Blogging 101 (12/04/2008)

IBM Software Group

®

Blogging 101

Adam Gartenbergwww.adamgartenberg.com

Dec 4, 2008

All cartoons © Hugh Macloud – www.gapingvoid.com – unless otherwise noted

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About me

About you

• Why I blog

• Why blogging is important to you (and your company)

• What kind of commitment is involved

• What should you write (and not write) about?

• Other considerations

• Advice and next steps

About this presentation

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In the beginning…In the beginning…

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There was a website. And the website was good.

There was a website. And the website was good.

IBM Software Group | IBM Data Management SoftwarePage 7And the marketers came, and filled the website with data sheets and demos, whitepapers and presentations.

And the marketers came, and filled the website with data sheets and demos, whitepapers and presentations.

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And the people came, and they read the website.And the people came, and they read the website.

IBM Software Group | IBM Data Management SoftwarePage 9And ignored it.

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Instead, the people sought out other sources of wisdom

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And they listened to the crowdAnd they listened to the crowd

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Which brings us to…

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Why I blog

• Share my thoughts

• Contribute to community

• Help me succeed at my job

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Remember the moral of the story: People listen to the community, not the company

Colleagues/FriendsWord of Mouth

53%Direct Mail/e-Mail

32%

Press Coverage

26%

% of work-related purchases influenced by…

Source: "Driving Word of Mouth Advocacy Among Business Executives: The Experiential Marketing Connection,” conducted by the Keller Fay Group and sponsored by Jack Morton Worldwide.

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Why blogging is important to you

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Why blogging is important to your company

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But is anyone really going to read my blog?

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RSS Hits Page Hits

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What kind of commitment is involved?

• How often do I need to post?

• How long do posts have to be?

• How long does it take to create a post?

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A brief interlude…

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What should you write about?

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What should you not write about?

http://geekandpoke.typepad.com/geekandpoke/2007/12/how-to-use-web.html

SUGGESTED READING• IBM's Social Computing Guidelines • IBM’s Business Conduct Guidelines

SUGGESTED READING• IBM's Social Computing Guidelines • IBM’s Business Conduct Guidelines

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Above all else: Be Authentic. Be Authentic. Be Authentic.

Blogging is a double-edged sword; if not written with an authentic voice or if only focused on one-way content (e.g.,

"check out our latest product and attend our upcoming conference, but no, I’m not interested in your feedback"),

those benefits can be lost.

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Other decisions:Team blog vs. individual blog

Beware the “tragedy of the commons”

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Where should you host your blog?

Less setup/maint.

More setup/maint.

Standardized Personalized

Attend Blogging 201 for more on setting up your blog

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Advice and Next Steps• Decide if blogging is right for you.• Ask me (or another blogger) for help (and attend the monthly

Blogging 201 and Blogging 301 sessions)• Read other blogs (if you’re not doing so already)• If you’re not ready to blog externally, try blogging on a company

intranet• Remember where we started…

Fri, 12/12: Blogging 201 Layout and design Widgets How to measure traffic How to build traffic Make the most of RSS Feeds Search engine optimization … and more

Fri, 12/12: Blogging 201 Layout and design Widgets How to measure traffic How to build traffic Make the most of RSS Feeds Search engine optimization … and more

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Thank You

Adam Gartenberg www.adamgartenberg.com twitter.com/agberg

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Example blogs

Ed Brill – Sales BUE for Lotus Notes http://www.edbrill.com (Notes/Domino) Center of community – will often get 60-100 comments on a single post Almost takes on moderated discussion forum feel

Mary Beth Raven – Design lead for Lotus Notes http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/blogs/page/marybeth Collaboratively designed Lotus Notes 8 with the community by asking for feedback on design and

potential features

Chris Eaton – DB2 Product Manager http://blogs.ittoolbox.com/database/technology One of the most widely-read blogs on IT Toolbox

Mix and Mash blog http://www.mix-and-mash.com Team blog for enterprise mashups

“Turbo” Todd Watson http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/blogs/page/Turbo Good mix of personal and work topics (focused on social networking)

Sam Lawrence – Chief Marketing Officer, Jive Software http://gobigalways.com/ (WordPress) Lots of thought leadership pieces, first person thoughts, and interesting blog design

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Another view on the role of word of mouth in influencing work-related purchases