Dennis Howlett tried to include me and other bloggers in an exclusive meeting he had with Vivek Ranadive, CEO of Tibco, while we are at the vendor's conference. It is a phenomenon Jeff Nolan noticed when he invited bloggers for the first time to SAP's Sapphire event a few years ago. He had set up individual executive meetings for many of us and we kept wanting to turn those into group sessions with other bloggers. He was stunned. Analyst firms and journalists expected exclusive sessions, why are bloggers behaving differently?
I am no psychologist but I think it goes back to a simple explanation - the blogger's DNA is about linking to other's work. Bloggers talk about link love. Bloggers are eager to share. It's about our collective intelligence.I did my part in the citations to the upcoming book - 25 pages worth which repeatedly point to major newspapers, magazines, analyst reports - and plenty of blogs. I had no reason to - I had interviews with over 100 innovators - plenty of primary materials.
In contrast, when was I was at Gartner, I never referenced Forrester's work. How often does NY Times cite that of the Washington Post? And God forbid, how often do they cite a blogger's work in their published work?
As part of my book process, I also interviewed several bloggers. Not because they are bloggers, but because they are impressive entrepreneurs and practitioners. Easiest interviews - a short call, a couple of quick emails and done. As part of the marketing effort, I have reached out to bloggers in Ireland and Australia and elsewhere I have never met before. They have been generous in saying do this, do that. Many bloggers are writing reviews closer to the release date. No airs, just supportive. They make the viral in viral campaigns.
Keep up the generous ethos, my fellow bloggers. And thanks Dennis for trying to include us in your session. Next time, Tibco will proactively set up more group sessions for bloggers like SAP has learned to.
