Pierce Mattie Public Relations New York & Los Angeles

Strike Two for Edelman PR as Their Second Fake Wal-mart Blog is Revealed, via B.L. Ochman's What's Next blog

WallStrip, via Repliqa is a RocketBoom format web-show that profiles a different public company on the stock exchange every day .

Sofia Speaks The face (errrr cartoon illustration) of the Holy Mud Company rants about beauty, fashion, art, pop culture and...Politics!

Next Generation Insights (Young Adult Panel) The panel itself is informative, the technology (video tag) is cool too.

In the past twenty years there has been a change occurring when it comes to Halloween. Back when I was growing up in the 70’s and 80’s, Halloween was a specific children’s holiday. Then in the mid-eighties things began to change and Haunted Houses and adult costume parties began to take off.

Adult costume parties and Haunted Houses continue to increase in popularity every year. What has gone from a one night event, now becomes an entire weekend of parties solely reserved for the young at heart and a month-long event for Haunted Houses and Haunted Hayrides. Even farmers have cashed in by offering haunted labyrinths through a corn maze.

Wearing denim has always been in style, but celebrities can’t seem to get enough of it. Skinny jeans are all the rage, and if you are a celebrity and have all the means to hire a personal trainer, why not show off your body in the hottest brands?

Lindsay Lohan has been known to strut her stuff in J Brand Jeans, as does Angelina Jolie, showing the world that not every mom has to wear “Mom Jeans.”

Kate Moss is the queen of denim and is known to love Bread Denim. Not familiar with Bread Denim? Come get introduced here.

While the guys love to wear denim, they seem to love designing them even more. Justin Timberlake just launched William Rast, a new denim clothing line he co-created with best friend/business partner Trace Ayala. While Tommy Lee’s tattoo’s were the inspiration for People’s Liberation September launch of “PL for TL” collection at Bloomingdale’s.

Do you have a love affair with denim? Which celebrity do you feel has the best taste in denim?

Opulent, sophisticated, romantic, glitzy, glamorous – Art Deco style epitomizes a sense of youthful and lavish aspirations. The style was bold and beautiful with a sense of sophistcated geometric order; it pushed the limits in it's day as ultra modern and today the hot style being very popular with celebrities and jewelry collectors.

It has always been, in terms of design, architecture, fashion, etc., among my favorite periods. That said, I am ecstatic this season’s jewelry and accessory trends seem to be taking cue from the art deco, Jazz Age with daring geometric lines and angular shapes, brilliant opaque stones, and plenty of crystal and black lustery detail.

Even the November cover of W Jewelry features a model with a bold 1920s-esque bob. While platinum blond, she could certainly be the striking, edgier 2006 version of Louise Brooks. The November issue of Elle Accessories featured more razzle dazzle deco details than I’ve seen in quite some time. It made me dizzy. I loved it.

The Pet Care industry has been growing rapidly in recent years. The way we treat our pets is mirrored through celebrities such as Paris Hilton, among others, who clothe and pamper their precious pets. No more sleeping on the floor, it’s a posh doggie bed for Fido.

Pets are beginning to be treated more like people then ever before, bringing true meaning to “Man’s best friend.” It seems as we change over to a more healthy lifestyle with better diet and eating habits, so has the way we feed our pets changed. Simple dog food like Pedigree is no longer the only way, but instead it is being replaced with healthier nutritious brands like Beneful or Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance. My two Parson Russell’s (formerly called Jack Russell’s), it’s the Raw Food Diet.

It doesn't stop at dog food. Whiskers, a holistic pet care retail store makes deliveries of formaldehyde free rawhide chews, toys, bedding and vitamins. That's just the beginning. As you want to look your best each day, you also want to take pride in your pet’s appearance. Trips to Petco for your pet’s grooming is no longer just considered a luxury, but now a lifestyle.

How many of you have purchased something that was a knock off? I admit it, I purchased knock off Chanel sunglasses this past summer from a vendor next to me at a local fair. Imagine my surprise when I came across this blog and the video it shows.

