• Martha Stewart Creates A Lifestyle Blog Network | MediaPost.com
  Martha’s Circle is a collection of leading lifestyle sites and blogs handpicked by editors and experts, to serve as a network for advertisers.
  (tags: blogging magazines)
• NetNewsWire Lite 3.1b1 public beta | Brent Simmons
  This is the free version of the RSS News Reader I use. It’s a Mac desktop application that syncs with Newsgator (the online newsreader). I once said I live in NetNewsWire. That’s still true.
  (tags: RSS netnewswire)
• Blame Steve Jobs, Eisner tells Striking Writers | CNET News.com
  Observation: Actually, I think this is good advice no matter what the situation. Car won’t start., blame Steve Jobs. Hate your job, blame Steve Jobs. However, I’m blaming Michael Eisner.
  (tags: apple disney eisner jobs)

On the Southwest “Biz” page, the airlines is announcing some rather radical new features related to its new boarding policy.

They include some perks for hardcore SWA fliers (like me) so it will be interesting to see how they position these baby-steps toward tiering their seating policy away from the “egalitarian” system of old.

Here are the components of their, hmm, what to call it, “We don’t have first class, but how about this class?” (Later: Or, “It’s not first class, but you can move to the front of the class” fare)

Business Select: When you purchase this new fare, they’ll guarantee you’ll be among the first to board and you’ll also get extra Rapid Rewards credit and a free drink.

The Rapid Rewards A-List: Fly 16 roundtrips in 12 months and you get on the SWA A-List where they’ll reserve you the best boarding pass available on all your flights for an entire year, which means you’ll most likely get an A boarding pass. (Note: Finally, an A-List on which I’ll be included.)

Freedom Awards: Rapid Rewards Members can now convert two Standard Awards into one Freedom Award. With the exception of a few blackout dates, Freedom Awards are not subject to seat restrictions.

Later: The Dallas Morning news has details about the new “perks to lure business travelers”.

(Thanks, Lewis)

Technorati Tags: southwest, swa

Since I don’t use words like symbiotic or synergistic, let’s just say, it makes lots of sense when magazine publishers view those who blog on topics related to their magazine’s category as potential partners (translation: advertising inventory) rather than competitors. And while I have heard in the past week some people say that blogger advertising networks are already saturated, I think the whole idea is just now hitting the consciousness of old-skool media types and the old skool advertisers with whom they have had long and valued relationships. Today’s example is the creation of “Martha’s Circle“, a “collection of leading lifestyle sites and blogs handpicked by editors and experts, to serve as a network for advertisers.” I’ll be writing more on this topic later. Not today, but later.

(via: MediaPost)