BzzAgent is publishing an interesting blog over here, “a 90-day experiment in organizational transparency,” the idea being to chronicle how BzzAgent is using the $13.8 million in venture capital it received in December to “make a fundamental transition from an agency to a media model.”

In doing so, they’ve published a set of “transparency guidelines” that should be thought-provoking to anyone involved in company communications. After all, we all want to be as “transparent” as possible in our communications, but what exactly does that mean? Would you be comfortable blogging under these guidelines? Would you add more guildelines than these? See if BzzAgent’s list matches yours:

• Employees must approve usage of their names
• Clients must approve usage of their names for all information that is not already public
• We will not disclose: the personal information of any BzzAgents, BzzAgent financial information, confidential employee information

Adds BzzAgent: “We are learning as we go. These rules may change as people get more comfortable with how this turns out, with the ultimate goal of limiting as many rules as possible.”

Robert Loch over at Soflow alerts me to this terrific bit of Flash. Entertaining, but it’s more than funny: It points out some important business issues. A longtime friend and coworker puts it well: “This speaks to nearly every project I’ve ever encountered in the entirety of my work experience and really hits home the fact that it takes far more discipline to reduce things to their essence than it does to clutter it up with too many messages.”

Takeaway for marketers: You want to be more like iPod. But: Are you willing to step out of your comfort zone to be able to do so?

This “oil clock” created to help promote the film Syriana is one of the smartest bits of promotional Flash work I’ve seen in a while. It involves the user (indeed, it makes the user the center of the messaging); it’s not just an ad for a political film, there’s a political message inherent here; and the piece itself serves to raise issue awareness independent of whether one sees the film or not. Well done!

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”
—Mahatma Gandhi

Reuters reports that Microsoft “will introduce a search engine better than Google in six months.”

Assuming they do, that’s just step one in addressing their real competitive challenge: It’s not just what’s under the hood that matters, it’s how people view and use Google. It’s that “Google” is a verb. It’s that Google is so deeply ingrained into the way so many millions use the Internet.

Think Mac and PC: A Mac is arguably better than a PC, but PCs are so deeply ingrained into the way so many millions use computers. Talk about operating systems and interfaces and virus vulnerability and stability all day long, but ultimately customers need to know: “What’s my compelling reason for switching?”

Gates and Co. may come up with better search algorithms, but unless they’re accompanied by compelling reasons to stop using Google, and perhaps even some sort of fundamental shift in the way we interact with all the information on the Internet, I suspect Google’s spot at the head of the class is secure.