time I spend in the social media world, or 'space' as the techset like to call it, the more I am starting to wonder how far the boom will be heard.

The boom I'm talking about is the notion of giving bloggers their due and, ultimately, the same perks as mainstream journalists. For as long as newspapers have existed, companies have been pitching journalists on new story ideas in hopes that one of them will pluck their story out of the pack and write something that will generate real interest. They've held media-only events, given special access for the best interview spots, arranged for interviews with top executives and given away tons of swag at industry events. They tirelessly write their press releases, amass the largest list of contact information possible and painstakingly invite each worthy individual to put pen to paper on their behalf. And still, the fear always exists that even after choosing their story, the writer may still sway that carefully crafted story another way and paint that company in a dim light. Today's PR world has shifted.

I've just been reading Miss604 on my feeds and think what The Vancouver Canucks have done to highlight bloggers is quite brilliant. And as my mind begins to wander as I ponder ideas I could implement to garner the same kind of attention from bloggers for Grouse Mountain, I'm reminded that the canucks are not the only ones doing it:

• Molson just held an exclusive event for bloggers;Vancouver blogger Duane Story tells all about 'Brew 2.0' Vancouver.
  

• Kate Trgovak - a.k.a. MyNameIsKate - regularly receives an assortment of laptop bags hoping to make the list of Funky, Chic and Cool Laptop Bags she keeps.
  
  
• Even the Christian music industry is on board. The Worship Community recently tweeted a message enticing bloggers to seek out a free CD with the following message:

"Darrell Evans (the writer of “Trading My Sorrows”, “Fields of Grace”, etc.) is getting ready to independently release his brand new worship CD next month. It’s called Nothing Less Than Everything.

I am looking to give away a free pre-release of the album to bloggers who will commit to getting the word out through a CD review on their blog, etc. I am looking for 10 people. If you have a large readership, that would of course be a plus.

If you would like to be considered, please email the following to..."

These are just a few examples I've noticed in the last week.

If companies are not getting involved in Blogger Relations as a new function of their PR department, they're going to miss out. Check out Lee Odden's Blogger Relations 101 if you don't have a clue what I'm talking about (at the bottom of the entry he also gives you another giant list of reading to consider). Bloggers are not only writing far more content than many of the mainstream columnists in your local paper, many of them have large crowds of followers... and not just oh-yeah-I-saw-that-article-on-my-way-to-the-sports-section followers, but measurable followers who specifically subscribe to their material.

The challenge for people like me (marketing types) and our cohorts (PR people) is to figure out where the line is drawn between giving people free stuff just because they write a blog and putting out meaningful pitches to influential bloggers in our area of business. Chris Brogan and his many readers share some insight on his post How Does The Web Define Authority? but the answer is still elusive. The truth is, not every blog gets read, but those that do are worth a little attention. Kudos to the Molson and the Vancouver Canucks for getting on board.

Where do you think that line should be drawn? Subscribers? Alexa rankings? Google page rank? Technorati? Which bloggers make the list of desirables? Tell me...

Photo: sskennel