An Update
Just so you know, I haven't gone anywhere. I've just taken up shop in another corner of the blogosphere. And, it's good news.
I've been hired freelance to blog for a media company. I will be blogging as frequently as possible, sometimes 4 or 5 posts per day. Needless to say, I've become too busy to update this blog like I used to.
I'll still try to update things as I think they warrant, but the goal of business blogging is to generate business. I have accomplished my goal. Please feel free to visit my newest endeavor at:
www.analyzethisbusiness.com. It's a blog devoted to looking at issues that affect business. From technology to government involvement, and everything in between. Hope you like it.
You're still welcome to contact me at:
ghostblogging@veritymedia.com.
"Gone fishin'".....sort of.
Defining Business Blogging
I love this little quote. It's from an article on
MasterNewMedia.org by Robin Good.
…personal knowledge management is really about eliminating the IT gibberish that hangs up so many collaborative efforts and getting to the important thing: passionate professionals communicating effectively with peers through flexible, easy-to-use publishing tools.
Short and sweet and to the point.
ghostblogging@veritymedia.com.
Web 2.0 And Blogging
Web 2.0. Great. Another web euphamism. When will it end!!
OK, sorry for the outburst. In an article on
WebProNews.com, author Ken Yarmosh points out:
I hope if you learned anything from the thoughts I've shared, it's that regardless of the phrase "Web 2.0″, many of these technologies have already impacted businesses around the world. Even for the organizations they still haven't touched, blogs, podcasts, wikis, and RSS are on many of their radars.
But you don't have to my word for it. Besides showing you specific examples of their uses, others are thinking about Web 2.0 and its place in the enterprise.
Plus...
Nicholas Carr recently asked the question Is Web 2.0 enterprise ready?, pointing to an article by Harvard Business School professor Andrew McAfee. Carr's take on the piece: McAfee makes a strong case for why Web 2.0 technologies may succeed where earlier technologies didn't. The new technologies have other practical advantages as well: they're cheap, fairly simple to set up, and fairly straightforward to use. Companies can test them without much expense or pain.
Ah, now that should raise some interest. He continues:
Of course, as I alluded to earlier, in the business world, especially a larger corporate environment, there will be challenges to change - as always. And that's fine. I don't think everyone should have a blog, just to have a blog. It's use should be strategic.
So, what's your strategy? Let us help you develop it. ghostblogging@veritymedia.com.
Blogs Threatening Businesses?
Geez, I never really thought of myself as a "threat". Unless, of course, you count against the status quo.
In his article,
Defending Yourself Against The Blogs on MultiChannelMerchant.com, author Tim Parry talks about both monitoring and responding to blogs.
Almost every company has a policy covering what to do when traditional media call about an issue, Wagner says (John Wagner, owner of Houston-based public relations firm Wagner Communications - ed), but hardly any companies have a similar policy regarding blogs and other social media.
As time goes on, and companies are forced by their markets to examine this blog "phenomenon", those policies will develop. And counter-strategies will as well.
The people you choose to respond, Hahn says (Lisa Hahn, president of NJ-based public relations firm Caugherty Hahn Communications - ed), should not only have a deep knowledge about the company, but they should also have at least basic writing abilities and be able to edit and monitor their work to make sure they don't come across the wrong way.
“The reply can look spontaneous, but it has to be well thought out,” Hahn says. “Like a business e-mail, it should not be filled with typos, bad grammar, and poor punctuation. You still have to look at the fundamentals before getting star-struck with new technologies.”
All good points. It's nice to see more and more companies coming to the party. More on this later. In the meantime...
ghostblogging@veritymedia.com.
Group Blogging For Businesses
From
PRLeap.com:
Sec-Filings.com launches Company/Corporate blogs' and RSS feeds for publicly traded companies.(PRLEAP.COM) Sec-Filings.com is a collection of individual blogs, each dedicated
to publicly traded companies.The website will allow journalists, web publishers, investors, investor relations, company personnel, corporate management, and the
public at large to effectively comment and share information that may be beneficial to the online community. As media channels continue to become more segmented, blogs represent a new and emerging opportunity for companies to pinpoint communications to key investors. Blogging provides a unique and highly effective platform to connect with key constituents and audiences. Blogs are frequently updated, journal-style web pages that contain Sec-Filings, News, Opinions, Links and Commentary, now blogs can be harnessed to reap the benefits of engaging in direct and meaningful dialogue with customers, and investors alike.
Group blogging. It's becoming all the rage these days. And why not - it's the 'economies of scale' in action.
ghostblogging@veritymedia.com
Business Blog Ideas
I came across a short press release on
PRNewswire.com that featured some business blog sites created by
NetBaldwin.com, a Mid-Atlantic Search Engine Marketing firm. They listed a couple of their client's blog addresses:
http://pigeon-forge.mvchalets.comhttp://flooring.lumberliquidators.comI have some thoughts.
First off, as you can tell, these are basic 'template' sites. Now, they're certainly better than static web pages, but I hope their clients don't get their hopes set too high. Here's why.
All they're doing is republishing their printed material. That's OK if you're just looking to up your search engine ranking by continually adding content. Fine. What you have is just an online version of your company brochure. That's fine too. But I think these businesses are leaving a lot on the table. I get no sense of a dialogue, which is one of the strengths of a blog. There doesn't seem to be a human touch, and therefore, it's not much different than a simple web page.
If these companies are looking to just get more people to find them on a Google search, then I suppose their money is well-spent. But if they were hoping to set themselves apart in their respective industries, they'll probably be let down.
Blogs are about content, not marketing material. There's a difference.
ghostblogging@veritymedia.com.
Senior Executive Blogging Survey
I suppose you could see this as the glass half-full
and half-empty!
From
BusinessWire.com. Here's the headline:
Fortune 1000 Senior Executives Slow to React to the Growing Credibility of Corporate Blogs, New Survey Concludes; Almost Half of Respondents Lack Corporate Blogging Policies, Although 77% Believe They Should Have Them."We have a snapshot of the beginning of a corporate activity and a medium which is set to grow rapidly and to become very important to corporations around the world," said Humphrey Taylor, Chairman of The Harris Poll(R), Harris Interactive. "Companies that do not recognize this trend and take action to capitalize on it will miss out on valuable opportunities and run the risk of being blindsided by unfavorable publicity."
This could be bad news for companies who are slow to realize both the risks and benefits of blogs. This could be good news for those of us in this growth segment of the knowledge economy!
Works for me!
ghostblogging@veritymedia.com.
