Fascinating read-- thanks for sharing.

> When I think how hard PR firms work to score press hits in the traditional media, I can't imagine they'll work any less hard to feed stories to bloggers, if they can figure out how.

I wanted to add that PR firms have indeed figured out how to pitch to bloggers, and do so all the time. I am close with several folks who work in PR and pitch to bloggers every day.

Anytime you read a blogger's review of any product, it was because they were sent free samples from the PR firm that represents the product maker. This sometimes backfires when the blogger doesn't like the product and expresses that in the review. But more often than not, the blogger is flattered by the gifts and praise and is happy to give glowing reviews of the new widget.