The buying and selling of counterfeit products is costing American businesses $200-$250 Billion dollars a year and the loss of 750,000 jobs according to The U.S. Chamber of Commerce. This is not only the knock off of sunglasses, purses and watches you can find on any New York City street corner, but it also carries over into cosmetics, movies, music and even clothing and footwear like Air Jordans.

I have been in the beauty industry for about 12 years and doing beauty pr for about 7 years. And in all of my years of experience with press releases especially those that that go out on the wire I have never ever seen one as damaging as the one that Russ Fons PR in Las Vegas ran today about their client; National Toxic Encephalopathy Foundation (NTEF) and their opinion on Clarins Cosmetics. You can view the horrific release here.

In this release the NTEF states in great detail on the extensive damage and misleading labels of the Clarins brand, so they claim.

What’s odd though is that John Sheppard the director of the foundation states that you are putting your health at risk if you use these products. I don’t know about you but I see a huge lawsuit taking place from Clarins. I am sure executives at Clairns are beyond miffed about this release. What’s even odder is that all of the ingredients used by Clarins are found in most other top selling brands. One would assume that NTEF is crucifying Clarins based on a personal agenda and not on logic.

However was John Sheppard not aware that Clarins recently acquired Kibio an organic skin care manufacture who has gone into negotiations on creating new products together? I posted about this on my other blog a few weeks back. You can view that post here.

No, you don't have a case of DEJAVU. Busy day yesterday. Google acquired Jotspot (we love Jotspot and use it) & Conde Nast acquired Reddit because Digg wanted too much from Condé Nast. Whats on sale next month? Will it be Lipstick.com or Coutorture? What are the next hot Web 2.0 venture capital opportunities?

Still warming up to Second Life? I am asked about it almost daily and wanted to get some basic info posted for those friends who read our blog consistently. Backstory is here. Follow the links.

New World Notes

From April 2003 to February 2006, I was a contract writer for Linden Lab, creators of Second Life, primarily hired by the company to cover SL as an embedded journalist in an emerging society-- its controversies, its personalities, its innovations and ambitions, along with larger themes of identity, social norms and organization, and cultural expression important to online worlds in general.

That contractual relationship has ended, but the story continues here. -Wagner James Au

Second Thoughts Do's and Dont's for Big Business.

"Every human being is interested in two kinds of worlds: the Primary, everyday world which he knows through his senses, and a Secondary world or worlds which he not only can create in his imagination, but which he cannot stop himself creating." W.H. Auden

Second Life Herald The Second Life Herald was founded on October 23, 2003, by philosophy professor Peter Ludlow. Its mission, as described the next day, was to observe, record and study "the legal, social, and economic implications" of life in the virtual world. Originally established as the Alphaville Herald and reporting for the most part on life on the Alphaville server of The Sims Online, the Herald soon branched out into coverage of other massively multiplayer online games and virtual worlds -- helped along by the murder of Herald publisher Urizenus (Ludlow's avatar) after Electronic Arts got wind of the stories the newspaper was printing about the scams and cyber-prostitution that were taking place within its game, and the company's indifference to reports of real-world violence.

Live Blogging isn’t something new, but it’s something that is beginning to pick up speed. I was a little clueless about this when one of my favorite blog reads, Joy Unexpected, mentioned the possibility of live blogging from an in home demonstration she was going to for an “adult” party plan company several months ago. In my naivety, I thought she meant she was going to make multiple posts throughout the party. Now searching the web, I realize that Live Blogging is something completely different.

Bloggers are the new media; there is no way around it. Companies are beginning to see that there is a goldmine waiting to be dug up in the blogosphere. Most Bloggers are everyday people, not corporate big wigs or media outlets with advertisers in their pocket. Bloggers will tell you how it is, from their eyes, with complete honesty.

Or do they? As blogging has become a way of life and is now etched into our society, marketers are finding that they can reach so many more people through a blog than through a billboard. We all know it's not just about exposure to the masses, but appropriate exposure to your target audience and influencers. Awesome traction means nothing if your not seeing the intended results!

For those reading this at the 2006 ISPA Conference & Expo, be sure to stop in the Professional Development Sessions at 2PM.

INDUSTRY TRENDS - Press Tactics & Topics for 2007 - Magazine Editors & PR Professionals Unite – Rona Berg & Pierce Mattie

I'm currently reading The Ten Faces Of Innovation (Tom Kelly) and thought Trekinetic’s K-2 All Terrain Wheelchair must have come from the cross-pollinator (a face of innovation identified in Kelly's book). It's part dirt bike and wheelchair, Makes me want to take it for a spin. It offers a design and beauty inspired departure from conventional manual wheelchairs.

• Front wheel driven with a singular rear trailing castor for stability
• The seat is of carbon fiber,
• A dynamic braking system for slowing down and steering
• Weather equipment is in the form of an attachable automatic umbrella

Professional trendwatchers are saying this falls under the Beauvalanche trend or could have easily been filed under Innovation Overload as well. Regardless, it does prove that everything can be beautified and reinvented! FYI, Trendwatching.com just released the Transumers briefing which is free to everyone.

• Communication Arts: This year’s interactive design winners were selected by our distinguished jury from a group of entries including Web sites, Kiosks, CD-ROM projects and PDA's.

• Strategic Public Relations: PR Industry: Improve Your Writing -Kevin Dugan

• Salon.com: Fake News, Fake Reporter: Why was a partisan hack, using an alias and with no journalism background, given repeated access to daily White House press briefings? -By Eric Boehlert

• Online Media Daily: Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) Puts Edelman Public Relations on probation for creating fake Blogs (flogs) for client Walmart

• Customer Listening Blog: WOMMA Ethical Blogger Contact Guidelines: 10 Principles

You may have noticed more companies that cater to lifestyle industry are listening to customers by repackaging and redesigning ingredients in products as they watch consumer trends change, and I say it’s about time! Grocery store shoppers should be aware that you don’t need to pay higher prices for premium national brand names when they may be identical to the less expensive (generic) store-brand. 20 years ago generic store brands screamed for attention as they were all yellow, void of any branding and made you feel like a loser at the check out counter.

KNOW THE FACTS: If you're considering changing your packaging to make it "prettier" on the store shelf, then get ready for a marketing disaster. Packaging redesign is not a beautification project. It's about:

* Meeting the ever-changing needs of your target consumer group. For example, your target group may be aging. Also, younger and more affluent shoppers are entering the marketplace.

* Reviewing competitive products, new product launches and your category.

* Monitoring shifts in distribution channels, retailer formats and economic conditions.

* Optimizing both the graphic and structural elements of your packaging.

* Revitalizing a brand and product sales, maintaining or growing market reach.

Any woman can tell you the color and scent of a Victoria’s Secret store. Branding a business by color has been around forever, branding a business by scent deliberately is a rather new practice.

We have become inundated with never ending commercials, advertisements, pop-ups and infomercials, smart, progressive businesses realize that the use of scent is another way to make their business or brand not only stand out, but be remembered and associated with a certain positive experience or product.

While color may be an easy branding tool and will surely distinguish you from your competitors, such as that yummy, chocolate brown trademarked as "UPS Brown", scent can be a little touchier. Scent can either turn someone away or reel them in. It's a scientific fact that women are attracted to an ever so slight smell of skunk. Too much, and they are repulsed. Repulsion can be a good thing if your an international airport and you need to clear a building fast. Scents of danger need no interpretation. The scent of coffee can calm people, the new car smell increases sales of vehicles, Victoria’s Secret puts you in the mood the minute you walk into their store with the scent of a woman (or a man in drag) that remind you of romance and desire. Pierce Mattie's Media Oasis has a branded scent, complete with a high tech scent delivery system. Scents that relax you and put you in the mood to shop can increase a businesses bottom line.

