[Reposted due to database problem]

Blogging is powerful stuff indeed.

On Steve Rubel's excellent Micro Persuasion blog, he referenced a story about some bloggers who have been posting all sorts of negative, yet very funny stuff about Kensington's new laptop lock. (Apparently, all you need to crack the lock are readily available items we all have at our fingertips -- a toilet paper roll, scissors and that ever-present, ever-ready, ever-useful stuff known as duct tape or the 8th world wonder to you DIYers out there.)

Funny as the story may be, there's a real marketing lesson here. The Kensington folks seem unaware of their faux pas, although it's plastered all over the Internet. What are your customers blogging about you online? And could this be blemishing your otherwise positive image?

A quick Google search could work wonders! And blogging on your own site to respond to such rumors might also be in order.

(And while we're talking about duct tape, for everyone still in need of a good Father's Day gift, there are quite a few books on new and exciting uses for duct tape out there. Got my dad one as a fun gift for a recent gift-giving occasion and he loved it!)