Joe Pulizzi runs a business called Junta 42 that is in what we used to call custom publishing. This meant creating a magazine for a company that uses it for marketing. Think of the sort of magazine you get from big brands like American Express. Of course these days that means online. Blogging enabled Joe Q Citizen to become a media-empire-in-my-pajamas to the rage of traditional media. Now any company can become a media company, bye-passing traditional media. All they need is genuinely interesting content. They obviously have the budget to pay for people to create interesting content. Joe helps them to spend that budget wisely.

So we thought that his take on B2B Media and the impact of the semantic web would be interesting.

Color Me Orange

BL: Tell me about your background.

JP: Over-educated and under-experienced, I started working internal communications for a large insurance company after college. Was lucky enough to fall into a job overseeing custom publishing projects at Penton Media a decade ago. After overseeing that department for seven years, I left to start Junta42 and wrote the book Get Content Get Customers with Newt Barrett.

Since leaving Penton, I’ve been lucky enough to travel all over North America and Europe speaking about content marketing, where I usually start my presentations stating that I’m the “poster boy” for content marketing and wear the color orange everywhere.

Since Leaving Penton

BL: What are you currently working on?

JP: Working on a new book about content marketing case studies, as well as organizing a content marketing organization focused on how-to learning of content marketing concepts. More details on that shortly. Also just launched a small company called SocialTract, which is a social media/blogging service for HVACR contractors.

Optimistic Or Pessimistic?

BL: On a scale of 1-10 how pessimistic or optimistic are you about B2B
Media today compared to how you felt in 2007? (1 is most pessimistic
and 10 is most optimistic.) Tell me why you feel this way.

JP:If you are a niche media player that is not focused on solely advertising revenues, I say 10. If you are a big media player trying to make the adjustment, I say 3. There is more opportunity than ever before for B2B media, especially for small, disruptive players. With an internet connection and a ton of expertise, a media professional can effectively start a niche brand today (of course, that’s what we are trying to do as well).

Semantic Web For B2B Media

BL: What role if any do you see for SemanticWeb in B2B Media
(interpreting that broadly to mean “anything related to large
semi-structured data sets”)?

JP: If I understand the question right, data that can be shaped into relevant answers for customers and prospects is perhaps the most valuable content on the web. Just take a look at VC money in the B2B media industry. They love information businesses built on
subscription services.

As we’re able to interpret data faster for customers and help them
make more useful tools of data in particular niches, the opportunities
are unlimited.

Innovative B2B Media Firms

BL: Which large B2B companies look most innovative to you at the moment?

JP: I love what IDG is doing. Their focus on research and custom content has been cutting edge for years.

(Ed: that is two innovators who rate IDG the highest for innovation. Paul Conley gave them the nod in our earlier interview).

I also like what Watt Publishing is doing. They are building social media communities in markets you’d never think would work…but they are working.

Exciting Innovation In B2B Media

BL: Which innovations in B2B media excite you the most at the moment
(does not matter whether the innovator is big or small, from
traditional media or out of the box entirely.

JP: I like the fact that B2B media companies and agencies are fighting for content marketing dollars. I like seeing media companies, like our
partner HVACR Business, get into the business of providing marketing
services for companies. I like seeing B2B media companies going way
outside their product set to offer solutions for their customers (like
Hanley Wood Marketing), where they are getting into web design,
international content projects, branded video and more.

In other words, I like that B2B media companies are looking for
revenue opportunities that they thought used to be off limits.

Who Are The B2B Media Companies Of The Future?

BL: Finally, what question should I have asked you?

JP: Who are the b2b media companies of the future?
B2B companies like Parker Hannifin or IBM or Miller Electric. The
best b2b media is starting to come from companies themselves…I don’t
see that trend ending anytime soon.

(Editor’s note: Joe is onto something here based on my personal anecdotal experience. Friends and family who know what I do for a living and who have businesses are often asking me how they can get online traffic and exposure by writing interesting stuff).

SemTechBiz is Less Than 3 Weeks Away

The Semantic Tech & Business Conference (SemTechBiz) is coming to San Francisco on June 3-7! Join us for case studies, innovative panels, tutorials, and keynotes that will provide you with practical advice, hands-on guidance, and breakthrough approaches to solving business problems with semantic technology. Passes go up $200 at the door. Sign up now and save !