My first reaction on seeing that soap powder manufacturer Ariel had given Beyond Green’s Joanna Yarrow a sustainability blog was enthusiasm. How clever of them to get her on board, particularly as she is currently presenting a show on BBC3! And what a good cause, to persuade people to wash more at lower temperatures and save energy. All very shrewd.

It is a shame that most people won’t hear this message. Not because a lot of energy and thought has not been spent on the content, but because of the way the idea has been implemented. The page doesn’t have permanent links, meaning that its content is locked away from most web users who navigate by keywords. It doesn’t syndicate, meaning that apart from the links to it that have been bought and paid for by Ariel’s budget (including from iVillage), it is unlikely to get links from the blogosphere (we currently count zero links to it). It doesn’t allow feedback, meaning that it doesn’t engage with its audience. It isn’t in fact, a blog - it is a web page.

It’s a pity as a lot of energy and thought has gone into the content and Joanna’s ideas deserve a larger audience.