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I Welcome to the I Searching and Blogosphere: The Monitoring Blogs End of Top-Down Talk I Launching Your Blog The Executive Blogger’s Guide to I What are Blogs? I Corporate Policies and I How Powerful Have Blogging Blogs Become? I Blog Backfires Building a Nest of Blogs, Wikis & RSS. I The Unique Characteristics I Moblogs & Vblogs of Blogs I Wikis I Business Blog Examples I Conclusion:Your Game Plan “People build brands as birds build nests, from scraps and I How To Use RSS Newsreaders straws we chance upon… People come to conclusions about brands as the result of an accountable number of different stimuli: many of which are way outside the control or even influence of the products owner.”

— Jeremy Bullmore, former chairman JWT London, and director of WPP

Welcome to the Blogosphere: leave you at the mercy of the stone be reckoned with in the corporate The End of Top-Down Talk throwers as well. and political spheres, many times Changes in online technology have acting as gatekeepers or even While the advent of the Web spawned taken what was already a revolution overturning the mainstream media millions of new communicators in communication and now morphed world, ending powerful careers or and content providers around the the internet into a real-time forum killing product lines. And yet, world, the Web page format still wherein for the first time, participants understanding and harnessing followed the old broadcast model are as powerful as traditional these new technologies can serve of one source beaming out to controllers of media and public as both an early warning system for many. Granted, chat groups relations messages. Blogs are what is being said about your com- allowed for more of a conversation, unmasking improprieties, ending pany, and as a way for your compa- but nothing compared to the noise careers, and damaging brands. ny to lead the conversation in a being generated via Weblogs Yet Blogs are also building and manner that positions it as a trust- (“Blogs”). The creation of Blogs strengthening brands. Understanding ed leader. and Wikis has enabled a very Blogs and their unique culture and different approach: the real-time voice is imperative; trying to What are Blogs? open forum. Blogs may have started exploit this new format without The term “Weblog” was coined in as online journals for computer that understanding will surely end 1997 by Jarn Barger whose site geeks or angst-ridden teens, but in a vitriolic stoning of your brand. “Robot Wisdom” was an effort to now they have become a force to But choosing to ignore Blogs will log various sites he encountered on

{ 1 } the Web. But an accumulation of its locks still deterred theft. The interesting links is only part of New York Times published the what a Blog has become. Dave story the next day. Then, according Winer, creator of an early Blog to blog monitoring company called “Scripting News” said: Technorati, nearly 2 million people “Weblogs are often-updated sites visited blogs to read more about it. that point to articles elsewhere on In the end, Kryptonite paid $10 the web, often with comments, and million in replacement locks—that’s to on-site articles. A weblog is kind out of $25 million in total revenues. of a continual tour, with a human guide whom you get to know. There are many guides to choose from and each develops an audience.” So blogs are a sort of frequently updated, online journal that mixes personal opinion and daily life with observations and links to other sources and allow for readers to contribute their own thoughts and reactions. Winer created software making it easy to create a Blog (Radio Userland). And others such as LiveJournal, Blogger.com and Xanga created Web-based blog- ging templates that allow anyone According to Technorati, 23,000 to start their own blog in minutes Clearly the tipping point has been blogs are created every day—that’s with no knowledge whatsoever of reached and the numbers of Blog one every 3 seconds—and the programming. The revolution was readers and creators will continue number is accelerating. While the underway. Today there are between accelerating. And just who are vast majority are diary-type blogs 10 million and 35 million blogs in these people? The Pew study only of interest to a few family the US and some countries, such reports that in the US they are: members or friends, some have as Korea, claim more than 10 million. I 57% male gained large audiences. When it comes to business, I 48% are younger than 30 According to the findings in the blogs are being used to hold a Pew Internet & American Life I 42% live in households earning conversation with customers, with Project (November 2004): more than $50,000 employees, and with media. They can serve as effective vehicles for I 27% of all internet users in the I 39% have college or graduate marketing, idea testing, knowledge US now read blogs degrees management, crisis communication, I that equals 32 million Blog readers So they are a well-educated and and thought leadership. affluent community. Yet Pew I that’s a 58% jump in just 9 reports in this latest survey, “there How Powerful Have Blogs months has been greater-than-average Become? I 7% or 8 million have created growth in blog readership among On September 12, 2004 someone their own Blog women, minorities, those between posted on a blog that a disposable the ages of 30 and 49.” Bic pen could open the supposedly I 12% or 14 million have posted impenetrable Kryptonite bicycle comments on a Blog locks. Word spread via blogs. I and that is while still 62% do not Kryptonite issued a statement that even know what a Blog is

