First a disclaimer. I’m a loyal fan of Woot.com. Not only do they offer unbeatable deals of some really cool gadgets, but they are also damned funny! It’s such a hoot reading their product of the day descriptions. Today’s was no exception:
For generations, American parents have trusted Barbie to prepare our daughters for adulthood, when they’ll be judged by completely unrealistic standards of beauty. Now, along comes everybody’s favorite plastic blonde with another reality check for the little she-tots. There’s no better way to say “Merry Christmas, and get ready for a lifetime of household drudgery� than the Barbie Real Vacuum by Bissell.
Ah, but we shouldn’t be so cynical. It doesn’t befit the season. Besides, the Barbie Real Vacuum is more than just a toy-slash-propaganda-piece; it’s an honest-to-Gaea cordless, rechargeable sweeper. A rotating brush, an easy-empty dust cup, and a washable filter make it easy for the wee lass in your life to make herself useful. Just one push of a button converts the Barbie Real Vacuum to a hand vac, and the whole thing weighs a mere 3.25 lbs, well within the capacities of all but the scrawniest kids.
It’s wonderful how those innocent, wide-eyed bambinas love to help out around the house. Take advantage while you can with the Barbie Real Vacuum by Bissell. After all, in just a few short years your little girl will be stealing your cigarettes and sneaking out of the house every night. There’s nothing the Barbie Real Vacuum can do about that, but at least you’ll have gotten some housework out of her in the meantime.
Feminist or chauvinist, you can’t help but appreciate such witticism!
Now to the point… Woot.com, having such clever, sharp-tongued writers on staff, surely could produce an exemplary blog, right? Certainly as a fan of theirs, I expect their blog to be absolutely killer! Unfortunately, it’s anything but. For the most part, it’s merely a copy-and-paste of their product-of-the-day descriptions. Attention retailers: Product description copy does not make for acceptible blog posts.
Because this is such an important point, let me restate it for emphasis… PRODUCT DESCRIPTIONS DOES NOT A BLOG MAKE!
I think somebody must have let Magazines.com in on this, because a year ago they abandoned their uninspired blog which was full of nothing but product descriptions.</RANT>
Oh how I wish you would say “product descriptions does not a GOOD blog make” because, of course, a blog is just a tool for publishing and managing content. Woot is unquestionably a blog in that sense. Is it as good as it could be? Is it accomplishing the goals they seek? Maybe. Maybe that’s just how they’re pushing out a different flavor of RSS feed.
Comment by Dave Taylor — November 23, 2006 @ 10:50 am
Point taken, Dave. But I think if they are using a blog platform solely as a content management system, they are mislabeling it by calling it a Blog. We use WordPress as a CMS for netconcepts.com, but we don’t call it a blog. Maybe it’s just semantics, but I wouldn’t say that woot.com has a “blogger” on staff, or that they are a “blogging” company. Their “staff blogger” is a scraper script. 😉
Comment by Stephan Spencer — November 23, 2006 @ 2:04 pm
*runs to see if Woot.com has blogger job opening*
A blog that merely scrapes and publishes previous copy. What a great job. A typical work day for Woot.com blogger:
Blogger: Hi Frank, nice game last night huh?
Frank: Yeah Mary, I can’t talk about it right now I am preparing for that board meeting and I have yet to get all my spreadsheets done and I have yet to get it collated and fashioned for presentation. I have been here since 5:00 a.m.
Blogger: I’ver had a rough time of it recently too Frank. My Control + C and Control + V buttons have been down all week. I have had to hand code all of that content after right clicking since Monday. I’m told it will be up and running again by next Monday.
Frank: That’s rough Mary. Hey can you hand me that stack of data over on the floor? I need to make sure it is in my report.
Blogger: Sorry Frank, the IT group is here to look at my problem. I have to go, and I told my husband I would pick up the kids after I deposited my paycheck. Did you get the Christmas bonus this year? Wow, who knew production was up 26% huh? Good luck on that presentation!
Okay, am I the only one seeing the old crew from SNL doing that skit? Whew I spent a long time on that comment, I need some coffee, and return to my feed reader. See you guys later. Rick have you sent the advertising revenue share this month? My kid wants one of those new Mac book things.
Comment by Jim Turner — December 1, 2006 @ 1:22 pm
[…] Stephan Spencer a fellow contributor at Business Blog Consulting, discusses what makes a corporate blog. He calls out Woot.com for their corporate blog. Stephan echoes ( there is that word again) my sentiments: […]
Pingback by Bloggers For Hire - A “day in the life” of a Corporate Blog Professional — December 1, 2006 @ 1:47 pm
Are Product Descriptions Blog Posts?…
If you just want to publish product descriptions by someone cryptically called “pod” it’s better you just have such pages on your main website.
……
Trackback by Content Blog — December 2, 2006 @ 2:40 am
[…] Stephan Spencer on Business Blog Consulting says Woot, you may be witty, but that’s not a real blog. To an extent I do agree. No matter how funny the blog is (it’s actually a rehash of whatever is published on the actual website), it’s after all a collection of product descriptions wrapped in the packet of humor. Where’s the room for conversation? Where is the room for controversy? Or even truth? […]
Pingback by Are Product Descriptions Blog Posts? | Content Writing and CopyWriting Blog — December 2, 2006 @ 2:40 am
[…] blogged before about Woot.com, one of my favorite online retailers. Their writing style is incredibly witty, often […]
Pingback by A bit too cheeky? » Shop.org Blog — January 3, 2008 @ 2:35 pm