Debbie Weil is a corporate blogging and social media expert, online marketing consultant, speaker and author of The Corporate Blogging Book (Portfolio). She consults with large companies, CEOs and senior executives on how to create blogs that connect with customers and attract media attention.

I couldn’t make it because I was attending Blog Business Summit 2005 in Seattle (an excellent event). But it sounds from attendee write-ups as if the New Communications Forum 2005 in Napa, CA Jan. 26 - 27 was also very useful. (Wish they’d kill that awful music that pops up on the event’s home page… argh!) Here’s a cogent comment from Neville Hobson on Opportunity knocks for corporate communicators. He made a looong trip from Amsterdam to attend but says it was worth it. And a great round-up of blogged comments on Day 2 of the Napa event by Guillaume de Gardier.

I decided to cover the Jan 24 - 25 conference in Seattle in my other blog, BlogWrite. You can read about it here and here and here. It was a great event. And a kick to get to meet and chat with Microsoft’s “chief blogger” Robert Scoble. In addition, visit Blog Business Summit and look at the blogs listed in the right-hand column. Lots of good reporting summarizing the speakers’ presentations. You can also download the speaker slides & PDFs here. (Scroll down to Session Topics.)

I was traveling when the story on corporate blogging aired on public television’s Nightly Business Report (Jan. 14, 2005) so I haven’t seen it yet. I appeared on camera “blogging” — i.e. typing. According to a few friends who happened to catch it live, I didn’t make a complete fool of myself. I’m trying to order a copy of the segment on video cassette. In the meantime, should you care about my 5 seconds of fame, here is the transcript…
Continue reading “Transcript of Nightly Business Report segment on corporate blogging”

I’m headed to Atlanta Thursday afternoon (Jan. 20) to give a workshop on "The ROI of Business Blogging" to the Atlanta Business Marketing Association. Location: Maggiano’s at the Perimeter. The event is open to the public. Then… Monday and Tuesday (Jan. 24 and Jan. 25) I’ll be in Seattle at the Blog Business Summit. Microsoft’s Robert Scoble (aka Scobleizer) is one of the featured speakers. Should be interesting to see if he’s as good a speaker as he is a blogger (i.e. writer). I’m looking to get practical & provocative tidbits about blogging & RSS as business tools out of this event. It’s at the spiffy sounding Bell Harbor Conference enter where attendees get to sit in those cool Aeron chairs. Be sure to look me up if you’re there! I’ll be wandering around with my new Mac laptop, tuning into all the Wi-Fi hotspots. (I *love* my new Powerbook!)

Just got a call from Nightly Business Report’s Washington Bureau Chief Darren Gersh. They interviewed me in September, 2004 for a story on corporate blogging. And are just getting around to airing it tonight. You can catch it on your local public TV station, starting at 6:30 PM Eastern. Go to the NBR site to get your local channel and time (click on About, then click on TV Stations).  And yes, Darren is a blogger!

I’m running a half-day public workshop on Blogging & RSS for Business: What, Why & How. Date: Thursday February 17, 2005. Location: The Tower Club in Tysons Corner, VA. Time: 8:30 - 11:30 AM. Registrants will each get print copies of ROI of Business Blogging and Beginner’s Guide to Business Blogging (value  $226). Seating is limited to 20 so don’t wait if you’re interested. Register here. P.S. This event is NOT cool! This is a jumpstart session aimed at corporate and non-profit executives as well as communications, marketing and PR managers. Plain language, practical tips, useful case studies. A quick, hands-on introduction to blogs & RSS as the new, cost-effective online marketing tactic. Leave with a clear understanding of what this new communications tool can do for your business or your client. Questions? Email me at wordbiz @ gmail DOT com or call direct +1 202.364.5705. MORE INFO HERE

MarketingSherpa just released their annual “Wisdom Report.” It’s a 46-page PDF and a free download. Good section on pages 33 - 35 on PR & blogging. B.L. Ochman writes about how blogs have an almost magical ability to get high search engine rankings (unpaid).

That’s according to research by email vendor EmailLabs. Average read-time (yes, this is a new metric for email marketing) is a measly 15 - 20 seconds for an e-newsletter or email promotion. Useful article in MarketingSherpa explains exactly what this means and offers specific suggestions for limiting your email to one story OR one promotion in order to prompt higher click-throughs from time-strapped readers. In addition, tips for how to segment your list to see what design layout and content work best. Article is free until Jan. 23rd.

The Blog Business Summit in Seattle (Jan. 24 - 25, 2005) is heating up. Lots of great speakers, from Robert Scoble to Halley Suitt. I just emailed conference organizer Steve Broback and he assured me this is not just an event for the “cool” to hobnob with the “cognoscenti” of the blogosphere. Real corporate types with down-to-earth questions about “why blog” and “huh? what’s RSS??” will be there. Frankly, those are the folks I’m more interested in speaking with. I’m within an inch of hopping on a plane to attend. Hey, Tom Peters just announced he’s going. P.S. If you’re going, please let me know. Reach me at wordbiz @ gmail dot com.

My quick guide to the “what, why & how of business blogging” went live moments ago on Seth Godin’s ChangeThis site. Download my “Beginner’s Guide to Business Blogging” as one of the new manifestos. It’s FREE… until Jan. 25, 2005 so don’t wait! Download the PDF here. Hope you find it useful. And a special thanks to Seth and Amit and the other clever folks at ChangeThis.