Posted by: Nick in Untagged on Oct 25, 2008
I started to talk about blogging recently at the BDA breakfast meeting and was surprised to be asked 'what is blogging'? After talking to a few members it would seem that the word "Blogging" has no real meaning. So with this in mind, I though what better way to start the BDA blog than with an article entitled "An Introduction to Business Blogging" So where shall I start? I know let's start at the very beginning....
The term Blog & Blogging was first used in 1997 and in its basic form a 'blog' is an online journal.
Google have said that...... "A blog is a personal diary, a daily pulpit, a collaborative space, a political soapbox, a breaking-news outlet, a collection your own private thoughts and memos to the world."
Others have said ..... "You cannot afford to close your eyes to blogs, because they're simply the most explosive outbreak in the information world since the Internet itself".
Today thankfully blogs are easy to set up and simple to maintain allowing anyone that can send an email a way to share their thoughts with anyone that cares to read them.
When blogging first started back in the late 90's it took the form of a frequently updated, personal website featuring diary-type commentary and links to articles on other websites. But it wasn't long before businesses started to see the real benefits in blogging.
So what's all the fuss about? How is blogging going to affect your business? Apart from giving you a new way to let off steam.
There are many great examples of blogs on the internet, but to try and illustrate a point let's look at Fastlane Blog for this example, Fastlane Blog for those that don't know is the blog started by Bob Lutz (vice chairman of General Motors).
Can you imagine just how difficult it would be for you the end user of a General Motors product to get your feedback to the powers that be? In the days before the internet (and before blogging) giving feedback on the latest products would only have been accomplished through automatic telephone systems, letters or pr-paid reply cards to the customer service department. Whichever way the feedback was submitted the chances are it would have virtually no impact on the next product released as the message was not getting to the powers that be .
So Bob Lutz decided to launch his own blog which he called "Fastlane Blog" What could he possibly stand to gain by opening himself up directly to his customers?