This doesn't mean that they shouldn't be blogging - after all, you and I are going to disagree on which blogs are good and bad anyway - but it does suggest that sprinkling the blogosphere with some creative ideas and innovative writing would benefit us all as this communications channel grows and evolves.

Chief among the many methods bloggers are using to explore how blogs can become more engaging are so-called "fake blogs" or "fictitious blogs", and that's what I'm going to talk about in this article, and show how they could be a great addition to the blogosphere, not a plague to be eradicated.

Purists immediately bridle at what I'm saying, I know, because for many people the cornerstones of a good weblog are credibility and authenticity, both of which are rather hard to establish if you're pretending to be a moose, rabbit, cartoon character or comic book superhero in your weblog!

Cast our net more widely and it's clear that storytelling has been an essential part of marketing and public relations for eons, from court jesters and actors to witch doctors and snake oil salesmen, to today's mock reality shows. Ask any good storyteller whether they get into character when telling a story and they'll all say "you bet I do" because pretending to be someone directly associated with the story makes the tale more compelling, exciting and engaging.

Weblogs can and should enjoy the same benefits. There's no reason why a fake blog cannot be interesting, amusing and informative, while also having the desirous blog characteristics of credibility and authenticity within the context of the blog itself. Indeed, I don't even like the pejorative "fake blog", so let's call it a "story blog instead, to emphasize that everything about the weblog, from its premise and entries to the very persona of the author, are part of the fiction, of the story being told.

Given that this isn't really such a radical idea after all, why is it that there are so many terrible story blogs released, from the daft McDonald's Lincoln Fry blog to the worthwhile but overly flashy Captain Morgan Rum blog or, the worst I've seen to date, Wrigley's Juicy Fruit Gum Blog?

I think that the real reason that story blogs aren't better and therefore more popular is because it's just darn hard to produce material week after week as a fictitious character. Now I think we're getting to the root of the problem. I really believe that story blogs are indeed an interesting new marketing channel, but they're still much more likely to be terrible abominations than anything cool or interesting.

Persistence is a tough obstacle: a weblog with a half-dozen entries that's then ignored certainly won't produce any useful results, but let's consider pseudonyms or pen names in literature as an interesting comparison. It might be difficult to write under an assumed name, particularly if the name suggests a different gender or ethnicity, but writing a novel is still a finite project and when the manuscript is done, the character invented can be put back on the shelf. Actors do this every day too, actually. They call it "method acting", when they become the character they're portraying.

What if you can create a logical reason that the blog should have a finite lifespan, though? One of the great hurdles of story blogs can then neatly be overcome.

Two examples of how this might work: "JayBlob for Olympics mascot!" which runs until the mascot is announced. Or, much better, "Going to Harvard, come heck or high water" which goes through all the challenges of taking college entrance exams, visiting colleges,
exploring Harvard, quoting news stories, good and bad, about Harvard, and ends one day with "The letter arrived, and… I'm in!! Oh, happy day!!! I'm done blogging, but I sure hope to see you on campus one day too!"

I realize some bloggers are immediately turned off by both of these examples, and indeed by the very suggestion of legitimacy that I invite by calling these "story blogs", not "fake blogs", "faux blogs", or any of the other frankly insulting terms that people use. But they're mistaking their use of the medium for the medium itself.

Blogs, by themselves, have no constraints or requirements. They're just communications tools waiting to be sculpted into something useful, interesting or entertaining. And in that vein, I continue to look forward to the day when creative writers really have that moment of inspiration and start to show how story blogs can become some of the best and most engaging content in the blogosphere.

And did I mention that I'm actually a committee of people writing under a pseudonym? No? Well what if I were? Would you value this article and my blogs any less?

About the author

Dave Taylor has been involved with the Internet since 1980 and is widely recognized as an expert on both technical and business issues. He has been published over a thousand times, launched four Internet-related startup companies, has written nineteen business and technical books and holds both an MBA and MS Ed. Dave maintains three weblogs, The Intuitive Life Business Blog, focused on business and industry analysis, the eponymously named Ask Dave Taylor devoted to tech and business Q&A and The Attachment Parenting Blog, discussing topics of interest to parents. Dave is a top-rated speaker, sought after conference and workshop facilitator and frequent

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