Most Americans think Europeans, especially the Italians "dress up." The way Italians dress is getting more and more relaxed as the years progress, but they definitely look better dressed than most of us stateside. If you've traveled abroad you have noticed how business casual is not in vogue, in fact it's been said that westerners dress like cowboys. Do fashion labels in Italy know how to fit their people better then Americans? Is there a worse feeling in the world than slipping into a new garment in a fitting room and finding it just slightly off? Nothing kills the buzz of finding a fantastic item of clothing that you are just dying to own more than realizing that you are not just any "body" but have unique bumps, curves, and "fiddly" bits!

You see as much as we live in a world of "ready to wear" clothing, few of us have ready to wear bodies. Thus, I have to ask, why is it that we are so reticent to simply have clothing tailored?

We have no problem acknowledging that our personalities are unique, but when it comes to admitting that our bodies don't fit one given standard we get a little upset.

"Why it must be a fault in me that I can't fit into this blouse I picked up off the rack" we tell ourselves. But in truth few of us are ever going to have bodies that fit exactly into a given garment. I faced just that reality today when I realized it was better to spend a little bit more on a few quality pieces of clothing and have them refitted to my own body than to hopelessly buy tons of disposable fashion that only just "kinda" fits.

With the help of the Superfuture forums I found myself an incredible tailor on Mott Street named Ramone who not only helped me fit two dresses and a coat but he helped me refit my attitude as well. And you know what? Those clothes are going to fit me to a "T," making them actually "ready to wear."

MenEssentials President, James Whittall has some helpful advice for hairy men who want to be smooth all over and shave like a man: This may surprise you, but at least one-sixth of the search engine referrals we receive each month are for men — ordinary guys, like you and me — who want information on how to shave their privates.

Squirm all you like. There's an immense subculture of eroticists who claim a bald bag makes for better sex. Indeed, when I went online to research this subject, I counted no less than a dozen serious human sexuality web sites with entire sections devoted to the art of sensual shaving.

Unfortunately, few of these resources offers tips on how to safely and hygienically perform this most delicate of procedures. Never one to shrink (pun intended) from the outrageous, I hereby offer my thoughts on the subject.

A Disclaimer
Personally, I think genital shaving is ill advised. A botched job can lead to intense irritation or, worse, permanent falsetto. Don't say I didn't warn you.

And a Warning
If you have sensitive skin that ordinarily reacts to shave creams or gels, then do not ever shave your pubic area or testicles. This region is much more sensitive than your face. Your allergic reaction could be spectacular.

As you can tell from my previous post about blogs becoming the new media, I absolutely believe that this is only the beginning. While companies are finding that sending products to a Blogger to review may increase revenue, they have also found that advertising on them can be just as good.

Any given company may not know how to advertise on a blog, be it not for all the companies popping up to support ads on blogs, and they sure are cashing in. One of the giants would be Google AdWords, which is not only website friendly, but blog friendly as well. Many niche blogs have found there is a great deal of money that can be made when placing Google Adsense (AdWords in action) on their blog, not only because of the advertisements, but because Google Adsense conforms to the content of your blog. The more focused your blog is on a particular subject, the greater likelihood that the ads displayed will fit in with your content and increase your chances of readers clicking. This obviously benefits the businesses placing ads through AdWords, as its target market sees their product or service.

According to The Blog Herald and the timeline on W3.org, the web turns sweet 16 today!The first web server was nxoc01.cern.ch, later called info.cern.ch, and the first world wide web page http://nxoc01.cern.ch/ hypertext/WWW/TheProject.html Unfortunately CERN no longer supports the historical site. Note from this era too, the least recently modified web page Blog Herald knew of, last changed Tue, 13 Nov 1990 15:17:00 GMT (though the URI changed.)

• Edelman Public Relations Disclosure Follies (Raving Lunacy) Edelman to Fund a Second Life Business screams the headline over at Micro Persuasion.

• $6 Billion For MySpace? (The Blog Herald) Rupert Murdock, CEO of News Corp., told Australian investors that MySpace would sell for $6 billion.

