13 May 2005
The bottom line
A research report by EMarketer Inc. claims that "the economic impact of blogging is minimal" and thus warns companies to be wary of investing resources and time in producing blogs. This makes perfect sense to me. Why should businesses have blogs? The appeal of blogs, after all, is precisely the fact that they aren't commercial, that they represent people's thoughts, unfiltered by concern for profit.
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3 comments:
B.L. Ochman does a pretty good job on this issue.
http://www.whatsnextblog.com/archives/2005/05/blankenhorn_nin.asp
Maybe this is heady of me but I personally think that bloggers are the new editorialists. We keep the MSM honest and accountable. We report the stories that the MSM are too gun-shy to report. The cable news networks have turned into tabloid news.
Business blogs are coming. Nothing can stop them. They're a cost-effective means of making regular contact with customers and suppliers, and a terrific way to keep up on the changes in your industry. IT zines like CNet's are already offering tips on how to use them--which is funny because the guy who wrote the article doesn't have a clue what blogs are about.
Still, the heady, halcyon days of non-commercial blogs is slowing coming to a close. In a few years, we'll be looking back with nostalgia to the days when somebody other than corporate reps inhabited Blogistan, when there was political discourse, media watchdogging, and social commentary rather than glowing posts about the efficacy of dishwashing liquid over shampoo for cleaning the grease off your engine, the lastest sales figures on the Mackelwayne Manure Spreader, and the dangers of maintaining a cavalier attitude toward mustard.
Nothing lasts forever, jack.
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