I’m not a journalist.

I’m really not. I wish I was sometimes, journalism has a certain air of nobility about it that I wouldn’t mind being a part of. It smells of old newspapers and stale coffee, the type of moniker you wear in your hat and talk about over a stiff drink.

Alas, I am not a journalist. I am marketer, a technologist and a content producer. Let me explain the difference.

The Manifesto

If I were a journalist, when I spoke about a product or service, it would be preceded by a lot of background research.

It would also be completely unbiased and I certainly wouldn’t write about anything just because I thought it was interesting. Unfortunately, I am not a journalist. I choose projects that I love, that I use, or that I like the story behind and I write about them with the vigor appropriate to the act of choosing. Sometimes I’m biased, sometimes I’m wrong but always I stand behind it because I believe in it.

If I were a journalist, I would never run third party advertising on my site.

Why? I am the one that sells that advertising, whether it is through an advertising network or directly. That means that editorial and advertising sleeps in the same bed around here. If you believe that sort of thing leads to bias, then anyone who runs advertising that they sell themselves (especially those who do so through rep agencies as opposed to blind networks like Adsense) is failing in the first rule of editorial — separating cash from content. Luckily for me, I am not a journalist. I accept advertising as a cost of doing business, and I maintain objectivity through self-regulation. That being said, if I served an interesting advertisement that was worth talking about — I would. It hasn’t happened yet but it might.

If I were a journalist, I would ignore most of the PR messages that enter my mailbox.

I would try to keep a wall between my opinion and the PR of those who reach out to me. In that way, I would be beholden to ignore a lot of great projects I hear about or, at the very least, deal with them in a way that denies my real opinion of them — especially if those projects were created friends or anyone else whom I have a personal relationship with. Luckily for you, I’m not a journalist. I work with PR people when I like what they have to offer. I am no less likely to look at a good friend’s new startup than I am to read something off the wire. To me, information is information and as long as it’s accurate and as long as I believe you (my readers) want to hear about it — I don’t really care where it comes from.

If I were a journalist, I wouldn’t have an agenda or at least, I shouldn’t.

I’ll be up front with everyone taking the time to read this — I do. I want to be a part of making Social Media functional for real people working on real products. I want projects and ideas I think are interesting to do well, I want to equip everyone with the tools to make their ideas flourish and I want to use my platform to accomplish good in the world. I want to be a force for change and I want to take all of you along for the ride. A little melodramatic, I know, but it is what it is.

What this all comes down to is an answer to the question raised by a lot of thoughtful people about how I select the programs I am involved in. If you want to know, here’s a guide –

• Are you using the Social Web in a novel way? If so, I’ll listen to your story.
• Does your project take information and make it easier for someone to consume? If so, I’ll look at your software.
• Does your advertising/marketing scheme work better than display while maintaining editorial control? If so, I’ll test your product.
• Are you using media platforms to improve the lives of others? If so, I’ll help you.
• Are you doing something unique, exciting or novel with the web? If so, I’ll profile you.

That’s it. If you wonder where I stand or why I stand there, take a look at the list above and ask the question again. More than likely, you’ll find an answer there. As a closing point, here is a question for you –

What do you want to accomplish with your platform, why do you take the time to build it and what are you trying to change with it?

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