Sep
12
2003
WHAT MY MOTHER SAYS ABOUT BLOGGING
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ExpatEgghead said on September 14, 2003 at 01:55 AM
No. Blogging is not infantile. It can be boring, both for the author and the readers sometimes but that is no different from any other human activity.
What I don’t know yet is what blogging really is. Perhaps an attempt by humanity , or rather a small sub section to commuincate better.
Sue Dunham said on September 15, 2003 at 10:32 AM
I’m only just getting to understand Blogging—looking at it for a potential Biz Newsletter for a company I consult for ---- a specific biz update “thang” for the C-level execs.
I want to know how your poll comes out.... and any thoughts you might provide on starting a blog for business usage…
Mucho Gracious
sdunham
Emma said on September 16, 2003 at 07:45 AM
It depends upon the topic and how it’s written. Once you find a good one, you’ll want to keep going back.
kathy said on September 18, 2003 at 09:41 AM
Take it from a veteran blogger (since 2000): Your own blog is fascinating; everyone ELSES’s is boring… 
Kellie said on September 18, 2003 at 09:54 AM
I think blogging has it’s uses. But you really have to be diligent about keeping to the subject and making sure others keep to the subject. I don’t even know enough yet about blogging to know how one would do that. Otherwise you have a bunch of pontificators who realize that they have an unwilling captive audience. Then you’ll risk losing that audience quickly.
Now, how about some advice on how to keep the blogs on track to make them useful? That is, if they are supposed to be on track and useful. Again, I’m showing my ignorance of what blogs really can be used for…
RichM said on September 18, 2003 at 10:10 AM
Moms are wonderful for their ability to be brutally honest. But if you received a similar opinion on Blogging from someone else who had “never read a single issue of your newsletter for fear that their computer might get a virus” ... well, would you be as concerned? There’s lots of smart people like your mom who don’t fully connect with the Internet. We still value them, but we’re probably not hiring them as consultants, either.
Blogs are as good or bad as their authors. I’m picking up your RSS feed now, if that’s an indication. I think they’re great business tools, particularly now that Google’s AdSense offers a way to get incremental revenue from them. I run a network of business blogs over at Hosting Insight, and they’ve been a great vehicle for getting news nuggets out to our readers quickly.
hubcoach said on September 18, 2003 at 04:07 PM
This Mom has learned over the years
that even Moms can be wrong from time to time!
Being ‘honest’ doesn’t mean you’re correct.
In this case it seems to mean it’s okay to form an opinion about something you know nothing of, and then assume it will be taken seriously.
You’re a grown-up. Forget Mom. Go BLOGGERS.
Amy Lasley said on September 18, 2003 at 04:33 PM
I only enjoy reading blogs that contain stories about barfing dogs and obnoxious parents 
Seriously though, I realize that most people are looking for so called “content”, but in my opinion blogs are supposed to be quirky and personal. I’ve learned more about what makes Debbie Weil tick from reading this blog for 5 minutes than I could learn from reading page after page of “About Us” type content, plus its more fun.
Steve said on September 18, 2003 at 04:52 PM
If it’s a blog related to business I’m looking for
information that will help me in business, not
stories about movies.
Your blog does that, most don’t. If you are a writer, blogging also helps clarify and expand your ideas. One blog entry might wind up being an article or book.
Brooke said on September 19, 2003 at 12:07 PM
There are definately two different ideals here. Sure, I looked at this two years ago and figured it was an excuse for bored, computer driven geeks to somehow create a new outlet for doing one more thing online that otherwise was not. But I fell victim to it and started my livejournal.
But it’s a way of adapting. Instead of writing in a journal, I type online.
Now I’m trying to portray my feelings about business blogging to my CEO, as I’ve seen the positive response it’s receiving.
I still do find it mystifying that some people are so successful at getting reads when it’s just daily life garbage. I don’t expect to keep people entertained with my livejournal, and without a unique goal, or selling position, how do others?
Mark said on September 21, 2003 at 02:50 PM
I haven’t participated in a lot of blogging. Those I have opted to take part in, though, were anything but trivial. For example, its a great way to disseminate information that blog readers may never see elsewhere. A case in point is with political blogs. I recently went to the DNC’s “Kicking Ass” site and read some interesting observations. A number of people, myself included, used the opportunity to bring specific websites containing information not being covered by the mainstream media to the attention of those viewing the site.
Not only do some blogs provide wonderful outlets for people, they’re excellent forums to pass along important, useful and helpful information.
Amrit Hallan said on September 24, 2003 at 04:06 AM
Hi Debbie.
I think, everything in this world is, what you make of it. So is blogging. Recently I read somewhere that most people discuss their cats and dogs and their own sleeping/eating patterns in their blogs. Anyway, nothing wrong in that.
Blogs are a good way to showcase your communication talent. If your visitors find your blogs engaging, they visit your site again and again and then develop a bonding. They also get a glimpse of your other, relaxed side. They know that you are not just a dumb, money-interested professional but have other interests too.
Andrew Denny said on September 24, 2003 at 05:05 AM
I work in B2B PR in the UK and am trying to promote amongst our grey-suited clients the idea that they should have an element of blogging
in their web presence.
However, one of them recently made a skeptical point to me. When I produced some blog examples, he pointed out that his market wasn’t represented. In fact, he said, most current ‘business’ blogs are actually talking about marketing in general. And you know, at present I rather think he has a point.
