Couple of years ago, Nick Carr stirred things up by saying
IT doesn’t matter. He then proceeded to launch a blog on technology topics. Now
he says corporations should not blog. Ironically, he says that on his blog and
then proceeds to provide pretty good tips on how corporation can blog well if
they decide to.
Nick is provocative and often inconsistent. But I have come to enjoy Nick’s wicked
sense of humor. I read his blog on a regular basis and often comment on his
posts.
He is the poster child for why corporations should learn to
blog. At little cost he has a powerful publishing platform – and reach
around the world.
Just like a segment of US audiences get their daily news from
Jon Stewart, many of us get our news and analysis from blogs, not MSM or industry
analysts.
It could be the instant analysis and feedback. It could be
the mysterious nature of where an embedded link in a blog post may take us next.
It could be the fascinating, viral way in which blog world reacts to news and
other blogs. Psycho-analyze that to death if you want, but the reality is blog
readership – or really “readwritership” that blogging facilitates – is growing
dramatically.
Corporations need to learn to use this medium to reach this growing audience. For too long, corporate executives have communicated with their
customers from behind their call centers and via templatized emails on their
web sites. And relied on press releases and commercials to get their messages
out.
No matter what Nick says – or reverses course on - blogs do
matter.
Update: I saw on Robert Scoble's blog that he has been presenting to a group of corporate and government audiences on the hows and risks of blogging. That is a healthy trend. Corporations have to explore this medium and decide on their own rules of engagement, not just ignore it.
Comments
Why Nick Carr - and blogs - matter
Couple of years ago, Nick Carr stirred things up by saying
IT doesn’t matter. He then proceeded to launch a blog on technology topics. Now
he says corporations should not blog. Ironically, he says that on his blog and
then proceeds to provide pretty good tips on how corporation can blog well if
they decide to.
Nick is provocative and often inconsistent. But I have come to enjoy Nick’s wicked
sense of humor. I read his blog on a regular basis and often comment on his
posts.
He is the poster child for why corporations should learn to
blog. At little cost he has a powerful publishing platform – and reach
around the world.
Just like a segment of US audiences get their daily news from
Jon Stewart, many of us get our news and analysis from blogs, not MSM or industry
analysts.
It could be the instant analysis and feedback. It could be
the mysterious nature of where an embedded link in a blog post may take us next.
It could be the fascinating, viral way in which blog world reacts to news and
other blogs. Psycho-analyze that to death if you want, but the reality is blog
readership – or really “readwritership” that blogging facilitates – is growing
dramatically.
Corporations need to learn to use this medium to reach this growing audience. For too long, corporate executives have communicated with their
customers from behind their call centers and via templatized emails on their
web sites. And relied on press releases and commercials to get their messages
out.
No matter what Nick says – or reverses course on - blogs do
matter.
Update: I saw on Robert Scoble's blog that he has been presenting to a group of corporate and government audiences on the hows and risks of blogging. That is a healthy trend. Corporations have to explore this medium and decide on their own rules of engagement, not just ignore it.
Why Nick Carr - and blogs - matter
Couple of years ago, Nick Carr stirred things up by saying IT doesn’t matter. He then proceeded to launch a blog on technology topics. Now he says corporations should not blog. Ironically, he says that on his blog and then proceeds to provide pretty good tips on how corporation can blog well if they decide to.
Update: I saw on Robert Scoble's blog that he has been presenting to a group of corporate and government audiences on the hows and risks of blogging. That is a healthy trend. Corporations have to explore this medium and decide on their own rules of engagement, not just ignore it.
March 28, 2006 in Industry Commentary | Permalink