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In this issue - Blogs and Wikis: Serious Enterprise PR and Marketing Tools?
From the numbers of companies, corporate execs, PR and marketing folks using blogs today, it seems that this previously fringe technology is becoming more and more mainstream. Wikis, which are newer, also are making inroads into the corporate communication mix.
If you’re interested in more information about blogs, please visit the MVPR site to download our latest white paper, Blogging 101: Blog Basics for Communications and Marketing Professionals. (http://www.mtvernonpr.com/resources_wp.asp)
Best Regards,
Rosanne Desmone, Principal
Mt. Vernon PR & Communications
Blogs and Wikis: Serious Enterprise PR and Marketing Tools?
A year ago, if asked, I would have guessed that a blog and a wiki would be found in the company of a Wookie. I’m sure there are more like me among us. This newsletter, therefore, is directed at those of you who, like me, come late to these tools and wonder what they are and what place they have in our professional lives. We’re not alone. Once I started looking, I saw that blogging and wikis have sparked great debate about their use as legitimate tools vs. uncontrolled, published rantings that can only result in a bad end.
Whatever side you take in this debate, it’s worth knowing a little more about blogs and wikis and the phenomenon of social software, into which category the software that enables bloggs and wikis falls. I’ve tried here to provide a brief overview of blogs (and a bit of information about wikis) and some indications of how they are becoming mainstreamed and utilized in enterprise settings.
Blogs
Blogs, which get their name from a contraction of “web log,” seem to have come on the scene in the early to mid ‘90s. They are essentially online diaries, posted in reverse chronological order, usually with one author. Their public appeal seems to be the opportunity they offer readers/users to view the personal side of a company, issue, technology, whatever… as well as the ability to develop a relationship with the author and to speak one-on-one with him or her.
The “blogosphere,” as the universe of blogs has come to be called, is huge, although hard numbers are difficult to come by. The blog search engines that track these blogs also count them. As of this writing, Technorati, one such engine, claims to “watch” nearly 8.5 million blogs. Who’s creating all these blogs? Everyone… from individuals to large corporations and their CEOs.
Who’s Blogging Now?
List of corporate blogs:
http://www.thenewpr.com/wiki/pmwiki.php/Resources/CorporateBlogsList
List of CEO blogs:
http://www.thenewpr.com/wiki/pmwiki.php/Resources/CEOBlogsList
List of Product blogs:
http://www.thenewpr.com/wiki/pmwiki.php/Resources/ProductBlogsList
List of PR blogs (there’s another list in the MVPR Blogging white paper):
http://groups.blogdigger.com/groups.jsp?id=85
On April 6, the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) re-launched its blog, IABC Café. It will be interesting to see how this blog fares going forward. In its earlier incarnation, the IABC blog suffered from weeks and months of no posts, which is one of the big no-nos about blogging… you have to do it regularly, or die.
In August 2003, Forrester published a brief on blogs, titled “Blogging: Not Even Close to Mainstream.” In November 2004, they published a report (Blogging: Bubble or Big Deal?) the summary of which states: Forrester believes that blogging will grow in importance, and at a minimum, companies should monitor blogs to learn what is being said about their products and services. Blogging even has its own award programs, one indication that it’s arrived as a legitimate tool. So far, I have found the 2004 Weblog Awards and the Business Blogging Awards of 2005 (as of publication, winners not posted).
The Power of Blogs
What power, you ask? Here are a couple of examples:
…The power to oust the aspiring senate majority leader, Trent Lott, from the leadership position as a result of his remarks at Strom Thurmond’s 100th birthday. The ShorensteinCenter within The Kennedy School of Government at HarvardUniversity recently released a case study on blogging that deals with the Lott situation. You can view or print the report at http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/presspol/Research_Publications/Case_Studies/1731_0.pdf
…The power to create a media celebrity out of Ana Marie Cox, a Capital Hill staffer who lost her job because of her blog at www.wonkette.com and now has a full-time job as a blogger, with sponsors and everything, not to mention coverage in the New York Times, the Village Voice, the Nation, among other mainstream publications.