It reminded me of a journalist’s comment about 1993, that email wasn’t really a mainstream business tool because it was used mainly by computer enthusiasts to talk to other computer enthusiasts about computers.
The general business blog will come, I’m sure. But for a while to come I suspect most business blogs will mainly be tools used by marketers to talk to other marketers about marketing.
I think that to be taken more seriously, more quickly, one should try to ignore the marketer’s or copywriter’s or computer company’s blog, and start holding up more direct business blogs
to the hard daylight.
And especially local ones. The lawnmower shop. The machine tools dealer. The local veterinary practice. The baker. The neighborhood garden centre.
LOVER said on October 2, 2003 at 01:07 AM
Boring blogs actualy born with boring topics directly inside of it. Let try produce real interesting and sometimes funny discussions.
Mark Eblan said on October 10, 2003 at 07:38 PM
I can see the value of blogging as a vehicle for generating “brainstorming” interaction within a company or a workgroup, as well as a way to input one’s personal opinions.
However, I find myself instantly turned off by the constant use of misspelled words, bad grammar, and the general inability of most bloggers to express their ideas coherently.
Perhaps I am way out of bounds in expressing this opinion, but I tend to devalue input from bloggers who do not take the time to make sure that their input is, at least, spelled correctly.
The informality generated by the Internet has enabled people to instantly spew thoughts and opinions which are badly formed and badly written. Gone are the science and art of true “writing”, in which people formulate their thoughts and then EDIT what they write so as to be clearly understood by the readers.
I would not buy anything from a website which contains blatant grammatical or spelling errors, since their appearance makes me question the quality of their products and of the team producing and selling them.
Having said that, you will all now search my text for the tiniest mistake - Enjoy!
Mark Eblan said on October 10, 2003 at 08:14 PM
Dear Debbie,
One possible reason why your mother feels blogging is both “infantile and boring” is that too many people simply do not make any effort to write correctly.
To illustrate: your article about your mother’s reaction to blogging contains the phrase “(which I alerted her to)”.
The phrase should be: (to which I alerted her).
As a professional copywriter and wordsmith, I ask you: does anyone really have an excuse for writing poorly, or is just anything permissible on the internet these days?
Frieda Zonnenfeld said on October 19, 2003 at 01:40 PM
A blog is a tool for managing content—and content is NOT going to disappear. So unless a better tool comes along, blogging is going to be here a while.
Frieda from Lucerna, Switzerland
http://www.success-biz-replica.com
xian said on October 22, 2003 at 04:25 PM
Coupled with the praise for your mainstream success, your mother’s put-down of your blogging seems to reflect a generation gap dealing with both the unfamiliar (to her) new, gift economy, and an evolving concept of public v. private, with a growing gray area in between (that I suspect she feels disconcerted by).
The correction to your syntax above was laughable. One might be preferable for style but both were equally correct.
Others claim that most blogs are bad. That’s just Sturgeon’s Law (90% of everything is crap). No one reads blogs at random. You follow trusted links.
The comment about blogs just being the best current way to manage content online has it exactly right.
Parents can hurt our feelings even when they think they are being supportive. I hope you didn’t take your mother’s criticism to heart. Frankly, it came across as condescending and unkind, although I do not wish to pass judgement on your mother, of all people!
Sandy said on December 9, 2003 at 01:15 PM
People are asking about the possibilities for business blogs. Here’s an idea that I developed for my company, which is a global IT consulting firm, and it doesn’t get a whole lot more “grey-suited” than that...Anyway, here was my proposal, which has been getting good feedback:
Use the blog as a thought leadership tool. An IT services firm’s main “product” is the contents of our consultants brains. We need a physical example of their smarts that customers can see. Select some of our top consultants to be subject matter experts in a particular area. Give them a blog page where they can post their thoughts on the subject, and develop a community of interest around the page. Let people subscribe to the page and post their own comments, or if they are not members they can just read it. Using a community management tool like Scoop, a central administrator should be able to track all the postings. Once a month, a company could glean information from the most popular topics and use them to create a newsletter for either the company as a whole or for a group of topics that people have subscribed to.
Any product or service where you can benefit from developing stronger relationships with customers can benefit from using a blog. Customer gets to build relationships with people who share the same interests and may be facing some of the same challenges. Company benefits from increased positive perception and trust, the community of bloggers becomes a focus group of sorts, and you get more customer information.
I think it has the potential to be a great thought leadership and loyalty tool, but marketers and PR folks have to accept that we would lose some control over the process and that it would be a more collaborative effort between us and the SME’s. Our role would be to give them the tools and the guidance they need to be good bloggers.
Clarence said on December 11, 2003 at 05:49 PM
Instead of trying to figure out what a Blog is perhaps it would be best to just “Do it” and let the chips fall where they may.
I honestly believe that the average Blogger detests the “Grammar Police” and all its agents.
Don’t try to change me, just accept me as I am and either appreciate what I share or don’t. That’s what life choices are all about.
Bauer Carolyn said on May 2, 2004 at 01:39 PM
Give what you have. To someone, it may be better than you dare to think.
Gologor Matthew said on June 30, 2004 at 07:44 AM
I criticize by creation—not by finding fault.
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