OK, I know I’m stretching here, as this is a blog about business blogs, but hear me out.

Vernon Evans, Jr. is sentenced to die on Monday, February 6th. He’s certainly not the only person in America on death row, but he’s the only one I know who has a blog…a blog called Meet Vernon.

Vernon doesn’t have Internet access, so people email questions to him and he responds through an intermediary who then posts to his blog.

Whatever your personal feelings on the death penalty, this is an interesting approach to “personalizing” a death row inmate…something that has been done time and again through more traditional means in the past.

Is this what Marshall McLuhan meant when he said “The medium is the message?” Maybe. Or maybe it’s just the way in which many people may mis-interpret this famous line.

In any case, I first heard about this blog through the Wall St. Journal, although I’m sure it’s been picked up by other news media as well. What makes this story different than many others is the medium through which the story is being told.

Sometimes a message is important because of the way it’s delivered; as Vernon’s supporters have shown us, the blogging platform itself alters, enhances, and promotes the message.

While I’m sure (at least I hope) your blog serves a different purpose than Vernon’s, be aware of the unique attributes of blogging: its sense of community involvement, its immediacy, and its ability to be “news worthy” just because it’s a new medium.

Its newness and particularities make it a powerful method to disseminate your message.