Shorter, Faster and Louder: The Future of Blogging
It wasn't many years ago that some IAQ and environmental businesses didn't have a website or weren't even sure they needed one. Things sure have changed dramatically in the last several years and almost all business owners would now agree a website is essential if not for creating direct sales, at least for adding legitimacy to a business in the eyes of the consumer. A business without a website is like a salesman without a cell phone.
As technology has advanced so has the ability for business websites to engage consumers like never before using such features as videos, podcasts and blogs. The following article about blogging was written by Nick Miller who is the Internet Marketing Manager at Click Optimize, a firm Cochrane & Associates has worked with extensively in the past. I hope you enjoy Nick's article and that it brings new ideas to help you grow your environmental business.
On October 20, 2008, writer Paul Boutin ruffled feathers all over the Internet by quipping, "Thinking about launching your own blog? Here's some friendly advice: Don't. And if you've already got one, pull the plug." He made this claim in Wired Magazine in an article titled, "Twitter, Flickr, Facebook Make Blogs Look So 2004." This left many people wondering what exactly the future of blogging is. I'm inclined to disagree with Boutin's bleak view and narrow definition of what a blog is.
Shorter
One of the replacements offered by Boutin for blogs is the service known as Twitter. This "micro-blog" offers users the chance to share their thoughts in 140 characters or less, or the equivalent of about two sentences. These bits of data can convey headlines from the day's news, share links to interesting articles or sites around the Web, or broadcast to the world what you're up to this instant. This seemingly mundane concept has caught on like wildfire. In 2008, Twitter experienced 752% growth in traffic according to www.mashable.com.
So Twitter isn't a blog killer so much as it is a metamorphosis of the blogging medium. It's still a text-based form of expression that you can share with others. You can follow other folks, and they can follow you.
The main differentiating factor between Twitter and a blog created using software like WordPress or Blogger? Twitter's data set is homogenous. This allows software to sort the data generated by millions of Twitter users more easily. Software can then identify trends and enable the user to watch a virtual fishbowl that tells you what's hot on the web right now. Using a Website like www.twitscoop.com, one can find out what people are talking about in real time. This can be powerful when assessing the public relations damage done by a Hollywood star or when a president is looking to gauge the popularity of an economic stimulus package. You can use Twitter to be nimbler, by blogging shorter.
FasterSpeed is crucial when conveying a message to an online audience. Social networking sites have taken away the customization options offered by flexible programs like WordPress and Blogger and have offered stripped down blogging platforms instead. Facebook's "Notes" section is just a blog with a different name. The social networking site creation tool Ning also provides a simplistic blogging tool as part of its offering. The advantage is that you can type out your thoughts quickly and have a tidy package to present to your readers.
We'd be remiss to omit Twitter when talking about speed. Nothing is faster or more timely. People love the instant gratification it provides. The future of blogging will certainly be tied inextricably to creating entries faster and distributing content instantaneously throughout your network through "one click solutions" offered by widgets like Share This.
Louder
Text is great for blogs, but users on the Web hunger for audio and video. One needs to look no further than the success www.youtube.com and www.music.myspace.com to grasp this. New mutated blogs are seizing upon this potential and taking it to the next level. Services like Seesmic offer a video-only answer to Twitter. Seesmic users can upload video directly from their phones to enhance the speed and intimacy of their entries. Their fans can reply with videos of their own, and the site goes out of its way to limit the amount of typing their users do. Across the Internet users are getting louder and engaging their audience on a more visceral level.
What does this mean for those with a Web presence? These changes can be a positive evolution for many companies who blog.
· Just got a great review on a local business site? Share that review using your micro-blog of choice to get great public relations exposure in seconds.
· Want to stimulate end-of-the-month sales? Create a coupon code and distribute it to your Facebook Fans to see results in hours, if not minutes.
· Show the quality of your products through a live demonstration on a video blogging site. Let your prospects see the benefit of your offering with their own eyes.
Has all the air gone out of the blogosphere? I don't think so. Blogs are an integral part of what experts term Web 2.0 because they represent the forefront of content creation, sharing, and audience interaction. They've gotten shorter, faster, and louder. But at the end of the day, they're still blogs.
Click Optimize
Based in Raleigh, North Carolina
Click Optimize is an Internet marketing firm. The company assists clients with Web design, search engine optimization, search engine marketing, social media, Web video and much more. If you're looking to thrive on the Web then we've got a solution for you.
This article was brought to you by Cochrane & Associates, LLC. The company is a business development, marketing and public relations consulting firm specializing in the IAQ and environmental industries. Mr. Cochrane, the president of C&A, is a 13 year veteran of the industry and has been a frequent guest author and speaker in numerous industry publications and events.
For more information about how Cochrane & Associates can help your business thrive in a tough economy please visit:
