Just when you think its safe to embrace another clich, guess again.

Undoubtedly, you've heard the truism that theres no such thing as bad publicity. The tabloids might wrongly accuse you of committing a heinous crime, but if they spell the name of your web site properly, eliciting enough clicks, youll come out ok.

And there seem to be some shining examples of this philosophy.

G. Gordon Liddy, that once reviled Watergate burglar, made a name for himself in that scandal, and the exposure paved to way to a best-selling book, and to a very successful career in talk radio.

Watergate publicity, though excoriating, game him the immeasurably important gift of name recognition, coveted by every ratings-conscious producer in showbiz.

Heidi Fleiss, the Hollywood madam who was tried and convicted, enjoyed a brief but apparently successful stint as a fashion designer and retailer of Heidi-wear, miscellaneous treats for the tart.

So, what am I talking about when I say there IS such a thing as bad publicity?

Im speaking of PUBLICITY THAT ISNT PUBLICIZED, like most of the articles that you read at various Ezine sites.

Dont get me wrong, a surprising number of the millions of freebies that are posted are readable, informative, and entertaining, which at least to countless English teachers, must be an utter shock.

But, apart from writers, a relative handful of people are reading these pieces.

It reminds me of the line uttered by former Congressman Jim Wright of Texas, who was lamenting about the troubled manufacturing sector of the United States.

We cant have an economy where everybody sells everybody else pizzas, he famously quipped.

When the only people reading your pieces are other aspiring publicists, youre getting what was thought to be impossible: bad publicity!