Category Archives: Blogging

Don’t ask why we blog

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Within the past week, two more of my co-workers (that I know about) started blogging. We’ll give them a chance to get their sea legs before we link them here. And two other friends emailed asking how to get started. What is the attraction? Is it just wanting to be involved in the latest “thing?” Why would some twenty-somthing feel the pull to start an online journal?

I suspect most of us have something to say but never had an easy way to express ourselves or a place to do so. Non-bloggers are quick to dismiss the entire idea. “Why would I want to read about somebody’s cat?” Or, “I’ve got better things to do with my life.”

It still amazes me how many bloggers share more of themselves in their online journals than in the course of their jobs and lives. Ben wrote that he leaned things about his father from reading his dad’s new blog. And some bloggers, like Dave, have a real gift for sharing thoughts and feelings.

Most bloggers would struggle to explain why they do it, but readily understand why others do.

Farmers like cool stuff, too

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I spottted this at AgWired.com and agree with Chuck, this is pretty cool. The Syngenta Resistance Fighter website is a far cry from the typical “farm” site. Very cleverly done and, as Chuck points out, the radio/audio component is pretty nifty.

Props to Syngenta (and the site creators) for daring to think that farmers are not just a bunch of slow talking guys driving around in pick-up trucks. Why should all ag-related websites have cows and pigs and corn as the focal point.

As a rule, I don’t care for these “click on the file cabinet” navigation schemes but this one is very well done. Will this accomplish Syngenta’s objectives. Who knows? (Well, Syngenta will know) But Chuck linked. And I linked. And maybe you’ll link. And the music comes out here.

Speaking of using the web effectively, Chuck is blogging next week’s World Dairy Expo over at the World Dairy Diary. Based on Chuck’s previous efforts, you’ll know more about the Expo from reading the blog than if you were attending the event in Madison, WI.

Companies don’t blog; people blog

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The headline above was my big take-away from an excellent white paper (from The Content Factor) titled: To Blog or Not to Blog? How Business Can Get Closer to Their Markets through Blogging. Their “Ten Rules for Starting Your Corporate Blogging Off Right” are on the money (for my money). Nuggets:

* You can’t blog by committee.

* Conversations are already taking place among the millions of blogs that you can tap into. These conversations—about you, your industry, your company, your competitors, and your market—will occur whether you participate in them or not.

* The unique word-of-mouth marketing secret of the blogosphere: the human urge to tell people about things that interestus, adding our own impressions as we do. This is the DNA of conversation.

* Blogging has potentially the lowest barrier to entry of any communications medium to date aside from word of mouth, and offers the farthest reach for the least cost when done right For this reason alone, there is no question that your organization should be participating in the world of blogs. This is no time not to be part of the conversation.

If you own a company…work for a company…do business with a company… I encourage you to download and read this white paper (PDF).

Incomplete Guide to Blogs and the New Web

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Seth Godin’s latest ebook, Who’s There? Seth Godin’s Incomplete Guide to Blogs and the New Web, is just a little 46 page PDF file but it’s packed with lots of small but profound insights. The kind of stuff you read and think, “You know, he’s right.” Some of my favorites:

We’ve become astonishingly picky. Picky about what we buy and picky about what we watch and picky about what we read. In a world where there’s a lot of clutter and where everything is good enough, most of the time we just pick the stuff that’s close or cheap or familiar. But when it’s something we care about, we go to enormous lengths to find the very best.

Radio is officially dead, especially when wireless internet access comes to your car.

The stuff you’re putting on your marketing site or in your blog or even in your brochures or in your business letters is too long. Too much inside baseball. Too many unasked questions getting answered too soon. The stuff you’re sending out in your email and your memos is too vague.

It used to matter a lot where an idea came from. When an idea came from a mainstream media company (MSM) or from a Fortune 500 company, it was a lot more likely to spread. That’s because media companies had free airwaves or paid for newsprint, while big corporations had the money to buy interruptions. Today, all printing presses are created equal. And everyone owns one. Which means that a good idea on a little blog has a very good chance of spreading. In fact, an idea from outside the mainstream might have an even better chance of spreading.

If you write something great, and do it over and over and over again, then you’ll be unstoppable. Whether or not someone helps you.

The problem is that the very things big companies, public companies, stable companies and established companies are good at are the things that make a blog boring.

Small means you can tell the truth on your blog.

If you care about your personal brand and career and impact, you need a blog. And you should start the cycle of getting better at blogging.