{ 2 } Among the most popular blogs are http://scoble.weblogs.com those that look at politics, such as “Instapundit,” and those that chronicle life in a gossip column (“Wonkette”) or catalog the latest in gadgets and technology (“Gizmodo” and “BoingBoing”). But business blogs have amassed large audiences as well. Perhaps the most influential are those written by Microsoft’s Robert Scoble (“Scobleizer”) and Jonathan Schwartz (President of Sun Microsystems). Scoble was formerly with NEC and a blogger who never held back in his criticism of Microsoft. In a gutsy move, Microsoft hired him and not only allowed him to continue blogging, it does not appear to censor him. “Impressively, he has also succeeded Blog Attributes where small armies of more I conventional public-relations types personal, candid, informal, 4. I will preserve the original post, have been failing abjectly for transparent using notations to show where I have made changes so as to years: he has made Microsoft,” I frequently updated writes the Economist, “with its maintain the integrity of my I journal entries in reverse order history of monopolistic bullying, publishing. (most current on top) appear marginally but noticeably 5. I will never delete a post. less evil to the outside world, and I includes links to third parties 6. I will not delete comments especially to the independent software I includes reader comments unless they are spam or off-topic. developers that are his core audience. Bosses and PR people at other I includes “Trackback” function 7. I will reply to emails and companies are taking note.” showing who is linking to it comments when appropriate, I includes “Blogroll” of links to and do so promptly. The Unique Characteristics other Bloggers of Blogs 8. I will strive for high quality with Blogs are anti-establishment. They I offers RSS feed (more on this every post – including basic are personal, candid, irreverent, and later) spellchecking. informal. You will find a personal I includes archive of past entries 9. I will stay on topic. comment about last night’s restaurant 10. I will disagree with other right in the middle of a serious Sample Blogger Code Of Ethics opinions respectfully. analysis of software, a gossipy joke from Forrester’s Charlene Li: in the midst of an industry overview. 1. I will tell the truth. 11. I will link to online references Blogs are no place for so-called and original source materials brochure ware or the official line. 2. I will write deliberately and with directly. They are the insightful aside by accuracy. 12. I will disclose conflicts of interest. Shakespeare’s fool. The Blogger, 3. I will acknowledge and correct while acerbic, is also humble in that mistakes promptly. 13. I will keep private issues he or she is quick to give credit to and topics private, since the writing and thinking of others by discussing private issues way of embedded links. Here’s a would jeopardize my personal checklist of Blog attributes: and work relationships

{ 3 } Business Blog Examples http://fastlane.gmblogs.com/ While the earliest blogs may have been either tech or politics, they have taken root in many industries from autos to airplanes, from yogurt to appliances. Here’s a look at several examples.

GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz http://smallblock.gmblogs.com writes “FastLane” while GM also produces the micro interest “Small Block Engine” blog.

{ 4 } To illustrate the power of blogs, http://autoblog.com/ let’s look at Autoblog.com. While it is in a crowded field that includes stalwart print brands such as Motor Trend and Popular Mechanics and AutoWeek with their own Web sites,

using BlogPulse’s trend tool we can see that Autoblog has nearly pulled even with the big players.

{ 5 } Boeing marketing chief Randy http://www.boeing.com/randy Baseler is connecting with media and customers via his blog at www.boeing.com/randy

Stonyfield Farms catapulted itself http://www.stonyfield.com/weblog from a little town organic dairy products company to a global player through four blogs including one written by a farmer. But perhaps its greatest insight was that its organic products were the choice of independent-minded, educated women. So one of its more popular blogs is “Strong Women” featuring articles and info perhaps not directly related to yogurt but right on target for the yogurt buyers.

