The BizBlog Show #04 (MP3 - 6.33Mb - 18min 27sec)
LISTEN HERE

Well, I’m back. For better or for worse, The BizBlog Show’s podcast machine is rolling again. This first of the new series of podcasts is with Steve Broback from the Blog Business Summit, amongst other things, and we talk about a fair amount of conference related things, get into his views on business blogging and all kinds of little gems.

Plus, I manage to make Steve speechless at least twice, which is well worth listening to ;-)

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TIME
00:00 Network Intro

00:06 Jeremy’s Schpiel

02:47 Interview Opener

02:53 Interview with Steve Broback

18:19 Network Wrap-up

I’ve been on a rather long hiatus these last few months. Primarily this is because I’ve been writing my new book, but it’s also been due to 3 separate moves, having my laptop die on me and a whole host of other things.

Things have settled down again now, and I’ve already recorded 2 new shows for your listening pleasure. Expect to see shows coming soon in the next week or so, hopefully with greater frequency than the last few months has shown ;-)

If you know anyone who (or you yourself) would like to be interviewed, drop me a line and we’ll sort it out. If you have show or topic suggestions, also drop me a line. If you have extra cash which is stressing you out and you’d like a hand, drop me a line.

If you are looking for money, drop someone else a line.

From Business Week:

Go ahead and bellyache about blogs. But you cannot afford to close your eyes to them, because they’re simply the most explosive outbreak in the information world since the Internet itself. And they’re going to shake up just about every business — including yours. It doesn’t matter whether you’re shipping paper clips, pork bellies, or videos of Britney in a bikini, blogs are a phenomenon that you cannot ignore, postpone, or delegate. Given the changes barreling down upon us, blogs are not a business elective. They’re a prerequisite. (And yes, that goes for us, too.)

And Business Week has a blog - Blogspotting.net

Robert May said this about business blogging:

It’s like a website. You have to have one because everyone else does. It may make a small difference if yours is better than everyone else’s, but for non-web-based products, no one makes purchasing decisions based on your website.

I drive a Nissan Frontier. I’ve never even been to Nissan’s website.

Interesting position but he does think blogging is important. Why? It helps clarify ideas. This part I agree with. The importance of business blogs - I think this will greatly depend on the product/service provided.

In the Nissan example, I have to admit I agree, I’d probably purchase a car without going to the website because normally websites do not have the information I’m looking for - neutral reviews on the product/service. A blog can change this. Most people (especially when purchasing big ticket items) do some research. In the case of a car, there a test drive is definitely in order. However, a smart purchaser will want to know how the car holds up over time. How is customer service? What’s the average price? These are details a smart purchaser wants to know before entering negotiations. While Googling, wouldn’t it be great if the blog came up and you (as the purchaser) could see positive and negative comments about the car, along with feed back from company representative addressing these issues?

Do you think this type of interaction will assist you in making an informed purchasing decision?

Inc.com published an article called Business Blogging on the Rise. Paul Chaney (Radiant Marketing) makes an excellent point:

“Blogs are a way for you to tell your story over and over again, and do it in a personable way. If you are blogging and your competitor down the street is not, then it can be a competitive advantage,” said Paul Chaney, principal of Radiant Marketing group, a blogging consultant firm focused on small businesses.

That doesn’t mean it will be easy for small businesses to implement blogs in their marketing strategies. The article states percentages on the credibility of blogs compared to television or radio. Blogging is definitely the cheapest of the three mediums for marketing and obviously has more longevity in that the articles posted to the blog are there as long as the blog is online and can be easily found. If you miss the commercial on TV or the radio, you missed it.

I enjoy reading Dennis M. Kennedy so imagine my glee when I found out he was writing at Between Lawyers. He gives excellent advice on formulating a blogging policy:

My basic premise is that technology changes so quickly that the more precise you are, the more likely your policy will be outdated and be difficult to interpret in the future. My second premise is that the ways you want people to behave seldom change. My third premise is that if people understand what the risks and dangers are, they will tend to make good decisions. You are free to disagree with any of those premises.

To me, then, a good policy should be based on setting out your core principles (don’t break the law; don’t put key systems or information at risk; behave like you are in a work environment, not a frat house) and setting out the most important rules. Then, you put serious effort into training people how to use technology in ways that do not violate those principles and rules.

The excerpt above was from the second part of the Blogging Policies - Not Only Legal Issues series. Read Part One, then read Part 2.

Dennis is right, when it comes to blogging policies the legalities is one part of the problem. Getting employees to read, understand and comply with the policy is a larger challenge.

The Business Marketing Blog answers the question:

“How do I create a budget for creating, marketing and operating a web site?” - Arthur Doglione

One of the responses:

1. Identify the objectives for your site, what you want people to do when they visit it. Map out the steps you want them to take based on how people make purchasing decisions.

This is very important. It amazes me how many business blogs (which is a website) have an expectation from their users but they don’t have the tools available so their users can fulfill their expectation. Let’s use GM Blogs as an example (a good example):

1) They encourage interaction with their users by allowing comments and trackbacks. Don’t expect your users to email comments, make it easy for them.
2) They encourage further interaction by allowing trackbacks. They want their users to write about them and they want to know what’s been written.
3) They stay on topic.
4) They make it easy to find information by giving the user several options to view the information.

See my point here? Users are able to interact and provide valuable feedback which hopefully will result in better cars being made and happy customers because they are getting what they want.

One thing I wish GM would do is respond and interact more with users. Respond to comments. It’s important that users realize their words are being heard. Right now GM is having a one-sided conversation. I think it’s a great business blog example but it would be excellent if the conversation wasn’t so one sided.

Business Marketing Blog discusses four other tips for creating a budget for building and marketing a site. If this subject appeals to you, give it a read, especially #4.

This is our first “interview” episode. Our first guest is Kevin O’Keefe from LexBlog.com. It’s a great interview, as Kevin has a lot to say, and he has a great way of talking about something he is obviously passionate about: helping lawyers get back to why they first got into law, ie: to help people.

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The BizBlog Show #03- 30th March 2005 (36min 32sec):
MP3 - 12.6MB

TIME
00:00 Network Intro

00:17 Show Opener

01:04 Interview with Kevin

34:50 Jeremy wraps up the show

35:20 Network Wrap-up

Kevin O’Keefe has built a fantastic blog consulting company in Lexblog.com.

We’ll be talking to him about his business, about how blogs affect the business of law and whatever else comes up. The recording is scheduled for this Saturday, so it should be up next week sometime.

We’ve also confirmed Greg Reinacker from Newsgator and Simon Phipps from Sun Microsystems for our next shows.