AgWired blogs IFAJ conference

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Chuck and Cindy Zimmerman (AgWired.com) are blogging the IFAJ (International Federation of Ag Journalists) Congress in Thun, Switzerland. If you need an example of how to effectively blog a conference or event…this is it. The folks at Pioneer Hi-Bred must agree since they’re sponsoring AgWired’s coverage. Frequent posts, photos and audio. I’ve been trying to imagine how a radio station (or network) or TV station or newspaper could provide better coverage but haven’t come up with anything.

Blogger sued over reader comment

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I have always been ambivalent about adding comments to my posts. I know it’s the “right” thing to do but I don’t want to spend even 5 minutes monitoring and deleting crap. And while it’s not the same, anyone can email me if they have something to say and I frequently add it to the post.

And now we read that a blogger is being sued as a result of something someone wrote in a comment to one of his posts. Maybe it’s like inviting half a dozen close friends over for a few beers. You can discuss and argue and even yell dirty words at each other and that’s okay. But you don’t want some dildo off the street to come in and join the conversation. At least I don’t. I gotta think some more about this.

Brian Williams’ blog

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NBC news anchor Brian Williams has been blogging (The Daily Nightly) for a few months and seems to be doing a pretty good job of it. He’s careful not to “traffic in gossip or observations that might breach his journalistic objectivity” and tends to focus more on the deliberations among his colleagues at NBC Nightly News.

This is just the kind of peek behind the scenes I think would be good for our news networks but I don’t see it happening anytime soon (see previous post). Most reporters do not feel they need to explain or justify their reports or stories and the last thing they want to do is interact with their readers/listeners. Is Brian Williams less of a journalist now that he’s contributing to a blog? More on this at NYTIMES.com (you might need a password).

Bloggers wanted

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USATODAY.com: Retailers are creating blogs to promote brand awareness and sales. A recent study by online market research firm ComScore Networks found that shoppers who visit blogs spend about 6% more than the average online shopper. “The people who spend time on our blog are the people who are … the very top customers that we have,” says a former CEO of fashion catalog Spiegel.

I’m of the opinion that EVERY company should be blogging. No one is interested in your static, boring “About Us” website. And, frankly, I’ve got a few of those up myself. If you’re gonna be online, talk to your customers. Listen to them. Blog.

But I have a hunch it’s going to be harder to find people to feed the blog beast than than we realize. It almost certainly won’t be the guy that writes your bullshit company news releases. I used to write radio commercials and I’m pretty sure that in no way prepares someone to blog. And a lot of news writers are terrible at the blog format. So I’m wondering, why is it so hard for some folks to write a decent blog post? I think it probably has something to do with honesty. Specifically, that “voice” thing.

Blogging is kind of like writing a letter to a friend…but letting the entire world read over your should. And if you’re faking it, people somehow know it. In much the same way the “America’s Funniest Home Videos” producers know when they’re watching a true candid moment or something staged.

I had lunch with Chuck this week. He’s been blogging for less than six months but picked it up quickly. We talked about where you would look to find people to hire to blog for a business or organzation. The first thing that popped into my head was, I would never hire someone to blog professionally if they were not already blogging. Frankly, there would be no way to know if they could do it…unless they WERE doing it.

I’m not sure I could get a job as a blogger. But the real acid test would be right here at smays.com. If you’re reading this, you probably know everything you need to know about me. No personality profile. No writing tests. You could probably skip the interview. If you couldn’t hire me based on what I’ve posted here, you wouldn’t want me. Blogging is about honesty and transparency and hanging it out there. Could someone scam me with a bogus blog? Could they fake it? Maybe for a few posts… but it would be hard work to keep up that kind of charade for weeks or months.

If I had to go looking for a new job tomorrow, I would not bother updating a resume. I’d just send them here. They could read for 3 minutes or three hours and know everything they need to know about me.

Does your web site suck?

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“Agency websites suck, launch a weblog” is the subject of a post at AdRants.com. Replace “agency” with “your company” and see if it still makes sense.

“Right now, agencies might be saying, “What do we need a weblog for? We already have a web site.” Great. Take an honest look at it. Is it much more than a creative showcases (if that) and management bios? Aside from a few short paragraphs on your so-called “proprietary process” is there any value there for the reader? Are you offering anything that gives insight into the way your agency thinks and what your opinion is on the current state of advertising? If so, great. Most likely. though it is not.”

A good example of the difference between a “typical” web site and a blog? AgriMarketing.com and AgWired.com. I think the company I work for could be using blogs more effectively. But “brochure” web sites are safe and blogs are risky. And if they’re not risky, they’re useless and ineffective.