• Users Respond To The Dove Evolution Viral I find the user created responses to Dove fascinating, it is as if through retouching themselves, and manipulating their own digital representation, users can reaffirm their feeling in their true body, and experience an apparent sense of liberation through mutating themselves, looking at it and being able to recognise how ridiculous and distorted standards have become.(Marketing Babylon)

• Pepsi goes organic with new product lines at Whole Foods Market (SpinThicket)

• B.L. Ochman Yawns At Big PR Firms Getting Into "Social Media" (B.L. Ochman)

Today's PRO-file is with Lianne Farbes, a former Model, current Makeup Artist and blog owner of The Makeup Girl.

Your bio says you got your start as a model. What made you decide you wanted to be a model and how long did you model for?

Actually I didn’t decide! My mother sent my photos around everywhere. I grew up in St. Louis and I don’t really remember how it happened, but before I knew it I was modeling for Stix Baer and Fuller (now Dillard’s) and Venture (like Target) everyday after school. When I moved to New York for college, someone saw me at a club and I started doing runway shows, and later moved on to catalog work. In all total, I think I modeled for about 12 years.

What was the first job that you finally felt like you were a makeup artist?

Oh that one is easy, when I started working as a custom blender for Prescriptives. I was able to really get the colors perfect and build looks around that.

Who are some of the makeup companies you are worked for?

Clarins, Prescriptives, Princess Marcella Borghese and Lancome.

I've been a Rocketboom viewer since the beginning (and persecuted for my advocacy of the lighthearted daily news by friends and colleages): I think I tuned in on her 3rd podcast on iTunes. Not a iTunes subscriber? Check your Tivo; Rocketboom is now available to most Tivo subscribers. Like many loyal followers of "citizen journalism," it was sad to see her leave Rocketboom. The good news is now everyone can see her on the boob-tube; watch for Amanda on ABC, maybe even prime time! Again, congratulations. Yesterday's headline read:

Amanda Congdon, the former host of the Rocketboom video blog, has been hired by US TV network ABC.

Congdon is also in the process of developing a show with US cable channel Home Box Office (HBO).

The Back-story: Congdon left Rocketboom in June this year claiming that she was fired, but Baron alleges that she quit to pursue an acting career in Los Angeles.

Baron apparently gave Congdon a 49 per cent share of Rocketboom. The two are currently in a dispute as to whether the agreement still stands.

In true Congdon spirit, here is an interpretation of perky quirky "news babe" memorable highlights. You may get a kick out of it if you watched Rocketboom since the beginning.

"I am going to be video blogging for Disney ABC, specifically ABC News," Congdon said in a video message on her Amanda Across America blog.

"I'll be the first person to fulfill that role for the network. Because ABC is continually pushing ahead and innovating, I'm super excited to be a part of their team.

"I'll also be appearing on ABC's News Now from time to time and occasionally I'll pop up on Good Morning America, Nightline and 20/20 to serve as an Internet correspondent."

What is Beauty? Many great visionaries, writers, poets, philosophers, and artists have tried to express in words or in images the meaning of beauty. These thoughts are rich in the wisdom they express and they resonate with each of us differently.

Man makes holy what he believes, as he makes beautiful what he loves. -Ernest Renan

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen, nor touched ... but are felt in the heart. -Helen Keller

A thing of beauty is a joy forever. -John Keats

Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart. -Khalil Gibran

Beauty is not real. Beauty only exists in perception. -Unknown

Working in the beauty industry, our attention can be so focused on making the external beautiful - skin creams, lotions, lipsticks, mascara, hair extensions, serums, masks, gels, and the list can go on and on. These are products that help us feel beautiful, improve our looks, accentuate the positive, and give us confidence.

Women frequently struggle with how to integrate their external and internal beauty, and with all of the mass market imaging and airbrushed celebrity role models, it hasn’t been easy. But the times they are a changin’ and one of the foremost trends today is beauty integration. What does this mean? It means that women are more comfortable than ever with themselves and their looks. It means that when they purchase beauty products, they want them to look, taste, sound, and smell good - and the products must feel great on both the outside and the inside. External beauty has become experiential, it has become customized, it has become inclusive, and it has become multi-dimensional.

