Former CNET Sales VP to Head Blog Network Sales

Chas Edwards, former VP of sales and marketing for CNET Network's B2B sites will, on July 11, head over to John Batelle's new blog network, FM Publishing, to head sales. The network will launch with between 10 and 20 technology focused weblogs and branch out to, perhaps, culture-focused blogs.

Book Ad Acknowledges People's Intelligence

To promote its new book called Countdown to Crisis, Crown Publishers has placed a series of blog ads that contain the usual, gushing quotes from those who love the book but, unusually, they also include quotes from those who hate the book. Rarely do advertisers call attention to the negative aspects of a product or service, choosing to highlight only the positive. While nothing is perfect and everyone knows it, the continual positive-spin, adver-blather most ads spew forth just falls on deaf ears after a while.

People are intelligent and enjoy being treated intelligently. In the case of this book ad, pointing people to a negative review is not necessarily a bad thing. Perhaps after reading the review, a person considering the book might think the reviewer's opinion simply isn't relevant to their mindset or book buying consideration set. With people armed with endless sources of information regarding any and all advertised product, hiding or glossing over the truth is pointless. Crown Publishers knows this.

Advertising In Games West Show Announced

Computer and video game conference and event planner, The Game Initiative, has announced the Advertising In Games West forum at 600 Toensend in San Francisco July 28, 2005. Advertising in Games Forums bring together advertisers, publishers and game makers to discuss the opportunities and challenges of ads in games.

Speakers include industry leaders from both the game industry and the advertising business, including: Microsoft, Ogilvy Interactive, Double Fusion, Wild tangent, Massive Incorporated, Nielsen Interactive Entertainment, United Talent Agency, Yankee Group, BlockDot, InGame partners, Skyworks Technologies, Arnell Group and others. Visit the conference website for more information.