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I love blogging! In case you are not aware of what kind of activity that is, let me enlighten you. Blogging is the process of creating and maintaining a blog, which is a shorthand term for Web log. Bloggers -- those doing the blogging - -were featured in Time Magazine's "Person of the Year" 2004 issue. I think that was because political bloggers were more accurate about the election results than were the mainstream media.

But what exactly is a blog and why do I love to blog?

A blog is a web site like any other web site, except it is designed to sequentially lay out your "posts" or short missives into chronological order-hence "log" in computer parlance. You use a web-based publishing platform to write your posts and publish them to your blog. It's pretty easy.

Blogging is less formal than other types of web-based publishing. You can be more opinionated and you can publish your thoughts any time you feel the urge. I like it because I often have opinions on pharma issues as they arise and blogging allows me to publish those opinions immediately and with little hassle.

As soon as I read an article in the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post or some other publication, I can write down my thoughts and publish them on my blog, which is simply called Pharma Marketing Blog (www.pharmamarketingblog.com).

For example, when the Washington Post ran a story on how Canada is considering banning Internet drug sales, I immediately connected this with a previous news item about how the US will continue to import Canadian cattle despite a recent incidence of Mad Cow Disease in Canada. I smelled a conspiracy and immediate posted the piece "Canada: Mad Cows Yes, Drugs No" to Pharma Marketing Blog. Soon afterward, the Post published an article quoting the executive director of an association of Canadian mail-order pharmacies who also felt there was a connection. This is a classic blog experience! You never know what you can learn first on Pharma Marketing Blog!

You might think that the PHARMA-MKTING listserv (email discussion group) is the perfect place to post opinions. It's a good place, but not perfect. Like many other PHARMA-MKTING members, I often-but not always-keep my opinions to myself and yield the floor to other members. Also, it's not as if my opinions were of interest to ALL the 1500 or so PHARMA-MKTING members! Why should I interrupt their day with additional emails?

Why don't I just continue to publish my opinions here in Pharma Marketing News? Well, I will continue to do that. But this OpEd space is limited and appears only once per month. More importantly, I don't want to turn the newsletter into a platform for my particular point of view. A few words every month is enough.

Meanwhile, if you have any blog-worthy information or opinions drop me a note any time or submit a comment on Pharma Marketing Blog.

John Mack, Publisher and Editor
editor@pharmamarketingnews.com