Being that as a nation we are about to celebrate Thanksgiving, a truly national holiday, meant for everyone, also integrative and inclusive, I suggest that we be thankful for how the meaning of beauty is growing to include what makes us feel good on the inside. Internal and authentic beauty will always remain rooted in our hearts, in our spirits, and in our ability to share ourselves with others unselfishly. Happy Holidays!

There is a new cult brand that launched about two years ago that has tech gurus and bloggers talking: Nooka. Marshall Sponder of Techcrunch 8 is one of Nooka's many fans.

Last night, my neighbor John Owens asked me to go to The Chelsea Art Museum for the launch of a new collection of timepieces from Nooka. Not expecting to buy anything, I went with an open mind. What did I find? The perfect gift for my best friend Shane Powers.

Shane is the hardest person on the planet to shop for. He never wears the conventional: no watches, jewelry, shirts with patterns, etc. Nooka is the ideal gift for that person who has everything. What are you giving them? A new way to tell time. Could Nooka be the next hot thing? I think so. On the design blog Core 77, Nooka is sponsoring a giveaway of 100 limited edition watches. Nooka watches work by battery operation and are largely made of steel or plastic. Nooka is made in the USA and starts at $175.00. What makes Nooka so special is the way that they tell time, by counting little blocks from left to right.

• Personal Care Appliances - Global Strategic Business Report : This report analyzes the worldwide markets for Personal Care Appliances in Thousands of Units.

• Spinduggery, The Flack: Peter Himler posts about Jeff Jarvis' snarky comment insinuating PR professionals have dishonesty in their DNA. Jeff Jarvis, being the 'spin'-ster he is, should love the quote "you can’t polish a turd."

• KFC Logo Relaunch - From Space, Near Area 51: I know all of you are saying "I thought of that months ago." Ever since Google launched satellite imagery on its maps, I've wanted to pitch this idea to a client. While not the first, KFC is doing it on a grand scale; a nice publicity stunt. For those of you who know my New York address, you can see me on the roof of my apartment building with my dogs, frozen in time from space.

• Loyalty VS. Advocacy CRM Lowdown: Most companies think that their job is done when they manage to convert a regular customer into a loyal customer. They tend to forget the guy because now ‘he can take care of himself.' Wrong! Once you’ve converted a customer, your job becomes even more difficult.

• Link Karma From The Copyblogger: 21 Surefire tips for a successful blog launch, 10 things to consider when choosing a site meter, and the five W's of great content.

• Hotels offer lots of freebies during winter (just not in New York City), The Mercury News: Winter travelers can take advantage of a number of hotel deals. Properties are offering free nights, free gift cards, special rates and other perks.

• How To Stop Comment Spam Without Lifting a Finger, Tubetorial: If you're a wordpress user, you have to visit tubetorial. Quick, easy-to-understand flash video - enjoy.

• The European Newspaper Design & Concept Awards Europe‘s most innovative newspaper 2006: Look and learn. This year, Europe’s best designed newspapers come from Belgium, Norway, Finland, Portugal and Spain. 287 newspapers from 26 countries participated in the eighth European Newspaper Award.

Like many women, I am a huge fan of shoes. For reasons almost inexplicable to your average man, shoes have a kind of emotional resonance that speaks to us deeply. One shoe that has just this power is the Bernardo "Miami" sandal.

Beloved by the jet set and regular women alike, this revolutionary shoe took the world by storm in the forties and fifties and has remained a style icon through several generations. But, in the seventies and eighties, the brand was nearly destroyed. Thankfully, the license was purchased by Dennis and Lynne Comeau and the line has been restored to its former glory.

Challenge: Gas prices are super high, how do you build brand loyalty when oil prices are ridiculous?

Advice:Take advantage of the high gas prices, bring more value to the customer then your competitor with cravable experiences.

