James and I are fond of the label "Open Source Marketing", without (I hope) getting too attached to it or pedantic about it. We use it to cover a range of ways in which organisations can create more real engagement with customers.

A lot of the time, we talk about companies using blogs to create new relationships with customers. But let's avoid two misconceptions.

OS marketing doesn't have to be all techie. When Red Bull set up The Art of The Can they went for high touch not high tech.

And it won't always mean the only way to succeed is with the kind of porosity that blogging might entail. Sometimes, the best way to get talked about is to have something really provocative, witty or smart to say, even if you remain in some ways rather secretive and exclusive. That's where Apple seems to hit the sweet spot. Grant McCracken (my fellow Corante Hub member) gives a good example of this today.