Blogging isn’t a business

Doc Searls was one of several blogger biggies taking part in BloggerCon IV (“Celebrating the art and science of weblogs”), this weekend in San Francisco. Looks like all of the sessions are available as MP3 downloads and I’m looking forward to the one titled “Making Money.” Doc’s take on blogging and business makes a lot of sense to me:

First, blogging isn’t a business, any more than emailing or phoning are businesses. It is, however, becoming more important to many businesses. And to the nonbusiness lives of millions. This is an example of what I call The Because Effect. In the Making Money session yesterday, John Palfrey called this “making money Off blogging” (“as opposed to making money by blogging”).

Blogging the U.S.A

My buddy Chuck is blogging and podcasting his way across the US, covering something called the AASHTO Interstate 50th Convey. It’s a paid gig for the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council.

This is just an amazing opportunity to to demonstrate the power of new media and Chuck is firing on all 8 ethanol-powered cylinders.

How would the client have promoted this in the previous century? Well, we’d send out some news releases, inviting the media to come to our kick-off (free snacks!). And, uh, we’d send out some more news releases about what is happening along the way. What else? Oh, we’d take some pictures and put them on our website. And if we were really clever, we’d hire a film crew to shoot a little documentary of the journey. In a few weeks (or months), after the thing is edited (down to say, 30 minutes)…we’d send copies to the media in hopes they’d watch it and be so enthralled they’d do an interview with us and put it on their (Network, TV station, radio station, magazine, newspaper). And if they did do an interview, we’d send out a news release telling everyone about that.

Or, you could invite everyone that might possibly give a shit (or should give a shit) to come along for the ride. And if it’s easy enough, and fun enough… a lot of them will.

Best tool for the job (Example #2)

Radio Iowa News Dirctor Kay Henderson covered the Iowa GOP and Democratic State Conventions today in Des Moines and her “tool of choice” was her blog.

Kay is not double-jointed (as far as I know) but she has a knack or skill (super power?)…she can type blazing fast. Her posts from the conventions are not verbatim but they’re damned close.

As I read them, I was reminded of an earlier post here at smays.com where I pondered the best tool for covering a live event. I guesss a live video or audio feed of these speeches would have been cool but I think I can make a case for Kay’s posts being “better.” I mean, Jesus, the speeches are on line before the applause dies down.

This is what happens when you equip a really good reporter with a blog.

Morris James

After 38 years (!), Morris James has hung up his headphones and started blogging (“Purging Radio from My System”). He started in radio when he was 14 and his most recent gig was KRZK in Branson, MO. I met Morris when he was news director at WOW in Omaha (a Great Empire station at the time) and I was doing affiliate relations for Radio Iowa. Morris was instrumental in getting us on that great station.

He lurks regularly here at smays.com and calls his new blog Ozarks First Word (“News, Views and Tidbits”). Sounds like he’s working for the local newspaper and is exploring ways to make blogging pay.

Not sure how much time he’ll have for blogging and podcasting but here’s a guy with a boat-load of experience and a love for reporting. Give him six months or a year and he might just become “Ozarks First Word.”

Blogs really just next-generation Web sites

“…blogs are really just next-generation Web sites. Every company will have a blog-like (interactive, two-way) component on their home page a couple of years from now. And the word blog may not be used.”

— Debbie Weil at BlogWrite for CEO’s. Ms. Weil references a survey of marketers (49% won’t use blogs in the next year) that reflects what we’re seeing with many of our customers. I agree that someday (soon) all websites will be blog-like but we won’t notice or care.

Political bloggers meet in Las Vegas

Potential presidential candidates, campaign representatives and Washington reporters were in abundance Friday at the Yearly Kos 2006 Convention, a three-day gathering of bloggers in Las Vegas. Markos Moulitsas, the founder of the Daily Kos and the blogger for whom the meeting is named:

“Both parties have failed us. Republicans have failed us because they can’t govern. Democrats have failed because they can’t get elected. So now it’s our turn.”

