Coffin: Yes.

Berens: The first would be: blogs. We talk about them as if they are an entirely different entity. They are just a form of website. Blogs is, as you know, short for "web logs." And, people read them differently. People think about them differently. So, they are inherently different. But, from your perspective, from the ad networks' perspective, is there something different about placing ads and dealing with the blog inventory than with portal inventory.

Coffin: Than with portal inventory or with other inventory that we represent that I would characterize as… it is not a blog, but it is still independent web content? All of that falls under this rich headline of citizen media.

Berens: We have blogs, portals; and, "citizen media" is a terrific term -- blogs, portals and websites.

Coffin: Right. Websites is a perfectly good way to look at it.

Berens: And so, are blogs different? And if so, then how?

Coffin: No. Not in our book. Let me say that first. Blogs are a manifestation of what has been present online on the World Wide Web since HTML made it possible. It just makes it more possible. And, it makes it more interactive. Blogging is a wonderfully accessible means of producing content. And, it is certainly more interactive than say, just your average website. But, what you get from your website, such as the ones that we may represent (and there are zillions of them out there), is perhaps a richer content environment. You are not just dealing with RSS feeds stacked over top of each other and a few graphics.  You can do many more sort of interesting things with it from a graphic and an experiential standpoint.  But, they are -- as far as I am concerned -- part of the same genus, part of the same family. It is about citizen media. It is about people publishing and pursuing their interest online.

Berens: And, is there any difference in the inventory specifically, practically?

Coffin: No. From a practical standpoint you can do on blogs what you can do on websites, depending on the bloggers and their willingness to sign up for any of this stuff. They can accommodate all of the rich media in the world that the independent websites can. They all have a similar sensibility: these people are passionate. And, they have a very strong sense of value. And, most of them -- certainly the ones that we represent, and that I think are generally represented in the commercial arena -- have a sense of commercial integrity, so they are very careful about what they confront their audiences with. Otherwise, what has made blogs stand out -- aside from their ability to generate and their interactivity -- is that they are little bit more downtown. They are a little bit edgier. And, they can be fresher, because blogging, I think, carries with it a certain commitment that you are going to be posting not just every day, but perhaps multiple times every day.

Berens: That is the nightmare of trying to keep up with them.

Coffin:  And, that is the good news and the bad news of it, because it can cut into the quality of some of the content when you are just posting, posting, posting, posting. Advertisers have been cautious about how they approach blogs, worrying a little bit about what is going to happen to them, and what is going to happen to their advertising when they are on there, but --

Berens: -- which is getting back to the transparency question.

Coffin: That gets back to the transparency.

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