In an information-overloaded society who cares who blogs and why? Note that is a question and not a statement. But could it be that when one has 109 books on the ‘waiting to be read’ shelf, a pile of journals, magazines and clippings a couple of zillion meters high (Ok that’s an exaggeration but the book number isn’t)…and this is just the print media…that blogging becomes an irratating addition to an already irritating overload? Or…
is it that the reasons giving for why one should blog are valid? Has blogging replaced conversation and if so what could be the outcomes? Is blogging the ‘new’ conversation? What to do with blogs and does anyone really care? Is blogging essential for networking in a networked world? Is blogging not just some sort of Gen X theraphy release? Is force-fed blogging any different from the Boomer force-fed teambuild? and why should one blog when connecting with the bloggers is not on the agenda?
Lots of questions for and against. Let’s see who now says what or is this just a mindless rant of no consequence?
No
Yes
And in the words of someone I know, who loves to quote someone he doesn’t know…. “blogging is not on the agenda, it is the agenda!”
Hah that felt good.
We’re a knowledge company, selling knowledge in a knowledge era. We have a competitive advantage because we have some serious brains in our business who are brilliant at synthesizing information and creating connections that other people don’t see. But you can only do that if you feed the input side.
So, if this is non-negotiable, then what must we do to ensure it happens?
* One thing we can do is each read different books, and then supply summaries of those books to each other. Go to: http://www.tmtd.biz/?cat=22 and find 13 book summaries and reviews on our blog.
* Another is to each read different magazines, and then read with everyone’s eyes in. Then take out that information and give it to the appropriate person. But why not just blog it at that stage? Then we add value to our network and clients as well.
* Another is to share what we find on the web. But, its just as easy to blog it, then we add value to our clients and network as well. And they get to see what we see, and sometimes also why we saw it.
* Another is to just share some of the random thoughts we have during a day, that in most cases would just be lost. Every now and again this happens, as we phone each other to say, “Just had a thought”. But why not just use the blog, then everyone can be involved.
* We could also get our network together regularly to just chat and interact face to face. We don’t do this enough in a virtual company!
For all these reasons, blogging has given us the technology we needed to do what we need to do to enhance our company.
Also check out the comments I made earlier today on Blogging and Brands: http://www.tmtd.biz/?p=132
Some good responses! Note my blog was only raising questions without stating an opinion. Seems that this has touch a bit of a nerve here which is interesting. People learn and process information in different ways – blogging is one effective way no doubt about that.
Blogging can simply be seen just as a different way of putting information online, but it is waaay more than that – which is why it has taken off so much in the last few years. The “waaaay more” bit is all about connecting and forming relationships online. I write something, someone else likes it and links to it, I see they link to it and I read their stuff. Like the guys from joblog.co.za – they’re often in here reading our stuff and writing comments. And so the web grows…
Our next step is linking our thoughts on this blog to what other blogs in our sphere are saying…
Nerve touching is good. No it’s great. It means there’s life. You’re feeling things. Good and bad. But you’re feeling it. And when you’ve had enough, you just drop in another ‘disc’ and you feel again in a different space, and different stuff.
BLOG – Babbling Loads Of Gibberish OR
BLOG – Building Legacy Of Greatness
You decide!