What we mean by a Mequoda System and why you should care
Here at Mequoda Group, we often are asked what we mean by a Mequoda System, especially now that our business has grown to include building out full-blown digital content marketing system websites for other publishers.
Despite the misconceptions of some of our professional colleagues, the word “system,” as used on our website, is not a combination of computer hardware, software, and peripheral devices.
When we refer to “system,” we specifically mean the “Mequoda System,” or digital content marketing system, which we define as a collection of functions, people, and activities that constitute a method for marketing and publishing niched, special-interest information on the Internet.
“System” is a word that got co-opted by the computer industry in the 1980s for describing an integrated collection of mechanical devices. But its meaning in the context of a digital content marketing system should be much more encompassing for publishers — both print and online.
A Mequoda System can be viewed as a blueprint for making a fortune while bringing vital information to an appreciative audience. Nice work, if you can get it.
But it wasn’t our idea.
We readily agree that the components of a Mequoda System were not invented by Mequoda Group. We simply take credit for identifying them by studying and deconstructing the publishing websites of the world’s best information marketers.
When we defined, enumerated, classified, and described each of the components, we realized the parts work together to create a system. We call it the Mequoda System because we believe we were the first to formally recognize and reverse engineer its component parts.
Why you should care
When we refer to the Mequoda System, it’s not arrogance; it’s aggrandizement. The Mequoda System widens the scope of superior online marketing and publishing, which aggregates to the improvement and increased profitability of all publishers.
We have become the world’s foremost instructors and evangelists for the Mequoda System. We currently have more than 28,000 basic, pro and gold members who subscribe to our email newsletter on digital content marketing system best practices. By referring to it as the Mequoda System, we amplify its power and effectiveness.
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Make no mistake, we recognize the Mequoda System is a generic term for a digital content marketing system. Yes, we have trademarked Mequoda because it is our brand. And yes, we have copyright protected our editorial content, because we have created and own it.
But no one can claim copyright or trademark protection for an idea. We recognize that other publishers have adopted many of the same best practices that constitute the Mequoda System version of a digital content marketing system without attributing them to Mequoda Group. That is not a substantive issue for us, legal or otherwise, except when others denigrate our work or steal our intellectual property.
We will continue to refer to our documented findings and best practice recommendations as the Mequoda System, even if the words Mequoda System become generic.
By the way, did you know that aspirin was originally a trademark of Bayer AG; escalator was originally a trademark of Otis Elevator Company; thermos was originally a trademark of Thermos GmbH; and zipper was originally a trademark of B.F. Goodrich?
Trademarks that have been defended against genericization include Xerox for copiers, Plexiglas for shatter-resistant polymer glass and Kleenex for facial tissues.
One other clarification. Mequoda is a portmanteau word for “media quote daily.”
We get asked that a lot, too.
Don’t miss Bob Kaslik’s presentation, “SEO Campaign Management: Using Free Content, SEO, PR and Link Building to Drive Website Traffic and Build Email Circulation, at the Mequoda Summit Boston 2010.
