Blogging survives puberty to reach adulthood
Posted by Mark White, Blog Consultant in Marketing with Blogs , Blogging News
I’ve been running this blog for nearly three years now and have seen a lot of changes in the acceptance and usage of blogs in business during that time, first in the US and then more recently here in the UK as well.
Unlike many, I never really entered the blogging fray with a truly personal blog which was designed simply to broadcast my opinions - that wasn’t of interest to me. Personally, right from the start I have approached blogging from a standpoint of it being a business tool - hence the name of this blog - and wanted to share those business possibilities with others.
Blogging is Dead, Long Live Blogging
Latterly, I’ve seen a spate of articles about the death of blogging, most notably one on Wired - however, I have been encouraged by the quantity of comments on these posts which in the most part have been supportive of blogging. For me, blogging as I perceive it (ie. in business terms) is not only not dead, it is still to reach its prime - in terms of the Technical Adoption Lifecycle, I see it still very much in the Early Adopter phase, particularly in the UK.
This was made abundantly clear to me last week in two very different situations:
- in the first, I was giving a presentation to a group of marketing managers on “Blogging and Social Media” at a workshop run by Generate UK. For most of the attendees, blogging was still something which they were planning and preparing for rather than tiring of it.
- Equally, in the second, a meeting with a FTSE100 company demonstrated their desire to fully engage with blogging, but only subject to demonstrable benefits and previous examples. Once again, classic drivers for companies in the early and late majority phase.
In both instances, after discussion, it was clear that there were still huge benefits to be had for them from starting a corporate blog, supported by other social media activity we looked at.
A great response
The best overall response to the “Blogging is Dead” theme, though, came from the Economist in an article entitled Oh, Grow up with “Blogging is no longer what it was, because it has entered the mainstream” as its subtitle.
Spot on - that’s exactly what has happened.
I particularly loved the analogy that was made with PDAs, not least because I was working at Psion as handheld computers went through their initial boom and bust phase and so have first hand experience of the way that particular market morphed into what we see today.
“Gone, in other words, is any sense that blogging as a technology is revolutionary, subversive or otherwise exalted, and this upsets some of its pioneers. Confirmed, however, is the idea that blogging is useful and versatile. In essence, it is a straightforward content-management system that posts updates in reverse-chronological order and allows comments and other social interactions. Viewed as such, blogging may “die” in much the same way that personal-digital assistants (PDAs) have died. A decade ago, PDAs were the preserve of digerati who liked using electronic address books and calendars. Now they are gone, but they are also ubiquitous, as features of almost every mobile phone.”
I see blogging as such. The way in which I see blogs and websites merging more and more reaffirms this – small businesses I work with are now deciding not just to set up a blog but rather use the technology to run their whole site giving them control over updates, the ability to post and distribute information as required and of course the all important interactivity.
For me, the research by Gartner reiterates this in their Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies. They also position Corporate Blogging at the start of mainstream acceptance and use as you can see in their diagram below.
Where do we go from here …?
Well, if I had to sum all this up, I think that I would have to say, that if you are looking to start a business blog because you think that it’d be a cool and trendy thing to do then you’re probably a couple of years behind the times now. Have a look at Twitter instead (in fact you should anyway - follow me for starters at www.twitter.com/BlogCoach) but be prepared to move to the next up and coming technology when it arrives.
However, if you’re starting a blog because of what they can bring to your business, and you want a tool that will really help your relationships with customers and prospects as well as generate new business for you, then you have found the perfect time to start a blog for your business. Just make sure you plan ahead and set it up to future proof your investment.
So now, without even an small tear of remorse in the corner of my eye, I can happily announce that blogging is now all grown up - and rearing to show you what it can do!
November 12th, 2008 at 11:06 am
Hi Mark,
I completely agree: business blogging (or content marketing or whatever you want to call it) is only just getting started. The benefits in SEO and engaging with customers are too great to ignore.
