Earlier today, we were all excited about a longish article in the "R" (Special Reports) section of today's Wall Street Journal, which in a word, validates everything we've been saying here (and doing for our clients) for the last six months.

Whoohoo! we thought. Even though nobody we know in the blog and podcasting communities reads the R, we thought the reporter got a lot of the basics right…down to pointing out our favorite truths: there's a community online for everything. And you better be authentic before you venture into them.

Still, calling the WSJ hip to the music is a stretch: you can't link to the article (it's subscription only) and the only bloggers they talked to were the usual crowd.

OK they're not quite with it yet, but it was nice to know they think we're…uh…mainstream.

But then…BUT THEN…I decided to check out the podcast mentioned in a side bar in the article. The first five seconds MADE ME WANNA SCREAM.

I quote: "It doesn’t get much sweeter…getting coverage for your small business in the WALL STREET JOURNAL." If you think my emphasis on their name is wrong, just listen to the intro yourself. It sounds triumphant, celebratory, victorious.

In other words…go ahead and do all those things we talked about, but at the end of the day, we're still want you want, what you need, what you gotta have to be validated in the real world. If we don't write about you, but your blog is crashing from traffic, you don't exist. Sure, communities are fine, but we're all that matters. Sure, blogs can give you equalized media, but we control what's important in the real world.

I am shocked — SHOCKED! – at the profound tone deafness of this podcast.

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