Blogging and Business
Jon Buscall has a long, nuanced discussion about blogging and business. It's not just a question of bribing bloggers to talk about you, or trotting out an advocacy blog; blogging takes touch.
I suppose you could pay someone to blog about a product on a regular basis, but for this to work the writer would also have to let their personality shine through: those book /film/software reviews, coffee house recommendations and sketches of Paris are just as important as blogging staying 'on topic'. For example, a pure Tinderbox is Fabulous-blog could not be as nuanced as a a personal blog like Doug or Mark or Scott’s without all the other stuff. Seeing something of a bloggar’s world gives their software recommendations better currency. The unspoken stuff is important.
I don't know that the unspoken stuff is important, but the big picture certainly matters. Staying on message is for politicians.