Commercial Consumer Blogs 2

Coca Cola has attemptede to co-opt the blog experience into their My Coke marketing community. This is a registration-based site where you get music, video and other downloads as well as the opportunity to "Make It Real" by creating a blog.

If you are a dyed-in-the-wool coke enthusiast, it's not so bad. But the templates are flat and the Coke advertising is, well, everywhere. And it's a closed community. I have to register to create or view the blogs.That seems to defy one of the fundamental characteristics of blogs - a public beachhead of "me" (or closed to a small community like family) where I want as much visibility as possible.

There is, of course, a points-based affinity program. And I got 1000 points ("decibels" in their lingo) just for joining up. I know I ma not their target audience but I have significant doubts about the viability of such a commercial venture. Do 14-year-olds really want to create a coke blog vs. using My Space or other services? There seems to be a tremendous number of abandoned blogs in there.

Here's what the main screen looks like:

Here's a typical blog: