To provide some background, Jason Calacanis is a long time friend (he's actually quite charming if you get to know him ;-]). He asked me to join him in building weblogsinc shortly after he started the company. He wanted me to be the Publisher and to help him innovate on the business side of this new media format. I was cautious about the idea of working for my friend and I was reluctant to spend my time doing essentially ad sales, something I had done earlier in my career. As Jason and I discussed, this was different. It would be about blazing new trails. I fashion myself as an amateur cultural anthropologist, so the idea of helping advertisers to innovate in this new world of consumer empowerment was an engaging proposition. Figuring out how to credibly insert them in the conversations of influencers was a luxurious problem to solve. I saw it as an amazing opportunity to have an impact and make a difference in this web 2.0 thing. We cut a deal based on me working for 24 months or until we sold the company.

Over the past year and a half, we have got to really mess around with the way things are done. We created new advertising formats, set guidelines for advertiser to be transparent (honest), and created a mechanism for our readers to learn from and share any experiences they have with our advertisers. Then, as many of you know, after about a year of working together, we sold the company to AOL. Jason set expectations of my employment in the deal and I agreed to stay with the company till we had downloaded the information and integrated AOL systems.

So one reason I am leaving is that I have fulfilled my obligation to Jason and to AOL. I find myself in one of the easiest jobs I ever had, and in some ways, it makes me uncomfortable.

So what's next? Well, in my search for vocation nirvana, the first step is getting paid to think about the things I like to think about. As an amateur cultural anthropologist I like to think about social intercourse and was spending a lot of time on MySpace.com. So that's the second reason for leaving WeblogsInc and actually my next job, I have taken a gig as SVP, Head of Marketing & Content for MySpace. It is the perfect solution, now I have a job where I can hang out on MySpace.com all day and not get fired. I can be an amateur cultural anthropologist by helping to define and shape the brand of, arguably, the biggest cultural phenomenon this century.

Another aspect of my search for vocation nirvana is finding the intersection of commerce and virtue-doing well while doing good. In this new position I will be able to use the influence of the MySpace brand to innovate in internet safety and get involved with some great causes--having a positive effect on our culture (corny, but true).

In some ways it is not easy to leave WeblogsInc. Working with my friend Jason was actually great, and the team at weblogsinc are some of the smartest, freakiest, most capable people that I have ever worked with. I will miss WeblogsInc and working with Jason, Peter, Judith, Ryan, Brian, Jade, Steve and the all the bloggers. But they have become friends and even though I won't be working with them, I still actually get the keep them as friends.

If you made it this far, that's my story.

Regards,

Shawn

 Remember that classic business school graph about product lifecycle. The one that shows innovators, early adopters, early majority, etc. It seems that the early adopters will try anything so the biggest hurdle for marketers has always been bridging the early majority and getting them to take hold, in order to reach critical mass.  The first thing necessary is to innovate and have a great product; the second thing is to initiate strong word of mouth.

Blogs and consumer opinion sites serve as a publishing platform for early adopters. Word of mouth has now turned into "citizen journalism" and it has become the trusted pace for information gathering and pre-purchase research.

To communicate with bloggers offer first look opportunities. By getting information out early to bloggers you will show that you respect them and play into the ego driven culture of the blogoshere to post fast and first

When you advertise in blogs, feature advertorial in a straight forward conversation tone and have link for them to give you feedback. Then you can use that feedback to proactively address concerns of the early majority.  If you respect the early adopters of your product/service by recognizing them and communicating with them, you will incent them to share their opinions on your offering and to populate credible areas of (early majority) pre-purchase research in blogs, reviews & search engines

Below are best practices for blogging or 8 simple rules for credibly inserting yourself in the blogosphere. Many of these ideas were aggregated from some of the best minds in the blog biz - Robert Scoble, Jeff Jarvis, Pete Blackshaw and my boy Jason Calacanis

Blogger authority is defined by Key behaviors: how much the blogger posts new content, how much influence or respect they earn among bloggers and how many other bloggers link to them.  Intelliseek trust media report

1. Be transparent -  When you advertise in blogs or communicate through your own blog, credibility is essential and transparency is the only way to achieve it.

2. Support the conversation - For marketers to gain reach and influence in the blogosphere, support the conversations of key influencers, do not to try to own them.

3. Use a human voice -The vernacular of Attorneys and PR professionals has little place in the blogoshere. Blogs are a great opportunity to humanize your brand and connect with your target audience on a personal level.

4. Post fast and first - Be proactive and - Blogs are fast-paced, straight-talking enthusiast discourses on a subject. If all your content has to go through marketing, legal and various approval levels, it will lose its immediacy and its candor.

5. Confront criticism head on - If someone says something negative about your product, link to it and give your side of the story, before everyone else does. Same thing if something good comes out about your company.

6. Under promise - If you say you are going to address an issue by Friday, do it on Thursday.  Corporate habits and follow through are highly scrutinized in the blogosphere.

7. Talk to the grassroots first -  It is not only a good idea to go to your enthusiasts first to show you support them, but it can be one of the most efficient information distribution strategies you can execute.

8. Link out to key influencers- Know who the information gatekeepers are in your category and link to them, praise them when they get things right. These are the people you need to support you in a crisis and you need to support them before you need them.