Matt.
November 12th, 2008 at 3:27 pm
Mark,
I think there is a general “level-of-acceptance” that finally pushes a technology into the mainstream. When blogging was small it was “hip” - but it did not offer much value to the business world, since the reader-base was so small.
btw - I used to call on Husky in Coventry, small world!
November 12th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
Here in the UK many SMEs are only just understanding what a blog is! There are so many advantages to having a blog that there’s no way it could possibly have had its time. Online marketing is only catching on for many small businesses, the best thing we can do is educate businesses in how to get the most out of it!
November 12th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
Nerds often tarnish technology before it reaches the mainstream.
I think the term ‘blogging’ is now misleading. It implies an introspective and self absorbed diary activity, whereas, the technology actually enables companies to deliver useful information for their customers and potential audience, saving them time with RSS notifications.
Much like wot u do.
November 12th, 2008 at 10:39 pm
@Matt Absolutely, after all, all we are really doing is recreating online what we do face to face - engage with customers!
@Roy Very true - as soon as the press start using it, the founders decide it’s no longer cool. I remember the quote “If you can see a bandwagon, then you’ve missed it” - for me, blogging isn’t a bandwagon though, it’s a different way of talking to customers and prospects. And one they prefer!
As for Husky, my you could bang nails in with one of their FS2 machines!!
@ Sam, yep, there is still a load of communicating to do in that respect too.
@Matt Beautifully put - and thanks for the compliment too!
November 13th, 2008 at 10:41 am
Blogging’s dead - ahhrrghh, we were only just getting started.
Experts, technology companies, PR-types might think that blogging’s had it’s day, but for many companies in other sectors, they and their customers are only just getting started.
I agree with you Mark. As a company we have been blogging for six months, made lots of mistakes, still do some things badly, are beginning to understand what works for our customers, are excited by the future.
I think that makes our blog ’sweet 16′ (in blog years)
November 13th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
@ Dan, don’t worry, there’s still life in it yet! And it’s absolutely true that for businesses in many sectors, blogging will become more and more important, whatever form it takes (and there many be many different ones!)
November 13th, 2008 at 10:19 pm
I love this:
“However, if you’re starting a blog because of what they can bring to your business, and you want a tool that will really help your relationships with customers and prospects as well as generate new business for you, then you have found the perfect time to start a blog for your business.”
This is exactly what I tell lawyers who come to me asking “Should I start a blog, or is blogging dead?”
Happy to have found your blog. Thanks for following me on twitter.
November 14th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
@Amy I’ve seen your blog and I can’t believe that the lawyers aren’t signing up in droves! If there’s one profession (apart from accountants) that can make real use of the differentiation (through personalisation) that blogging can offer, then it’s the legal profession. Look forward to linking up here and on Twitter!
November 19th, 2008 at 10:06 pm
I think that the real usefulness of blogs, especially for small businesses is still to be seen. Lots of opportunity in terms of marketing, particularly in the economic downturn that we’re seeing around the world.
Thanks for all the info on your blog - really interesting read!
November 19th, 2008 at 10:13 pm
Great points you’ve made here (am I Yoda?). I think all of the clutter of those blogging for blogging’s sake is going to act as a big virtual broom that will sweep itself aside and leave room for professionals who truly understand the idea of having a conversation - engaging for a purpose other than their own self-promotion. Thanks for helping to dispell the rumor that blogs are dead!
November 19th, 2008 at 10:26 pm
@Jon-Mikel - Thankful to you I am!
However, I don’t think that it has to be the domain of the professional, at least not the professional blogger. For me, I hope we’ll see more of the “experts who blog” rather than “expert bloggers” if you see what I mean. Thanks again for your comment - much appreciated.
@John - Yep, absolutely. Small businesses are still leading the way in many respects and they are certainly ones who tend to have full websites built on blog platforms giving them both CMS based sites and interaction with their clients. Thanks too for your kind words about BBB.