The new promotional mantra

Here's how TV networks got popular:
step 1: make sure the FCC gives you a low channel number. 2 is better than 12.
step 2: during sweeps week, run lots of special movies.
step 3: have the local news do an expose on iced tea sold at delis (with bacteria in it, no less)
step 4: have the local news cover a lot of fires

Here's how blogs get popular:
step 1: run some sort of poll that lots of other bloggers link to
step 2: if the poll is about you, link to it: Link: The 2005 Business Blogging Awards � Best Marketing Blog.
step 3: be controversial. Try to get a CNN VP to resign under pressure. Yell when you can speak, scream when you can whisper.
step 4: write stuff worth reading. The thing is, it's up to you/us, the readers, to decide what "worth reading" means. If we read, talk about and link to the stuff that's thin or short-lasting or flamboyant, then that's what we're going to get, right?