Where Have all the Bloggers Gone?

To hear some people talk about it, you’d think that everyone has a blog – and that you’d better start one NOW. Ever heard this? “A business blog can help you optimize your web site, get you to the Number 1 Ranking on Google and buy you the home of your dreams in St. Martin.” Yup, so have we. And it’s all just Blogwash.

The one constant about technology that you can absolutely count on is that it will be over-hyped. And, just as Hollywood and Madison Avenue have made us all unhappy with our looks and our sex appeal, technology hype makes us all drool over the idea that we can have what the beautiful technology people have.

This approach is Strategy #1 in the hucksters and swindlers sales kit. “I made it big, so you can, too” is served up over and over again in different guises, and not just in the technology world. It is the main arrow in the quiver of multi-level marketers, infomercial hawkers and dream-sellers of every stripe.

Every hear something like this?

“Before I started posting regular blog comments my web site was going nowhere. But now, Google loves my new content and I went overnight to #1. I can show you how to do it, too.”

Blogwash.

Or, have you heard this pitch?

“Get your blog listed on Technorati, IceRocket and BabbleBlog and, just like me, you will have hundreds of thousands of loyal readers in no time.”

Blogwash.

So, does that mean that you can just forget about having a blog for your business? Well, maybe you can, but consider our blog experience from last week.

Last week we reported on the 8th Annual IQ Awards for Innovation and Creativity – “30 New Ways to be More Creative in Business.”

This was a business event sponsored by the Boulder County Business Report, featuring some of the top companies in the country and was supported by the Chambers of Commerce of Boulder, Longmont and Broomfield. It attracted hundreds of people to an entertaining and informative awards ceremony dinner.

No one reported it. The Denver Post was silent. The Rocky Mountain news was absent. Even the Boulder Daily Camera was out hiking.

And, bloggers were also absent in droves. Boulder County certainly has more bloggers than the average community, but they apparently didn’t think enough of the event to write about it.

So, what’s the point? The point is that the opportunity in business blogging is not what is being pitched to you. It’s not search engine optimization and it’s not trackbacks, links, pings or pongs.

The opportunity in business blogging is not a technical thing at all. It’s in the relationships you can build and the reputation you can establish by reporting on events with your own particular experience, viewpoint and content.

Do we think that business blogging is an effective tool for virtually any business? Yes, we do – but not for the reasons you usually hear.

Business blogging is an effective tool today specifically because so few people are doing it – and even fewer are doing it well.

And, you can count on this. The number of serious business bloggers is not going to change that much, even as the benefits become clear. It’s not going to change because it takes effort and study and commitment. However, if those are things you have when it comes to your business, you should definitely consider creating a blog.

Then, put on your reporter’s hat and take a look around. There are stories to report everywhere. And that’s the way it is, Monday, August 20th, 2007.