{ 6 } How To Use RSS Newsreaders content from Web sites or blogs. designed for specific Newsreaders Blogs can be read like any other This means the reader need never such as these: Web site by going to its URL (ex: check back with or visit the original www.autoblog.com). However, Web site where they found the about all blogs offer another option content. And they need not via something called RSS. register for an email newsletter, RSS stands for “really simple nor risk being spammed. Most syndication.” It is a form of RSS links look like this: programming that allows users to shop for, or subscribe to content, Using RSS means a constant, auto- and bundle it together into a matic stream of headlines, updated custom kind of browser called a blog entries, or press releases. feed aggregator or Newsreader. The signature orange rectangle Soon media will come to expect RSS or another similar technology contains the letters “XML” companies to provide all releases called Atom, pushes or feeds the because that is the programming in this format. updated content automatically so language used—a sort of Rosetta all the user need do is open their stone of Web languages. But now Newsreader and all the RSS feeds you may also see custom links will deliver the absolute latest

Here are examples of aggregators and readers:

NewsGator www.newsgator.com

{ 7 } FeedReader www.feedreader.com

Bloglines www.bloglines.com

{ 8 } Aggreg8 www.aggreg8.net

FeedDemon www.feeddemon.com

Some of the readers are free, Web-based services while others require downloading software and may require a subscription fee. The best allow you to bundle like content into custom folders. Some will integrate directly into MS Outlook.

{ 9 } Searching and Monitoring Blogs www.feedster.com You can use Google to find blogs if you know what they are called. But specialized blog search engines can help you find blogs even when you don’t know what they are called. For example, what if you want to find blogs on the topic of autos but have no idea who writes them or what they are called? Here are some blog search engines: www.blogsearchengine.com www.daypop.com www.technorati.com www.feedster.com www.blogdigger.com www.blogstreet.com www.pubsub.com

Blog monitors will display a sort of top hits ranking for blogs. Some may look at traffic, which blogs the most influential bloggers link to, and complicated metrics tracking the pass along viral nature of given blogs. www.blogdex.net www.blogstreet.com www.technorati.com www.blogpulse.com

One particularly interesting blog monitor is Intelliseek’s BlogPulse. BlogPulse not only gives a ranking, it uses a trend graphing tool to draw the buzz volume of topics or keywords over time. It will even allow you to input your own items to track. So imagine tracking your company against the competition as an early warning system. Here we have tracked the drugs Vioxx and Celebrex.

{ 10 } Launching Your Blog If you want a very professional 5. Understand when the company There are three ways to start service combined with asks that topics not be dis- publishing your own blog. powerful tools: cussed for confidentiality or Choose so-called “server side” legal compliance reasons. I Use free Web-based commercial software to be installed in your services 6. Ensure that your blogging activ- company such as: ity does not interfere with your I Use subscription, hosted services Word Press work commitments. I Use software on your own http://wordpress.org/ company server The goal is to try to allow for the (free download) candor required of bloggers while Each option has its merits and not compromising the company. Radio Userland drawbacks. So here is a checklist. Here are some other examples of http://radio.userland.com/ corporate blogging policies: If you want to dabble with non-professional blogging: Moveable Type I Sun Microsystems policy: Choose free, advertising supported http://www.sixapart.com/ http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/ blog services such as: movabletype/ When/200x/2004/05/02/Policy Pros: total control, good metrics and I Groove Net (Lotus Notes Xanga tools, your company domain name inventor Ray Ozzie): www.xanga.com (free with ads, http://www.ozzie.net/blog/200 premium service available) Cons: need IT department to manage it on your company server 2/08/24.html LiveJournal I Harvard Law School: www.livejournal.com (free and Corporate http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/terms paid versions) While some are a bit laid back and Policies and conversational, asking employees MSN Spaces to use common sense (Sun, Groove), http://spaces.msn.com/ (free) Blogging others are more button-down and Pros: free, simple to use Deciding whether or not to allow legalistic (Harvard Law). It is employees to blog is worth some Cons: communities of kids with particularly important that company careful thinking. There have been ads on the blogs; lacks professional bloggers understand they may many cases of embarrassment or tools; you won’t own your content need to comply with such sensitive even firing bloggers. matters as IPO quiet periods. If you want a more professional Here is a set of guidelines offered look that you can slightly by Gartner’s blogger Charlene Li: customize: 1. Make it clear that the views Choose hosted services such as: expressed in the blog are yours alone and do not necessarily TypePad “Talking about revenue, future product represent the views of your ship dates, roadmaps, or our share price www.typepad.com employer. is apt to get you, or the company, or Blogger 2. Respect the company’s both, into legal trouble.” — from the Sun blogging policy www.blogger.com confidentiality and proprietary information. Pros: good enough quality for professional blogging; hosted online 3. Ask your manager if you so no need for an IT department have any questions about what is appropriate to include Cons: modest subscription fee, in your blog. limited customization, must use provider’s domain name 4. Be respectful to the company, employees, customers, partners, and competitors.

