You don’t have to be pregnant, breast feeding, or a recent parent, to relate to Mr. Nice Guy. While his blog spans his wife’s pregnancy, child’s birth and his entry into fatherhood, it is his witty rants and social insight that makes me read him daily. See the interview below, and make sure you check out his blog!

“i think “blogger” doesn’t really mean anything different than “pamphleteer” meant 300 years ago,” – Mr. Nice Guy

Q & Q: What’s been the most meaningful comment you’ve received about your blog

MR. NICE GUY: meaningful? um. someone invited themselves over to my house for dinner. i am not sure what that meant, but it sure was meaningful.

Q & Q: Are you interested in your blog rank?

MR. NICE GUY: if you mean “interested” to mean obsessively checking every other hour to see if i’ve clicked up a notch in technorati and link whoring myself out to any web site i’ve ever visited, then the answer is yes. this is why i agreed to this interview

Q & Q: Why have you chosen to remain anonymous?
MR. NICE GUY: mostly because my wife and child never asked to be subjected to my assinine sense of humor in a public sphere.

Q & Q: Which of your posts caused the biggest stir from your readers?
MR. NICE GUY: my wife giving birth people seem to get worked up about that sort of thing

Q & Q: Did you lose readers after that? all the build up and then, there you go.
MR. NICE GUY: no i think certain individual entries draw a lot of traffic for whatever reason. then maybe a few people stick around to read again in the future. and some never come back. over time the number of readers tends to trend upward. if i update regularly.

Q & Q: How did you get the title name for your blog?
MR. NICE GUY: i didnt even know i was going to start one. i was just monkeying around. in a way the name “mr nice guy” sort of dictated the persona i adopted. i have no idea why — some freudian shit happening there. no idea why i chose it i mean

Q & Q: is there a MR. NICE GUY book deal in the works?
MR. NICE GUY: no book deal. can you believe it?

Q & Q: No, I can’t. i am writing a screenplay about something else entirely though. that’s a secret. don’t tell anyone, internet.

Q & Q: can you give us a hint?
MR. NICE GUY: farrelly brothers meet orson welles, hitchcock meet seymore butts

Q & Q: did you have any last comment for your fans?
MR. NICE GUY: no, i hate my fans. no wait! that was a typo. i love my fans.

I attended the Future of Advertising tonight, and I just returned from the RAB in Dallas. Here’s a few observations to share:

1. Many panelist viewed ‘new media,’ as a misunderstood force to which they must respond. In actuality, new media isn’t a force. It was created by changes in peoples’ demands. Blogging, podcasting, consumer generated content and other new media types would have no validity unless they resonated with people whom they serve.
   
2. Traditional media’s response to marginalize new media treats only the symptom of the real problem.People lives have changed, not just their media habits. Consumers have higher expectations, more choices and greater ability to act on them than ever before. These forces are manifest in new media.
3. A panelist at the Future of advertising used the phrase, “Discover mechanism,” to describe traditional media. He argued that it won’t be obsolete. It “centralizes how we learn about new products and services.” Let’s examine this from a different perspective. Search, tagging and social networking changes how we discover information. Think of the power of number one organic search spot in Google for any category. Do you think any amount of traditional media could replace owning the number one spot on Google for “Boston Mortgage.” We could figure it out: impressions * conversions…Think tagging. If you’re picture is tagged in Flickr, or your blog is linked to network of other blogs, you’re creating information channels that can’t be purchased. Why? Because the credibility that comes with them isn’t for sale. Think social networking: the power of the Myspace/Facebook consumer to share sites and drive traffic. The connected online community user has word of mouth credibility to build or destory a brand.

Traditional media doesn’t understand that new media isn’t a passing trend. It reflects deep shifts in our culture. 85% of college students are on the Facebook. Myspace claims 55MM users. 37% of consumers text message. 4.8 Million podcasts were downloaded from radio stations…and the lists go on…Traditional media may lose to new media unless it embraces and extends the opportunity.

New media is our media.