Uh, our turn to do what? Never mind. As someone who jots about radio and blogging frequently, I found this observation interesting:

“The blogosphere has become for the left what talk radio has been for the right: a way of organizing and communicating to supporters. Blogging is nowhere near the force among Republicans as it is among Democrats, and talk radio is a much more effective tool for Republicans.”

You can read the full story here (Thanks to Henry for the pointer).

Idea for documentary film: Send Kay, Darin and John to YearlyKos 2007. Crew follows each around the convention. Kind of a living Left, Right and Center. Assuming, of course, Darin gets released from blogger rehab by then.

Tipping point for blogging at Learfield

The head of our company made a pretty big announcement this morning, about some high-level promotions. But the exciting thing for me is how the announcement was made. Our CEO posted it to the corporate blog. And I think he did it from Ireland or Paris or somewhere. Now, I’m sure someone sent around the requisite Word document but the blog was the medium of choice for getting the word out to our employees (and the world). The Big Guy could have called a big company-wide meeting or circulated some kind of “eyes only” memo but he didn’t. Someone probably did a news release but even that was something of an afterthought. Clyde’s post is better. It’s a real, live person…speaking in a human voice…telling one and all what’s going on at our company. How hard is that? Damned hard.

“older gentleman”

Say howdy to the newest Learfield blogger (the Ramblings of Rick), Rick Kennedy. I normally give newbies a few days to get their feet under them, as it were. But I have a feeling Rick will stick. His first post is a gracious nod to a few of the the other Learfield bloggers, including smays:

Perhaps the most diligent blogger I’ve ever known is Steve Mays. He’s not an “old guy”, but is an older gentleman. He’s of an age from which one wouldn’t expect much computer savvy, let alone tight, quality blogging. He blogs every day, lets loose his conviction, political views and general moral fibre (or lack thereof) and packages it all in very entertaining and informative prose.

Older gentleman? Let’s face it…from 58 you can throw your walker and hit 60. But it’s tough to see in print, even in the middle of some very kind words. Colonel Sanders is an “older gentleman.” Mark Twain is an “older gentleman.” (Okay, they’re dead, but you get my drift) I want to be your Funky Web Monkey. Or, your Pile Drivin’ Digital Daddy. Almost anything but an “older gentleman.” (Sigh)

But let’s not make this about me. Let’s keep an eye on The Ramblings of Rick and encourage our new Brother in Blogging.

Update: I couldn’t sleep, worrying about “Ramblings of Rick” as a blog title. I humbly offer the following as alternatives:

 

Ricky, Ricky bo Bicky Bonana fanna fo Ficky Fee fy mo Mickey, Ricky! Dot Com
Brother Rick’s Traveling Blogathon
Rick Shaw, Kung Fu Blogger
Rick’s Place
Rickaford Nation

Ten Tips for New Bloggers

There is no shortage of tips, guidelines and suggestions for how to blog and I am under no illusion that I can add anything fresh or original… but I am advising clients and co-workers on this subject so I thought I should take a stab at coming up with a few tips for new bloggers. Certainly not comprehensive, just the ones that popped into my head 15 minutes ago.

1. Headlines: Descriptive vs. clever – When I try to write a clever headline it just comes across as cryptic. A reader is much more likely to read your post if they have some idea what it’s about. Don’t delude yourself that they’ll be so intrigued by our clever headline that they’ll read what you’ve written. An example from smays.com: “More news after this.” vs. “30 years of broadcasting.”

2. Do not delete posts – There will come a time when you post something to your blog and later wish you hadn’t. It’s tempting to just delete the post. Don’t. The fact is you did write it and you did post it. Deleting it doesn’t change that and it’s almost surely cached somewhere. Pulling it is dishonest or unethical. A better approach is to do a follow-up post and say that you were wrong…or hasty…or misinformed. Or you just changed your mind about what you wrote. All okay. Deleting posts is considered very bad form and you’ll catch a lot of grief for doing it.