Heightened customer experience is where it at. By now oil hungry customers know the service station is not making a huge profit off the gas. But the consumer still feels the hit to the wallet. A smart business owner will try to offset that "emotional hit" by providing more perceived value. Lowering the price temporarily doesn't build loyalty or lasting value to a car owner it just causes him to bounce all over the place looking for cheap gas. You need to create "Cravable experiences," cravable experiences and convenience will create lasting emotional traction that will help win consumer loyalty.

• Get better premium coffee beans and take beverage service seriously
• Buy nicer, thicker, insulated coffee cups with better more secure lids
• Order Krispy Kreme donuts and but a display up near the cash register.
• Offer organic "fast food" options
• Boast about having the best restrooms in town with the softest tolet paper
• Start a policy that if they have to wait in line for gas more then 3 min, a free beverage is on the house.
• Provide "old-fashioned" white glove (celebrity) service. Checking under the hood, looking at the oil level and tier pressure can all be done in 2-3 min, the time taken to fill a tank of gas. Customers are more likely to re visit your station and trust you if your looking over the car frequently.

If you can apply this concept of cravable experiences to a filling station and see dramatic results, you can most certainly can apply it to your next business promotion and see success. Good luck!

As a woman I can certainly tell you what I think about men’s underwear. I like a man in a fresh pair of clean, crisp white underwear. I prefer boxer briefs over anything else and my man better not be wearing silly underwear or outrageously colored, or else I will have to ask him to put his pants back on. I like to be the one wearing all the colors! I often wondered if guy’s thought of their underwear as an important piece of fashion. I know my very first boyfriend did not, as evidenced by some animal print silk bikini number he used to wear..."eww!" Laughing when you see someone's underwear is a sure fire way to ruin the mood…just FYI.

So in order to find out what men really think, I asked a few fashionable men at Pierce Mattie their thoughts. I was surprised at some of their answers. I've included 3 of the 8 full interviews for your review. Here is a summary of my findings:

• Pierce Mattie men prefer briefs over boxers.

• They wont spend more then $35 for a pair of underwear

• Sex played a role in purchasing first pair of fashionable underwear

• They say marketing and packaging doesn't play a big role in what underwear they choose, however the industry data all says marketing & packaging plays a huge role and influences what girlfriends / boyfriends say they like on a man.

• The office leading brands: Old Navy, 2Xist & Calvin Klein

Jeremy Wright is a serial entrepreneur, some have even said a blogpreneur for his focus on communications-oriented ventures. He has been involved in IT, programming and the business side of IT for nearly a decade. Jeremy is the President/CEO of b5media, a prominent blog network. He is the author of Blog Marketing, a business book on blogging and writes Ensight, a popular business and technology blog. Jeremy consults on blogging, communication, IT and time management.

What was your vision when you first had an inkling that you wanted to start b5media?
While it'd be nice to say there was some grand vision when b5 started, the truth is that it was a simple idea by Duncan Riley: partner with a bunch of bloggers to get more advertising. Then if we were going to sell ads, why not join them into a network? And if we were going to start a network, why not start new blogs? And if we were going to do that, why not hire authors?

So yeah, no clear vision initially, just a bunch of guys trying to have some fun and make some money. Who knows where it'll go though? We certainly have a vision and an amazing team and a fantastic group of bloggers that continue to astound me every day, but who knows what the future will hold, eh?

What do you feel are the benefits of being a part of a network?
There are obvious benefits. More traffic. Better traffic. Better ads. More ads. Higher paying ads. All of these mean that a blog that joins b5, or is started for b5, will almost always earn more money than it would on its own. It's kind of like hiring a book agent: sure, you give up 15-20% of your advance and royalties, but if they get you a deal that's 80% better it's a real no-brainer. And if they take all the heavy lifting of landing a book deal off your shoulders so you're less stressed, all the better.

Beyond that, you get free hosting, access to some of blogging's leaders like Darren Rowse and Brian Clarke, and you get to do it all while blogging about something you're passionate about and making some decent bucks for the privilege! It isn't really that hard of a sell when we have to pitch bloggers.