Sponsored B2B

Matt Cutts once said that blogging gives everybody a chance to publish and touch a nation; that if the content is good and honest, people will recognize that... having written articles and worked in the marketing industry for quite some time, I know that it is not enough to simply build something - people won't come just because the content is worthy - you also need buzz. You need a hook, something more or less intangible that can cause a viral interaction. More often than not, you can do this with a dirty picture of a hotel hieress (it has been done before), a political uproar (the same picture but with a Senetor - also has been done before, just a different hieress than the one you are probably thinking of), and sometimes a challenge. Usually the challenge has to be niche, offer a really big incentive (think Superbowl tickets), and have some type of celebrity endorsement.

I have none of the above.

Instead, I am going to test the merit of the challenge theory for buzz without targeting a niche market (although I think the volume of my blog readers makes this very much a niche target), without a grand prize, and without celebrity endorsement. Instead, I'm just going to use every medium I have at my disposal to try and build some awareness, and offer up my public humiliation as incentive.

Once again, I am going to try to raise money for a cure for Breast Cancer; however, this year I am going to go out on a much further limb. I thought that if I agreed to a high level of public embarrassment, people may be inclined to donate more money - if not, to at least pass the message on to friends as well.

For the past year I have continued to grow out my hair; forfeiting office protocol to look less like a derelict bum and more like a working professional; in the hopes that I could donate my locks for a wig for Cancer victims. It is finally long enough!

So, if I can raise $1k for the Run for a Cure, I will shave my head (a given) and also run the entire race in complete DRAG!! (Everybody that donates will get a thank-you card with a picture - do with it what you want, just promise not to tell me if you plan on doing anything dirty!!)

In the event that I can raise $5k, I will, in addition to shaving my head, go one step further in my public embarrassment and promise to run the entire race in the slinkiest of pink ladies underwear. (For those asking themselves, I am not of the ilk to get personal enjoyment from such attire - Imagine a 220lbs man in such an outfit... and although I may have once had the legs, those days are gone).

In my life, my mother, grandmother, and other women that have meant more than the world to me have battled and survived this disease - though I think that the emotional scars are as difficult as the physical. Their strength has always been a guiding light to me. However, I also know wome not as fortunate, though equally strong, that did not have the luck to beat breast cancer. If my humiliation can help build a little more awareness, maybe inspire a few other men to abandon machismo for a good cause, and ultimately raise a few bucks... then let the madness begin!!!

If you can, please donate what you can. If you think it is worthwhile, and have friend that may agree with you, pass the email along. Unfortunately, it is going to take the help of a lot of people for me to raise my goal... they say that every picture has a price, well then, I suppose the price for an absurd picture of me is $5k.

I assure you, I am not trying to bilk money to some secret ex-Soviet account - I'm just trying to do something that I think is right, for all the right reasons - maybe you do too.