Most people have been very complimentary about Scoble's speech (MP3 download). Me, I'm not so sure. I often get very frustrated about the 'blogosphere' and some of Scoble's comments reinforced my irritations. Particularly his claim that blogging somehow meant the end of traditional advertising.
Poppycock (I could be stronger, but this a family blog). My view about blogging is that it is simply another communications channel. It has its own nuances that you must understand if you are to use it effectively. But just as the web and email haven't yet killed off the printed newspaper or TV advertising, neither will blogging.
My very strong belief is that any business that is not blogging very soon will be making a huge mistake, but it's not going to change your world. It's another tool that communications professionals must understand and adopt.
And it is communications professionals that need to get in there and start to shape how blogs develop for organisational and corporate communications. PR professionals, if they get their act together, are in the perfect position to take the lead on this. True public relations has always been about two-way communications and how organisations behave, which is why blogs should be such a useful tool for us.
Let's ditch this ridiculous idea that if PR or marketing people get their hands on blogs they will despoil blogdem. Nonsense. We live in the real world and if what happens on a blog can positively or negatively impact on an organisation or company then it needs to be managed. That's not the same as controlled or censored, but it is about rules, conventions and understanding.
So let's inject a bit of reality. Blogs are simply another communications channel. Stop evangalising, stop dismissing and let's start using.
There is space for everyone from the teenage diary and the geeks to the 'fake' Captain Morgan's rum blog and GM's FastLane. Some will work well, others will fail. Just like every other channel. You increase your chances of success by working with professionals. As GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said "My advice about blogs... have good advisers who understand the blogosphere."
