Business and Blogs

After searching around a bit and reading how businesses are using blogs, I found a really interesting article, which just happened to be the cover story of News Week in May 2005. The article is titled "Blogs Will Change Your Business," but in my opinion, this title does not do justice to the entire scope of topics the article touches upon. Part of the genius of the article is that it is written about blogging, in the style of a blog.


I found this article to be interesting, not only because of the many valid points that the author makes, but because it was written in 2005! The foresight that goes in to this article and the way in which it is presented is still very relevant today; so relevant that News Week went back and added a link to another version of this article with "2008 annotations" due to the amount of interest it has generated. The timelessness of a piece like this, especially within the world of technology and the internet, clearly demonstrates and affirms one my favorite points in the article...


The blog "bubble" is not going to pop. This idea of a "bubble bursting" sounds all too familiar after the dot-com boom in the early 2000's, or even the "housing bubble" that evidently burst less than a year ago. But according to the author, this is not that case with blogs. The following quote perhaps best describes why this is the case:

"The dot-com era was powered by companies -- complete with programmers, marketing budgets, Aeron chairs, and burn rates. The masses of bloggers, by contrast, are normal folks with computers: no budget, no business plan, no burn rate,
and -- that's right -- no bubble."

The most resonating point that this article makes though, is that businesses need to be aware of blogs, and know how to use them to their advantage. The author talks a lot about how many people and businesses find blogs annoying, redundant, or even dangerous; but just as we have discussed in class, there is always a way to use the technology to your advantage. The author states, "Given the changes barreling down upon us, blogs are not a business elective. They're a prerequisite. " This may or may not have been true when the article was first written in 2005, but it is most certainly true today.


The author also discusses how blogs are valuable tools in areas other than business. At the beginning, there are mentions of blogs that post about political ideals, various counter cultures, and lifestyles. Of course an overwhelming number of these blogs are simply used as journals or diaries by the blogger, which tends not to offer as much value or generate as many viewers.


One valuable aspect of blogs though, which means a lot coming from a News Week article, is their ability to deliver unfiltered, breaking news, many times even before the mainstream news outlets touch the story. They give a specific instance in which this was the case, even as early as 2004:

"Blog reporters showed their value following the Asian tsunami in December. Thousands of them posted pictures, video footage, and articles about the disaster long before the first accredited journalists showed up"

While this article touches on a lot of great ideas and is definitely ahead of its time, I would like to contend that it is missing an essential point; this way of thinking about social media is not exclusive to blogs, it can be applied to most of what we call "Web 2.0." Sure, at that time blogs may have been an increasingly essential tool for businesses, however, marketers are now faced with the challenge or understanding (and hopefully utilizing) various forms of social media. From blogs, to social networking sites like Facebook, or even sharing sites like Flickr or Youtube, social media marketing is becoming more and more important for businesses today.


It is great that we can look back at an article like this and still find relevance in it, as 4 years seems like an eternity in 'internet years.' But the real foresight of this article lies not only within the context of blogging, what's really impressive is that the article chronicles an important step towards the beginning of this Web 2.0 concept.

About Me & Social Media Marketing

My name is Andrew Rossiter. I am currently a senior at DePaul University in Chicago, and will be graduating by Thanksgiving of this year. While my major is simply "standard marketing," I am trying to pursue a career in the music industry. I have taken some music business courses at DePaul, but the majority of my learning with regards to this field has been through first hand experience. Currently I am interning within the Warner Music Group, but I also have previous experience with concert promotion, publicity, and artists management on a much smaller scale. Aside from music, my main passion is travel, which I intend to do as much as possible throughout my life.

I initially signed up for MKT 398 "Special Topics" because it fulfills a marketing elective requirement, but I did not have much information about the class. Once the course began, I was extremely pleased to learn that our focus would be on social media marketing. Like most college students, I have a Facebook and Myspace account. However, I have also been using these and other mediums for years to promote music, and more recently within my internships as well. This course is helping me expand my perspective about social media marketing, and is already aiding my work outside of class.