{ 11 } Blog Backfires “If you fudge or lie on a blog, you are biting the karmic weenie. The negative reaction will be so great that, whatever your intention was, it will be overwhelmed and crushed like a bug.” — Steve Hayden, Vice Chairman, Ogilvy & Mather Seeing how influential blogs are becoming, it can be tempting to try to co-opt them as part of a public relations effort. Given the somewhat skeptical, anti-establishment tone of blogs, attempts to make them part of the plan can backfire. Here are a couple of examples.

Mazda’s Crash First, Mazda created a blog called HalloweenM3 via a 23-year-old code-named “Kid Halloween” who The Mazda M3 skateboarding video listed his movie interests as all car chase movies. He linked to what he said were cool videos a friend of his recorded off local public access cable TV (which carries no ads). The videos were of Mazda cars break dancing, imitating skate boarders, and driving on Halloween night. Bloggers unmasked Kid Halloween as part of a corporate PR effort when they noticed the production values and the same videos posted on the Website of the agency that pro- duced them. The response was an angry Blogosphere and thousands of pick-ups and links to the story. Mazda pulled the site.

{ 12 } Dr. Pepper’s Raging Cow Turns demographic (18 to 24), flew Blogosphere Sour them to Dallas to brief them and Cadbury’s Dr. Pepper division work with them and give them created a new milk beverage product samples. This was the called Raging Cow with hip, part that angered the blogger youth-oriented, edgy flavors world to such a degree that there such as “chocolate insanity” and was even a call for a boycott of an angry cow icon. Dr. Pepper the product with a boycott viral hired Richards Interactive to graphic that spread through create an obviously mock blog blogs. They see the blogosphere written by the cow. So far so as strictly a bottom-up grass good. Then Richards recruited roots world and react badly to six bloggers in the target any top-down marketing efforts.

Moblogs & Vblogs www.textamerica.com Now blogs have moved on beyond text and graphics. Moblogs are blogs created by contributions from mobile devices. Some feature photos taken from mobile phones with cameras. The most popular such site is called “textamerica” (www.textamerica.com).

Vblogs add video to the format.

{ 13 } Podcasting is a form of audio blogging. Content creators make radio-style shows or interviews and feed them via RSS. Then you download them on your iPod or other MP3 player.

Wikis Another emerging, collaborative online platform useful for business is the Wiki. It is named after the Hawaiian word for “quick” and perhaps even the Honolulu airport buses known as “Wiki Wikis.” Wikis are Websites that can easily be edited by anyone visiting it. The best example is a giant online encyclopedia (Wikipedia) growing every day through contributors. Now the Wiki format is being used by corporations for internal project collaboration, information sharing and knowledge management.

