NEDMA ^[1] attendees were treated to a FANTASTIC program last night, courtesy of Paul Gillin ^[2], author of the forthcoming book, “The New Influencers: A Marketer’s Guide to the New Social Media.”

Paul, the former editor at Computer World ^[3] and the 6th employee at TechTarget ^[4] (he recently went out on his own) spoke about how blogging and social networking is dramatically changing the way companies market to consumers and customers.

In short, bloggers have become the New Influencers.

Of course, Paul gave excellent examples. However, instead of using one of his examples to illustrate his point, I’ll give you one of my own.

A few months ago, one of my online friends recommended the Project Rungay ^[5] blog after she learned I was hooked on the BravoTV show “Project Runway ^[6].” Begun by two guys a few weeks into Season 3, the blog had already attracted a small group of fans.

Over the weeks, though, the blog began picking up readership — mostly due to its excellent writing. Intelligently written and deliciously catty, Project Rungay filled a void in Project Runway fandom.

Instead of offering episode recaps, Tom and Lorenzo, the blog’s authors, dished about the show and its contestants — from the gay perspective. I found myself checking in multiple times a day.

At some point in the season, Tom and Lorenzo attended a NY event and met Project Runway mentor-to-the- designers Tim Gunn ^[7] — who said he read the blog. Of course, we were all thrilled!

Suddenly, everyone was reading Project Rungay — including the TV show contestants, reporters, and other bloggers. Project Rungay was mentioned in Newsweek’s “BlogWatch ^[8].” Then, oh be still my heart, Tom and Lorenzo were invited to the Project Runway Season Finale! WOW!

In a few short months, the blogging duo had gone from “let’s have fun writing about this show” to being part of the Project Runway “inner circle” (to use Gunn’s words).

Project Rungay is a great example of a blog that delivers excellent content to a niche audience (an idea Paul touched on last night).

More importantly, the blog has become a powerful mechanism that gives BravoTV execs and producers feedback about the show and what its viewers want.

 

Kudos to Paul Gillin for his excellent presentation and to the Project Rungay Boyz for hitting the big time. (Darlings — you are the best!)