What made you decide to start your blog?
I wanted to join a global community. I already was writing for a number of publications, running the I-PR list of 15,000 people, and publishing What's Next newsletter, which has 3500+ subscribers.
Blogging was an easier way to publish, and freed me from having to depend on others to code and put stuff online for me.
What is your method of blogging? How do you pick a topic?
I blog about what i know, Internet marketing strategy. Id already been addressing that topic for 10 years when I started What's Next blog.
Last month, I started Ethics Crisis blog for SRF Global Translations. The company specializes in multilanguage translation of corporate compliance and marketing materials for multinational companies. Not exactly sexy, but of great interest to global companies. Since ethics is the number one business issue, it was logical to devote the blog to ethics issues.
To make it fun and add a viral element, we ask people to anonymousely confess the most unethical thing they have ever done in business, or had done to them. Readers rate the confessions and comment on them. It took off like a shot and we already are doing business through the blog.
What do you believe you have accomplished by blogging?
Blogging brought me Fortune 100 clients including IBM and Cendant, abundant speaking and consulting opportunities, and a global network of extraordinarily smart and interesting bloggers.
Is there something that really concerns or bothers you about bloggers?
A couple of things: bloggers plagarize. they don't credit other bloggers as sources. Bloggers can be nasty.
What do you really enjoy about blogging and reading blogs?
I love all the ideas and viewpoints if bloggers. and the interplay between bloggers. and the immediacy. I love that anyone with a great idea can have a voice.
The A-List. This gets bandied around a lot – what are your thoughts on the A-List? What does it reflect?
Of the 34+ million blogs, there may be, generously, 10.000 with a sizeable audience. Some blogs are read by more people than others. you can call that the A-list if you want. who's on the list changes all the time. New people come along. Bloggers quit, lose their edge.
What three blogs would you consider “A-List”? (whether they are right now or not)
Adrants, Global Conversations, Poynter.org's various blogs
What impact do you think blogging will have on politics?
Blogging has already changed politics. There are less secrets, less centralized messages. No election will ever be won again that doesn't include the internet in its strategy. That's pretty damn significant!
What impact do you think blogging will have on business?
Blogging has destroyed the illusion of message control, but it was always an illusion anyway. You can't plan corporate communications strategy without taking bloggers into account.
But ultimately, blogs are a kind of really wonderful, feature-rich software that is tailor made for Internet use.
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Thanks Diane!
I appreciate being included on your blog in such stellar company.
B.L.
Posted by: B.L. Ochman | May 31, 2006 10:49 AM | Permalink to Comment