Article published in April 2007 on the BAIA blog. While blogs today are no longer the primary community hubs or promotional tools they once were, this 2007 interview remains a compelling piece of internet history. It captures a pivotal moment when the digital world was just discovering the power of daily, personal communication and authentic online dialogue.
Mauro Lupi is the president and CEO of Ad Maiora, an Italian Internet marketing agency. His blog is one of the top 20 Italian blogs. Mauro doesn’t need any additional introduction to BAIA members; he was a panelist at a recent BAIA event here in San Francisco last February on Blogs and Marketing. In my daily visits to Mauro’s blog, I always find it a place where people can exchange opinions in a respectful yet profound way. I asked Mauro for this interview with the hidden agenda of capturing his secret for a successful blog. Read the interview to find out what I was able to discover.
The interview with Mauro Lupi
Franco Folini: Hi, Mauro! Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your company, Ad Maiora?
Mauro Lupi: My last 12 years have been devoted to internet business, mostly through Ad Maiora, an agency based in Rome with offices in Milan and San Francisco, which I founded in 1997. My past experience was in marketing and advertising in the financial sector, then in the computer and telco industries. Ad Maiora specializes in online marketing services, search marketing, business blogging services, and consulting.
Ad Maiora specializes in online marketing services, search marketing, business blogging services, and consulting.
Mauro Lupi
Franco Folini: You are one of the most popular bloggers in Italy. You managed to get there without screaming or attacking anybody. I can see a bit of your style in your blogʼs comments. Which other features of your personality do you recognize in your readers?
Mauro Lupi: I think the blog owners are the first influencers of comment quality. It’s like when you invite someone into your house: if your guest finds an ordered environment, he will probably ask where to hang his coat; instead, if he sees confusion everywhere, he will leave his coat in any place. If you scream, everyone will scream.
Another important element is the relation with other companies in the same marketplace, especially with competitors. A fair approach, talking about them when it’s opportune with links to their sites, receives trust, and normally, it’s reciprocal.
The blog owners are the first influencers of comment quality.
Mauro Lupi
Franco Folini: You wrote more than once about the importance of managing your own time. A blog, if not well managed, can absorb quite a lot of personal time. Do you have any specific advice for bloggers?
Mauro Lupi: First, look at any of the current content material you produce now: sometimes there is a lot of stuff that can be used as blog content, and it means less time to produce it.
In any case, consider blogs as one of the other communication channels, and allocate time and budget for them based on ROI evaluation.
Franco Folini: Many SEO (Search Engine Optimization) experts claim that what is good for your website’s Google ranking is always good for your visitors. Is this statement always valid? How can technologies such as Ajax and search engines interact effectively?
Mauro Lupi: I’m not fully in line with this assumption. Some technologies, like Flash or Ajax, could be consistent with the website’s strategies and so be used even if they cause problems with search engine rankings. My point of view is that there isn’t a single “best way” to create a website, because users’ preferences vary. Some like emotional communication; others need concise information. Some use home pages; others prefer to subscribe to RSS or email newsletters.
Search engines are a kind of “special user”: they like much text, focused on specific topics, well interlinked on the website, and updated incrementally. Then they like incoming links. So, there isn’t a secret recipe: it’s best to start with users in mind and then see whether the content produced aligns with search engines’ principles. If not, it should be necessary to produce other optimized content.
Franco Folini: As the CEO of an Italian company, Ad Maiora, do you perceive the language barrier (English-Italian) more as a protection for your domestic market or as an obstacle for global growth?
Mauro Lupi: Both. But considering that globalization is an ongoing process across every business sector, I think language barriers will continue to be reduced year after year. At the same time, I feel that, together with language, culture is the real key point that creates distance across markets. “Culture” is both a factor in conducting business and a factor in international relations. What I see is that for countries like Italy, it’s difficult to scale a project when it was originally thought for the local market. I believed that you could deliver a project to a global market only if you start it with a global approach from the beginning.
I feel that, together with language, culture is the real key point that creates distance across markets. “Culture” is both a factor in conducting business and a factor in international relations.
Mauro Lupi
Franco Folini: Your blog seems shy about promoting your company: there is no logo or prominent links. How separate are the two entities: the blog and the company? Can you also tell us about the exchange of ideas, connections, and experiences between Mauro, the CEO, and Mauro, the blogger?
Mauro Lupi: I write about what I have in mind and what I do in my work, so I write about my job and my company continuously, even if it’s not explicitly stated. For example, when I write about a conference where I talk, the non-written words are that my company and I have gained the authority to participate in the event. And when I share my visions, I talk about my company’s vision and the knowledge within it. Call that “information marketing” if you want; the fact is that companies like to find an expert who demonstrates, time after time, their knowledge and vision outside the standard marketing (read “advertising”) ways. The blog is a simple way to demonstrate it; of course, you must have something interesting to say!
Companies like to find an expert who demonstrates, time after time, their knowledge and vision beyond standard marketing channels. The blog is a simple way to demonstrate it.
Mauro Lupi
I would like to thank Mauro Lupi for taking the time to speak with me today.
2026 Update
Re-reading this 2007 conversation is a testament to Mauro Lupi’s incredible foresight. Back then, he was unlocking the power of daily personal communication; today, nearly twenty years later, he is one of Italy’s most respected digital strategists, educators, and authors. Mauro’s career is a masterclass in adaptation, spanning from the early days of search marketing to today’s cutting-edge applications of AI in business. As a professor at IULM and a senior advisor, he continues to shape the marketing landscape with the same curiosity and passion that made Ad Maiora a milestone. We celebrate a true pioneer who never stopped looking toward the future.
