Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who has never been shy about speaking his mind, recently made the decision to ban all bloggers - major and minor -- from the locker room. In a post on Blog Maverick, justifying his decision as a move toward equality, Cuban argued that he didn't feel that a blogger from the mainstream media should have more access to his players than a person who blogs as a hobby.

His assertion that this was an effort to ensure equality was met with heavy criticism from writers, both on and off the Internet. It was seen as a heavy-handed attempt at censorship and the backlash was immediate and overwhelming. In light of Cuban's well-developed persona, the ban seemed particularly out of character. He's opened himself up to criticism for eight years as the most connected owner in sports. By listening to customers about how to improve the fan experience, Cuban has built a brand based on accessibility.

If you ever need a blueprint for viral video success (or even a new media approach), it's sitting on YouTube's most viewed list right now: Guys backflip into jeans.

The viral spot created for Levi Strauss by the advertising agency Cutwater has rocketed past 2 million views in just a little over a week's time. The premise is simple - a group of performers do a series of increasingly complicated tricks to step into their jeans.

Big headlines about the airline industry have graced the front pages of newspapers, magazines and websites recently. After two years or so of profitability and the looming threat of a US recession and rising oil prices, airlines are struggling once again. Rather than raise ticket prices, airlines have been creating new fees and will soon be asking passengers to pay for a second checked bag.  The key to surviving trying times is keeping your eye on your brand, and it seems as though only a few airlines are keeping that in mind.

On the heels of its successful generic prescription drug plan, Wal-Mart announced in 2007 that it planned to open several hundred medical clinics within its retail stores. Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott believes the number could grow as high as 2,000 by 2014.

The model was simple. Doctors or nurse practitioners provide routine medical care - testing for strep throat or giving flu shots at a fixed rate. CVS, Walgreens, and Rite Aid were quick to follow suit, saying that they were considering similar measures.

It's a classic example of Blue Ocean Strategy. Faced with slowing revenue gains, Wal-Mart decided to curb its expansion plans and focus on deriving more income from its existing stores. Rather than battle Target or CVS and accept diminishing returns, the company set out to get ahead of the curve and launch a retail, healthcare operation.

A flog is a blog that, on its surface, appears to be written by an average consumer or person, but is actually the stylized creation of a public relations firm or marketing department. In many ways it is an online extension of the concept of astroturfing. 

Wal-Mart came under fire in 2006 for failing to disclose that it was funding Wal-Marting Across America, a flog that featured a couple traveling cross country in an RV and sleeping in Wal-Mart parking lots. When it was discovered that the blog was the creation of the public relations firm Edelman, the backlash was swift and strong from the blogosphere where transparency is considered the first rule of the social media realm.

Blogs are a form of participatory journalism, and the risk a company runs in starting a flog is that the act will be seen as a violation of the reader's trust because the content is being misrepresented, a la James Frey's A Million Little Pieces.

Origin: The term flog was likely coined by designer Matthew Oliphant in February of 2005. Within a year it was being used regularly to refer to the Edelman-created blog, Wal-Marting Across America. The name flog is short for fake blog or "flack blog."

An onsert is a standard marketing piece commonly used with newspapers and magazines, and recently applied to direct mail. It is a separate advertisement that is attached to a page of a publication or a customer mailing, and usually is in the form of a takeaway product, like a compact disc, magnet, or small booklet.

Onserts have recently been used to explore the field of scented advertising with newspaper companies like Gannett considering pages or stickers imprinted with smells. 

A derivative product of the onsert is the "onstatement," where advertisements are included on an invoice or account statement from a corporation with no distinction between the content.

Origin: Onserts were developed, and named in contrast to the insert (where a marketing piece is included within a publication). Early uses of onserts were the ubiquitous AOL membership CDs or the sticker covering the masthead of your USA Today.