Not Chuck Norris, but…
This week, I had the pleasure of bugging Agent Genius contributor Ben Martin over the phone while he drove back home from D.C. I’ve been curious about the launch of VARbuzz.com and wanted to get the scoop, so after torpedoing Ben with questions, he proved that he is bullet proof. Well, okay, maybe he’s no Chuck Norris, but I learned a lot about VARbuzz.
Ben Martin is already hip-deep in two other blogs outside of AG- one that covers the “code of good business” campaign which is sort of the business side of The Ted and another regarding the annual convention, both of which are over but those blogging efforts are being rolled into VARBuzz. Ben still saw potential in a blog that would create a greater presence for their corporate blog, generate conversation and engage members. “We want to show that we’re proactive, that we get it.”
Future of VARbuzz.com,
Ben has already recruited several bloggers to author the site with him, helping to amplify the voice of the site with blog backgrounds ranging from a few weeks old to years old, so the mix should definitely create an interestingly diverse product.
Regarding the site design, they’re testing the full vs. partial feed subscriptions (be sure to let him know your preference) to see what best serves their site. The logo is intentionally highlighting the “social” aspect of social media and social marketing and aims to be clear to the audience that the site is interactive.
Much more than a tool
Ben sees VARbuzz.com as much more than a tool- the blog will “enhance and extend relationships” with the benefit being “creating personal connections between VAR and their members.” Putting a real face on the blog “humanizes it and connects people, and ultimately they’ll appreciate more what [VAR] is doing.”
By humanizing what people at the association level do, there is a posibility that VARbuzz will “change some attitudes of the naysayers about the whole association machine.” VAR progresses while NAR is tied up in traditional media and overly controlling the message while being unwilling to acknowledge the shift in control has gone to the members who now control the message because of online communications.
