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As founder of ClickZ back in 1997, Andy Bourland was an inspiration to many working during online marketing’s early days.

We were reminded of all his good work and deeds when Andy disclosed this week that he suffers from a serious medical condition that leaves him with very little strength, and which he says in all likelihood will take his life in the coming years.

Andy, on his blog, reports that he’s prepared for the worst, but hoping for the best. We at ClickZ are hoping for the same.

Because of his vision, ClickZ team is here today to help inform and guide the next generation of digital marketing execs. We are indebted to Andy.

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It’s official. Classifieds firm Oodle let go 10 staffers 2 weeks ago. CEO Craig Donato called it a “prudent decision.”

In an e-mail to ClickZ News, Donato noted the layoff was part of an overall re-org. “We re-aligned our organization. We made cuts in marketing and consolidated positions in account management, but we’re still aggressively hiring in engineering and other key roles.”

Here are the week’s blog marketing highlights for those who like their advice concise!

1.  Tickled with my new Thesis theme and design.  Hey - what do you think about the new look anyway?

2.  Friday Traffic Report Radio is coming today.  Tune in every week at 2 Eastern to listen to myself and Jim Stroud talk about new social media sites and other tools and resources we discover.  Catch past episodes chock full of cool tips.

3.  Can you attract as many visitors with honey as you can with fear?

4.  Big fat blog contest just started.  Link and win a $1200 membership to the new BlogSuccess training center!

A Link for Your Thoughts

Got something I should know about?  Give me the scoop on social media news, sites, or blog marketing tools and resources via my contact page!  I’ll give a link to you for anything I publish as a result of your tips!

It often doesn’t happen for weeks and even months at a time — but this morning, I was disconnected.

Twice.

The first time was trying to book an appointment with a doctor. The second time, I was trying to make reservations at a high-end restaurant (one that’s not, alas, on OpenTable). In fact, I read about it happening to the rash of the newly-unemployed attempting to contact state unemployment benefits offices. Oh, and a friend just moved to a sleek new office. Now I can’t access her or her staff by phone, either.

Perhaps you’ve encountered the situation: you dial business from your mobile phone only to be encountered with the familiar: for this, press 1; for that press 2. Frequently, staying on the line for help from an operator is simply not an option. But with many mobile phones (and like a growing segment of the population, I’m landline-less), pressing the appropriate button immediately disconnects the call.

I’m no telephony expert, and have no idea why these menus work 99 percent of the time from my BlackBerry, but not from a friend’s iPhone, or vice versa. I do know that if I can’t get through to that high-end restaurant, I’m going to take my client to eat at a place where I can actually book a table.

It’s an honest question.  I look at news channels like CNN and I wonder if there will ever be a model for news that focuses on the positive.

You might be so engrossed in what the news media feeds us on a daily basis that you’ve forgotten that there is just as much positive news as there is negative.  It is a matter of what you focus on.

It seems that the news media is forever in a loop.  It’s like the producers are saying “The election is over, let’s find out what could go wrong next.”  Or “people are losing their homes and jobs, let’s focus on who created that problem and ignore the people who are figuring out creative ways to deal with the problems facing us.”

We all know fear sells.  It also keeps ratings up.

But what if someone just decided to try a new segment on cable or network news that focuses on active solutions to problems that are working.  Or on individuals doing great things to help the people losing their jobs and homes?

There are plenty of ways to succeed online, and plenty of advice for making it happen. But what’s the one thing that every successful entrepreneur can fall back on?

If I had to reduce my recipe for success to just three things, this is what those three would be:

• Content
• Copywriting
• Collaboration

And if I had to give up two of those, I’d keep collaboration.

That may come as a shock, given the subject matter of this blog. But it’s true.

Partnering Strategies For The Win

The thing is, even if I couldn’t write my way out of McDonald’s bag sopping with Big Mac grease, I could still make money. My knowledge of partnering strategies (joint ventures, strategic alliances, project collaboration) guarantees the ability to put together a deal that has all the necessary talent and assets to make a project happen.

And even if I were dead broke, I could do it without spending a dime, all while making everyone involved better off. Including me, of course.

I realized today how grateful I am to have so many readers with the ability to do something in return for any inspiration they’ve gotten here at FTR.

But then I realized that inspiration doesn’t pay the bills!  People who link to FTR should have a good chance of much more than a thank you and a pat on the behind.  So let’s take it up a notch, shall we?

Link To FTR, Grab A Prize Worth $1200!

Let’s see what happens when people link freely.  When I notice people linking to me, I try to do something nice for them in return.  Like submit one of their excellent posts to social news sites.

This time I’m going to do a little more.

This time I’m going to give 5 lucky linkers a great big prize.

Between now and Saturday, November 22nd, I am going to be tracking every link that is pointed to this blog.

(Actually, you are going to help with that.)

Over the next 8 days, I am going to pick those links up and put them in Excel.  And on the 8th day I will pick 5 Winners.

If so, you might want to read this first.

If not, this message will self-destruct very soon.

Directories firm Local.com has linked up with Virgin Mobile USA to offer a new ad-supported mobile directories service. Virgin customers can now search for businesses, view profiles and maps, get directions, and click-to-call their nearby sandwich joint.

You might have noticed I switched things up here a bit. The theme Friday Traffic Report is using now is called Thesis and it is Chris Pearson’s latest creation.

Chris Pearson is one of the best Wordpress theme designers on the web today.  He’s responsible for the look and feel of thousands of blogs around the web.  Thesis changes the entire Wordpress theme game for the better.

Why is Thesis Different?

This is the web’s first forward-compatible Wordpress theme. What that means is you can do anything you want with design. The code underneath (what makes the blog run properly) never changes. In the old days you had to physically change the template pages.

With Thesis, you change the look and feel of the blog with “hooks” throughout the theme. Basically, your blog’s design floats on top of the code underneath, so when Pearson upgrades that code and you install a new version, your blog stays the same on the outside.

Free At Last!

This removes a major pain in the butt that all bloggers deal with when changing their themes or upgrading a theme. Thesis allows you to put in an upgrade and keep the blog exactly the same design-wise, thus, saving you major headaches.