…Power enough to receive daily press credentials to the White House briefing room. The New York Times recently reported that Garrett Graff, the editor of the FishbowlDC blog, became the first blogger to receive credentials from the White House press office.
Many businesses are looking to put this kind of power to work for them as a more effective means of communication than email, web sites and the like. You have to be aware, however, that with blogs you do give up some message control.
Giving Up Control of the Message
As communicators, we’ve all learned that controlling the message is a critical strategy for success. Blogging is about giving up some of that control… substituting guidelines for rules, letting individuals speak their minds (within the guidelines) and engage in direct communication with various publics. As I sit here, I can think of attorneys in two companies I worked with who wouldn’t be able to say no fast enough to such an idea. Like every other new idea, however, if properly designed and presented, it’s possible to make it work.
While you may not be able to control the specific message, you can establish parameters that will keep the message within accepted limits. A well defined mission statement should be the first step, including the overall topic of the blog, the kinds of posts you will include, and the expected frequency of blog postings. A brief standards or appropriate use document, which can be as simple as “no profanity, no confidential information,” or include stipulations like “no direct attacks on competitors, no personal attacks,” and so on, is another step in assuring that no borders will be breached.
More information about the specifics of setting up and using your blog is available in MVPR’s white paper, Blogging 101: Blog Basics for Communications and Marketing Professionals, which can be downloaded at http://www.mtvernonpr.com/pdf/Blogging101.pdf.
Wikis
The invention of the wiki (Hawaiian for “quick”) is attributed to Ward Cunningham of Portland, Oregon, in 1995. His wiki was created for the Portland Pattern Repositiory and now has thousands of pages. A wiki is essentially a web page that allows anyone to edit or post to it. The most well known wiki today is Wikipedia, “the free content encyclopedia that anyone can edit.”
Cunningham’s original definition of a wiki includes this line that has become the simplest definition: The simplest online database that could possibly work. This is a simplification, of course, yet succinct. According to wiki.org, “Wiki is a piece of server software that allows users to freely create and edit Web page content using any Web browser. Wiki supports hyperlinks and has a simple text syntax for creating new pages and crosslinks between internal pages on the fly.” One of its unique features is that you can edit the way contributions are organized as well as edit the content itself.
For those with concerns about loose cannons posting to a wiki, users say that the sense of community keeps people honest. It is possible, of course, to remove offensive postings or spam from both blogs and wikis.
I have found only one list of wikis, and most of those have topics like “David & Paula’s wedding,” so I didn’t think the list was worth including here. However, at least one analyst is looking at the use of wikis in the enterprise. Gartner has written about the wiki as collaborative software, but Forrester seems to have nothing on wikis in its arsenal.
It seems we’ll have to wait a bit longer for more information on wikis, but you can get some information at the following URLs:
What is: WIKI? (CMO Magazine)
http://www.cmomagazine.com/read/040105/pt_wiki.html
Wiki (from Wikipedia)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki
Wiki: Getting Started FAQ
http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?WikiGettingStartedFaq
Read and Learn
If you’re seriously considering using a blog or a wiki, use the lists of links above to find companies and CEOs who are using them and get familiar with what is said and how. If you read through enough of these, you’ll get a good idea of what’s working and how you might utilize them in your PR and marketing plans. That’s one good thing about not being an early adopter… we can benefit from what everyone else has done wrong and learn a great deal from what they’re doing right.
Blog Strategy and Implementation
Mt.Vernon PR & Communications (MVPR) can assist you with all facets of planning and launching your blog strategy, from creating a blog (including setting goals and policies, writing, and publishing your blog) to blog advertising and editorial outreach to blog authors in your market.
Sign up to receive our next blogging white paper
If you’re interested in learning more about blogging, you can sign up for advance notice of our next blogging white paper at http://www.mtvernonpr.com/resources_wp.asp
Mt. Vernon PR & Communications (MVPR) provides a full range of public relations and marketing communications services to companies and associations on the move, in a hurry, and determined to stay on top. We specialize in creating and enhancing your visibility and credibility in the marketplace, using your unique capabilities and expertise as the building blocks. For more information about Mt. Vernon PR & Communications, please visit our web site at www.mtvernonpr.com
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