A recent study by Columbia University shows that the News we read is being adapted from blog posts. The report, using data sourced from 1,202 journalists both US and European based, shows that 51% of journalists use blogs regularly and this number is growing rapidly. 70% of them are reported to use Blogs for work-related tasks, daily, i.e.: researching and referencing facts, finding sources and uncovering breaking news.
How blogs differ from Other Editorial Content
- Anonymous creation (the identity of a blog poster can forever be a pseudonym
- No Use by date (The lifespan of a Blog post is infinite unlike a other digital news forms)
- Real time updates (Changes are immediate)
- Positively Interactive (Blogs are a open line of communication, a forum for ideas and discussions)
“The Horrors of not managing online buzz”
Kryptonite in the BlogosphereHow ten days of internet ranting crippled a company.It took just 10 days for Kryptonite locks to become the poster child for how not to handle the online buzz. In response to a video showing how the Kryptonite Evolution 2000 U-Lock could be opened with a bic pen and with a flood of complaints on forums by bike-owning enthusiasts demanding the Locks withdrawal. Krytonite responded with a statement that can be best described at ‘dismissive’ as well as publicly ignoring the problem. Whilst working in the background to try and resolve the issue, the New York Times got hold of the story and released the headline “The Pen Is Mightier than the Lock”. Exchanges for the faultily locks were offered 10 days after the video release, by that time Kryptonite’s reputation was sullied and the company had lost around $10 million. Source http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/17/nyregion/17lock.html?ex=1178942400&en=2767e0c7fd12541d&ei=5070
Electronic Arts the mighty EMPLOYMENT MONSTER
Electronic arts learned a hard lesson when a blogger called “EA Spouse” blogged about the awful working conditions her husband suffered in the employment of Electronic arts. Even though the comments were posted on a relatively insignificant blog, they were rapidly picked up and the press quickly stepped in. The outcome was that Electronic arts recently had to settle a 15 million dollar lawsuit brought against them by employees. http://ea-spouse.livejournal.com/
For Sourced Content: (Krytonite and E.A Spouse stories) http://www.levick.com/
BUSINESS BLOGS are Doing it for themselves
Information gathered from the Fortune 500 Business Blogging Wiki shows that Only 22 of the 500 largest U.S. companies operates public blogs. That amounts to a measly 4.4%. Here are 3 of those I rather liked.
McDonalds Corporation blog – Open for Discussion was launched on the 20th of March 2006, Created by I’m Bob Langert, Vice President for Corporate Social Responsibility, it offers an open forum for employees to chat and ask questions about promotional issues, ideas etc. McDonalds say “it’s a way of showing what happens behind the scenes and listening to what people want”. It’s got PR of 5, Loads of recent posts and topical discussions and has been tagged 1,179 by del.icio.us http://csr.blogs.mcdonalds.com/
General Motors – Fast lane blog was launched on the 7th of January 2005 and I must sing it’s praises even though I don’t like cars particularly, this blog is exactly what a blog should be, a way of the consumers to interact with the BIG WIGS at GM. It’s honest, forthright and not afraid to welcome criticism. It’s basic in its general aesthetic but it has a neat little bread crumb trail to guide you out of the lengthy comments pages, as most posts has around 30 or more comments and its fresh content has been tagged over 300 times by del.icio.us. http://fastlane.gmblogs.com/
My Favourite was Southwest Airlines – Nuts about Southwest. They quite plainly want people to get involved, the user help page stating “Our goal with this blog is to give our readers the opportunity to take a look inside Southwest Airlines and to interact with us. This is as much your blog as it is ours”. It was launched on the 22nd of April 2006 and its just fun, nice big friendly images, peanuts scattered all over the background and the entries are written in a warm forthcoming way. It has PR of 6, has snatched up over 80 tags from del.icio.us and has over 7,000 Yahoo links. http://www.blogsouthwest.com/
Lastly: (a moan) I had high hopes for Nike Basketball Blog when I first saw it, the slick design, high res photos of basket ball players, downloadable Nike goodies; it was as statuesque as Nike herself. But after a few minutes it becomes whelming, and you release that it’s just another nicely constructed advert for Nike. It also doesn’t allow comments, which kind of defeats the whole object of a blog. http://blog.nikebasketball.com/