3. Editing posts – Sometimes you get something so wrong that you don’t want to leave it “out there,” uncorrected. The generally accepted way to handle this is to use a strike-through.

Example: “The senator owed $500,000 $200,000 in back taxes.”

You’ve corrected something that was inaccurate but you did so openly, letting readers see what you changed in your post.

4. Attribution – It’s common practice among bloggers to grab text from another blog or website and include it a post on their blog. Better bloggers take the time to rewrite. And there’s no reason not to put the original material in quotation marks or italics. At the very least, you should link back to the original story or blog post and attribute your source. And if you see an interesting post on someone’s blog and write about it on your blog… it’s considered good form to acknowledge this in your post…frequently at the end [via smays.com]

5. Use category tags – Tagging your posts with one or more categories makes it easy for a reader to see all of your posts on a particular subject. But don’t get carried away.

6. Link freely – Unless you’re a brilliant and original writer, much of the value in your blog posts will be links to other blogs and websites. Most blogging applications feature “permalinks,” which make it easy to permanently link to a specific blog post (as opposed to linking to the “home page” of the blog).

7. Photos – Given that a blog is just another type of web page, the same guidelines for photos apply. Only use an image when it adds something to the post. Keep it relevant. And, whenever possisble, be consistent with the size and placement of your images.

8. Comments – Most serious bloggers will argue that a blog without comments is not really the “conversation” that bloggers are always writing and talking about. But you’ll find many blogs where comments have been turned off. You can also set your comments so that you’re emailed when a reader has posted a comment so you can approve (or delete). “Comment spam” has become a real headache for many bloggers but the software is getting better at dealing with this issue. The best blogs get lots of comments and they add much to the overall experience.

9. Stay focused – Decide what your blog is about (if it’s about anything) and try to focus your posts in that direction. If you really don’t care who reads your blog or what they think about what you’ve written, then post about anything. But a blog that’s about everything is really about nothing. Try to find a subject that you know and/or care about and write about that. It can be anything (technology, your cat, recipes, politics) but find your niche.

10. Post frequently – The best, most dedicated bloggers post several times a day. Having something fresh every day goes a long way toward bringing people back to your blog. At the very least, try to post a few times a week. If you can’t find the time or the will to do that…ask yourself if you really want to mess with blogging at all.

“It isn’t broadcasting anymore.”

In the early 70’s, Clyde Lear and Derry Brownfield founded the company I work for. It’s really a pretty cool story. In a recent blog post, Clyde demonstrates that he understands the seismic changes going on in the media world, and how they apply to our company.

“Affiliate radio stations are an important part of the mix. But farmers and other ag interests have so many ways to receive the message: print, podcasts, computers, etc. What remains is the message. It is the reporting and story-telling of … smart, discerning reporters who can effectively communicate. That is the message–not the media!”

I’m of the opinion that all established media companies must reinvent themselves to a greater or lesser degree. Some won’t make it. I’d like to think we will. And it’s a good sign that the top guy is clued.

Down the food chain a link or two, a couple of our reporters asked me to set up blogs for them this past week. They’re both veteran radio reporters (and writers). Bill Scott has been covering Wisconsin sports for a loooonnng time. Kay Henderson is one of the most respected political reporters in Iowa and has been at since the late 80’s.

Here’s the exciting part: read a couple of Bill’s stories here and Kay’s stories here. Now, read the first couple of posts on Bill’s blog…and Kay’s blog. I’m not suggesting that one is better than the other, just different. And, for me, one is much more interesting to read. I’ll let others argue about what is –and isn’t– journalism.

If Bill and Kay stick with the blogging thing, I predict that in a year, they will have far more readers of their blogs than of their “real” news and sports stories. And, for what it’s worth, they’ll be having more fun doing it.