{ 14 } Conclusion: Your Game Plan Here’s how the Asia Pacific 3. Be comfortable in your own service such as Typepad or even President of Ogilvy Public skin. “Do not try to be funny or better, if your IT department is up Relations, Christopher Graves, wisecracking if that’s not you,” to it, use software on your own suggests companies approach the advises Graves, “since blogs are server such as Moveable Type or Blogosphere. about being candid and ringing Word Press or Radio Userland. true.” It is better to be informal 1. Start reading business blogs to 6. Make sure your trusted and personal, he says, but get a sense of tone, voice and communications counselor holds remain true to your own voice. content. Familiarize yourself with a briefing session with your team Update frequently, even if blog search engines and monitors. so everyone understands the key briefly, and do not use a ghost Check out the blogrolls and points, the goals, the ground blogger. Use loads of links to trackbacks. rules and the risks. relevant information; remember 2. Plan with your communications — as a blogger you are the 7. Make sure the blog is promoted counsel to decide whether tour guide. via search engines and other you are looking for a blog to: blogs. Mutual links, or blogrolls, 4. Write a company blogging policy raise company profile through are the way to network in the (use the models in this paper). positioning you as a thought blogosphere. leader; create buzz to raise 5. Choose a publishing platform. 8. While influencing key bloggers company and brand awareness; While using a community, may be a sound strategy, be a sales tool talking to prospects commercial and Web-based approach this with extreme and existing customers; commu- service such as LiveJournal or caution and transparency. nicate internally for project col- Xanga or MSN Spaces, “it’s not The blog world punishes laboration; use as an internal appropriate for a corporate blog,” top-down tactics or undisclosed knowledge management tool. suggests Graves. He advises co-opting of bloggers. using either a hosted professional

Glossary Newsreader: Browser-like window Trackback: A piece of program- Atom: A form of programming for that allows readers to shop for and ming that shows a blogger who is Websites or blogs that will feed the subscribe to different content linking to their blog and delivers content to end users rather than providers (using RSS) and then the snippets of what they said. require them to return to the site aggregate all the feeds into the Vblog: Video blog. for updates. browser. Wiki: From the Hawaiian term for Blog: An online journal that mixes Podcasting: Audio content similar “quick,” this is a form of Website candor, informality, opinion and to blogs that can be downloaded to that allows readers to edit and con- links third-party information. It is iPods or other MP3 players. tribute to the Wiki. It is an open, easy to update with no program- RSS: Really Simple Syndication. collaborative site on the Web. ming needed and allows readers to A form of programming code that add their own comments. allows Website or blog readers to Blogroll: A link within a blog, subscribe to them in order to auto- usually in a vertical menu along matically get updates fed to them the side, to other blogs. in a Newsreader. The content can Moblog: A blog created through be anything from thin slices to the input from mobile devices such whole blogs or press releases. as PDAs or phones. They may also include photos from mobile camera phones.

