For the last 24 hours i've been having server problems.  As a result of which i might have flooded your news aggregators with multiple entries of the same post - many apologies.

Am hoping things are back to normal now !

4:21:40 PM    comment []  trackback []

John Patrick reports he's met with "quite a few" senior executives of major corporations in the past week or two "but not one had even heard of blogging. One said, 'blobbing?'..."

He goes on to discuss the growing density of the mediasphere: "This phenomenon is not a bug; it is a feature. Having so many channels allows us more choice, more breadth and depth, and more on demand information and expertise."

[Corante: aa Corante on Blogging]

A few days ago i was chatting with a Client - a senior executive in a multinational company.  Now this was a telephone conversation and our lines can be bad, so i'll give him the benefit of doubt here.  I mentioned to him that i had been busy blogging - and his voice came through - "bogging" ?   And then the inevitable political correctness, which only made my silent laughter deepen as the conversation progressed - "oh i'm sure not - did you mean bobbing? - no couldn't be - blogging?  - whats that - oh its all so boggling"

On a serious note - John makes a good point in his recognition of the perception of "information overload" among senior executives - "Once I explain what blogging is all about, the typical response from people is that they are already in "information overload" to how could they possibly take on reading or writing a blog?"

While writing a blog is a whole different area and much is being written about it, i will focus here on how we might get more executives to start reading blogs. 

The 'why' is obvious to bloggers - the RSS feed is an amazing tool for aggregating news from sources of your selection and promises to get only better in its width, depth and "user-friendliness".  The benefit - in allowing the reader to stay on the cutting edge of thought and development in his or her area of specialisation and interest, due to the real-time online reporting and discussions.  This becomes a more dynamic source, as a result.  

The 'how' is the greater challenge, as the 'why' maynot be perceived unless experienced first-hand.  Blogs/wikis/discussion groups cannot replace all other forms of news gathering - perhaps one day as these tools reach their tipping point, once they garner critical mass, they might emerge as one of the largest sources for keeping oneself up-to-date, and for creating and accelerating value. 

So what's required today?  Small steps, teasers ..... here are some suggestions - no detail provided - just basic concepts.  Also, these may be more specific to India, as no such service exists here yet.     

- encourage KM systems managers to embed RSS feeds from blogs into the system

- get the daily newsletters (like AgencyFAQs or Exchange4Media which have wide reach among executives across industry and sector) to include blogs as a part of their reporting

-  set up a newsreader service that has the 'Best of Web' links (including blogs) as part of the service - this can turn into a 'Best of Blog' product eventually, with specialised feeds by industry and a rating system in place that is not based on A-lists or popularity alone, but on relevance to the industry of concern.

The interesting part here is that the subscriber has control over the feeds he wishes to read, from an available menu of options offered by the service provider.  This cuts down the effort of searching for this information.  Its a bit like subscribing to the journal or magazine or newspaper of your choice, and not being deluged by information compiled by the provider, where you have no control. 

3:44:54 PM    comment []  trackback []

More reactions to the NY Times article - "The Corporate Blog ..." - here's an enjoyable critique !  Like the title of the post too - "the 12-step whiff of whuffie"

1:08:45 PM    comment []  trackback []