Snake Oil or Experience?

Robert MacMillan doesn't know what he has. It's a skill.

Robert can write. Not only can he write, but he gets paid to do it from a pretty big organization called Post Newsweek. Not a bad gig if you can get it.

But not everyone can get it. Frankly, not everyone should, since not everyone is a good writer. But even good writers don't have great exposure--like, say, a column that is emailed out to thousands of eager readers each day. Some people need help in coming up with ideas and turning them into lively copy. They also need help navigating the maze of promotion and distribution.

So I'm not so sure Robert knows what he's talking about when he writes of people trying to sell blogging services:

It's pathetic -- as well as amusing -- to watch representatives of multimillion-dollar corporations shell out their hard-earned cash to buy what amounts to bottles of freshly packaged air. The concepts behind blogging are not difficult to understand, nor is it difficult to throw one onto the Internet. I'd be ashamed to charge for my services so I'll offer them for free. Want a blog? Go read some. Do what they do. There's your Blog Business Summit.

Does every CEO need some kind of Editor in Chief to help create and run a blog? Of course not. But many do. Just because a columnist from the Washington Post knows how to write and feed an audience doesn't mean that everyone has that ability.