{ 15 } Appendix The Corporate Weblog Manifesto 7. Talk to the grassroots first. Why? 11. why hasn’t anyone from the (by Robert Scoble) Because the main-stream press Hotmail team called me yet to is cruising weblogs looking for tell me what’s going on with 1. Tell the truth. The whole truth. stories and looking for people to Hotmail and why it’s unreachable Nothing but the truth. If your use in quotes. If a mainstream as I write this?). competitor has a product that’s reporter can’t find anyone who better than yours, link to it. You 12. Never change the URL of your knows anything about a story, might as well. We’ll find it anyway. weblog. I’ve done it once and I he/she will write a story that lost much of my readership and 2. Post fast on good news or bad. looks like a press release instead it took several months to build Someone say something bad of something trustworthy. People up the same reader patterns about your product? Link to it trust stories that have quotes and trust. — before the second or third site from many sources. They don’t does — and answer its claims as trust press releases. 13. If your life is in turmoil and/or best you can. Same if something you’re unhappy, don’t write. 8. If you screw up, acknowledge it. good comes out about you. It’s When I was going through my Fast. And give us a plan for how all about building long-term divorce, it affected my writing you’ll unscrew things. Then trust. The trick to building trust in subtle ways. Lately I’ve been deliver on your promises. is to show up! If people are feeling a lot better, and I notice saying things about your product 9. Underpromise and over deliver. my writing and readership and you don’t answer them, that If you’re going to ship on March quality has been going up too. distrust builds. Plus, if people are 1, say you won’t ship until March 14. If you don’t have the answers, saying good things about your 15. Folks will start to trust you if say so. Not having the answers product, why not help Google you behave this way. Look at is human. But, get them and find those pages as well? Disneyland. When you’re standing exceed expectations. If you say in line you trust their signs. 3. Use a human voice. Don’t get you’ll know by tomorrow after- Why? Because the line always corporate lawyers and PR noon, make sure you know in goes faster than its says it will professionals to cleanse your the morning. (their signs are engineered to say speech. We can tell, believe me. that a line will take about 15% 15. Never lie. You’ll get caught and Plus, you’ll be too slow. If you’re longer than it really will). you’ll lose credibility that you’ll the last one to post, the joke never get back. is on you! 10. If Doc Searls says it or writes it, believe it. Live it. Enough 16. Never hide information. Just 4. Make sure you support the latest said. (Note: Searls is author of like the space shuttle engineers, software/web/human standards. “Cluetrain Manifesto”). your information will get out If you don’t know what the W3C and then you’ll lose credibility. is, find out. If you don’t know 11. Know the information gate- what RSS feeds are, find out. If keepers. If you don’t realize 17. If you have information that you don’t know what weblogs.com that Sue Mosher reaches more might get you in a lawsuit, see a is, find out. If you don’t know Outlook users than nearly lawyer before posting, but do it how Google works, find out. everyone else, you shouldn’t be fast. Speed is key here. If it on the PR team for Outlook. If takes you two weeks to answer 5. Have a thick skin. Even if you you don’t know all of her phone what’s going on in the market- have Bill Gates’ favorite product numbers and IM addresses, place because you’re scared of people will say bad things about you should be fired. If you can’t what your legal hit will be, then it. That’s part of the process. call on the gatekeepers during a you’re screwed anyway. Your Don’t try to write a corporate crisis, you shouldn’t try to keep competitors will figure it out weblog unless you can answer a corporate weblog (oh, and and outmaneuver you. all questions — good and bad they better know how to get — professionally, quickly, and ahold of you since they know nicely. when you’re under attack 6. Don’t ignore Slashdot. before you do — for instance,

{ 16 } 18. Link to your competitors and 19. BOGU. This means 20. Be the authority on your say nice things about them. “Bend Over and Grease product/company. Yo u Remember, you’re part of an Up.” I believe the term origi- should know more about industry and if the entire indus- nated at Microsoft. It means your product than anyone try gets bigger, you’ll probably that when a big fish comes else alive, if you’re writing a win more than your fair share over (like IBM, or Bill Gates) weblog about it. If there’s of business and you’ll get big- you do whatever you have to someone alive who knows ger too. Be better than your do to keep him happy. more, you damn well better competitors — people remem- Personally, I believe in have links to them (and you ber that. I remember sending BOGU’ing for EVERYONE, should send some goodies to lots of customers over to the not just the big fish. You them to thank them for camera shop that competed never know when the janitor being such great advocates). with me and many of those will go to school, get an 21. Know who is talking about you. folks came back to me and said MBA, and start a company. “I’d rather buy it from you, can I’ve seen it happen. you get me that?” Remember Translation for weblog world: how Bill Gates got DOS? He treat Gnome-Girl as good as sent IBM to get it from DRI you’d treat Dave Winer or Research. They weren’t all that Glenn Reynolds. You never helpful, so IBM said “hey, why know who’ll get promoted. don’t you get us an OS?” I’ve learned this lesson the hard way over the years.

Christopher Graves, President, Asia Pacific, Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide. Chris joined Ogilvy PR in early 2005 after 23 years in business news. He spent the last 18 years with Dow Jones on both the editorial and business sides. He was one of the founders of Wall Street Journal Television, Managing Editor of Asia Business News (ABN), Vice President of News and Programming for CNBC Asia, Vice President of News and Programming for CNBC Europe, Managing Director of Business Development (EMEA & Asia) for Dow Jones Consumer Electronic Publishing (WSJ.com), and Managing Director of Far Eastern Economic Review.