Got Blog?

Businessweek Magazine has challenged the business world to blog. In fact, it is doing more than just challenging businesses, it is saying that if you are not soon blogging, you are going to be left behind.

EXCERPTS ARE FROM BUSINESSWEEK...

Go ahead and bellyache about blogs. But you cannot afford to close your eyes to them, because they're simply the most explosive outbreak in the information world since the Internet itself. And they're going to shake up just about every business -- including yours. It doesn't matter whether you're shipping paper clips, pork bellies, or videos of Britney in a bikini, blogs are a phenomenon that you cannot ignore, postpone, or delegate. Given the changes barreling down upon us, blogs are not a business elective. They're a prerequisite. (And yes, that goes for us, too.)

A prerequisite? Isn't that what people said about websites and email? Well, in fact it is! And just look around you. How many businesses do you know that do not have a website or email? One? Two? The same will be true of business blogs. And we have experienced bloggers to help you get your business blogging up and running.

Here is how the Businessweek article describes the difference between traditional websites and blogs:

...it's not the growth of the same Web, but an entirely new one. It's wrapped up far more in people's day-to-day lives. It's connected to time. The way he describes it, the Web we've come to know is mostly a collection of documents. A library. These documents don't change much...

Blogs are different. They evolve with every posting, each one tied to a moment. So if a company can track millions of blogs simultaneously, it gets a heat map of what a growing part of the world is thinking about, minute by minute. E-mail has carried on billions of conversations over the past decade. But those exchanges were private. Most blogs are open to the world. As the bloggers read each other, comment, and link from one page to the next, they create a global conversation. Picture the blog world as the biggest coffeehouse on Earth.

And yet, there are things that a traditional website, or a rich media website can do for your business that blogs cannot do so well. That is why we suggest a combination website/blog -- the website housing your important information that does not need to change much, say, with the blog keeping the web presence current, fresh, transparent, communicative, and cool...not to mention the fact that the blog will serve as a quicker way to network and get the word out.

"I'm amazed people don't get it yet," says Jeff Weiner, Yahoo's senior vice-president who heads up search. "Never in the history of market research has there been a tool like this."

"Never in the history of market research has there been a tool like this." And this comes from the higher ups at Yahoo, no shrinking violet. And it is true. Blogging can serve as a way to determine the needs and trends of the market, unlike anything before it.

The BusinessWeek article, from 2005, goes on to talk about other important advances such as Podcasting & Audioblogging, Videoblogging or Vlogging, and CEO blogs...which, along with basic blogging, are transforming the business world, and doing it fast...while adding depth to a flat world. The last two years have seen an explosive growth in these areas, particularly in podcasting and videos.

At Parker Web, we recognize these trends and have been planning for months on how to best address the challenges associated with each technology while being cost-effective in the delivery and maintenance. Our small business clients can benefit from many of the techniques used in blogging, podcasting and video production, but must do so within a reasonable budget that can show returns.

Some Next Steps:

1. Consider your business and the amount of knowledge you may have as a company. Sharing this information can help build your position as a knowledge leader in your particular industry. What are your most frequently asked questions?
2. Look for others in your industry and see how they are addressing the nagging questions for which your services or products provide answers. Can you do it better? More directly?
3. In consideration of the above, would video or audio or simply regular writing benefit your marketing approach?

A blog (as well as podcasts and videos) require a dedication to effort and should not be undertaken without a champion to see it through for at least a year. We certainly went through this growing pain here until we devised a format that would allow us to easily keep a blog maintained.