Instead of doing the Stories of the Day posts I decided to do some actual, you know, writing on this blog. I still want to link to stories I found interesting but don’t have a ton to add to. So welcome to Quick Takes.

  • Word-of-mouth marketing gets people buzzing: Does word-of-mouth affect B2B marketing? Of course it does and will do so more and more as blogs are begun by B2B industry folks. I disagree with the conclusion that WOM is only effective in support of a strong official message. Companies have lived or dies based on word-of-mouth and now that blogs and podcasts broadcast that across the internet the affect will only increase. [Via Brian Carroll]
  • The End of the World for Fake News: Remember, broadcasters and publishers: If it’s not true don’t release it. I don’t care how slow a news day it’s been there’s always something better to put out to your consumers than manufactured half-truths and outright lies. News is different than advertising and you’re in the news business. Act like it.
  • Just Follow the Long Tail: Of course using niche media is going to return better results than broad-net messaging.
  • 10 Commandments for The Era of Participatory Public Relations: Just read the whole thing.
  • Search Engines Lead Top Online Brands: It’s not surprising these days that search engines are more recognizable than ever before. They play a bigger part in our lives than just about anything else.