:: Friday, September 26, 2003 ::

Blogs and journalism

Mark Glaser’s article Weblogs Are Pushing the Newsroom Envelope on Writers’ Spontaneity published on Online Journalism Review highlights an important difference between blogs written by journalists working for publications and blogs written by individuals in their spare time.

Glaser discusses the recent controversy in the blogosphere over the change in procedure and editorial process for columnist Daniel Weintraub’s blog California Insider. Weintraub used to post to his blog and send his post to his editor simultaneously. That changed after a controversial post. Now all content goes to the editor first. Glaser includes links to some of the protests in the blogosphere from outraged bloggers who feel that Weintraub is being censored.

To me, this is a case of the medium not dictating the message. While journalist bloggers use the same software to publish their blogs that individual, unaffiliated bloggers do - there are rules governing what they post that do not apply to all bloggers.

I would argue that even if a journalist’s blog isn’t held to a standard editorial process, the writer still engages in self-editing or regulation any time they are receiving a pay check for posting. Journalists’ editors read their posts whether they do it before the posts are live, or after. And whether formally, or informally a journalist’s blog will be considered part of their work performance when they blog for a publication. The same holds true for any writer blogging on the job.

On the other hand, an individual blogger posting on her or his own time is beholden to no one. The independent blog has no restrictions and no editorial process other than the goals, opinions and ideals of the blogger who publishes it. Maybe it’s time to start categorizing different types of blogs with rubrics that distinguish them from each other rather than assuming that the use of blogging technology means that all blogs follow the same standards.
:: Jennifer 7:47 PM [+] ::

E-mail etiquette and style

Dave Jung’s post Making the most of email on B2Blog includes a PDF with notes from a presentation he gave on being more professional when communicating via e-mail.

I can think of a number of instances where my first business contact with someone has been through e-mail, and their unprofessional e-mail style has given me an incorrect impression of what they would be like to work with.

For example, I once received an e-mail internship application that was written in the same style the student would have used to chat online with her friends. She addressed me by my first name – which she shortened to a nickname. Her message was filled with slang, and she used phonetic spelling. Yet she was applying for a highly sought-after internship position. I started to delete her message. But then it occurred to me that she wouldn’t learn from her mistake if I didn’t tell her that her e-mail gave me the impression she wouldn’t take working with me seriously. I called her instead of e-mailing back. Her phone demeanor was mature and professional. And by the end of the phone call I asked her to come in for an interview. She turned out to be one of the most conscientious and professional interns I ever worked with.

I think a general rule of thumb is to be as professional in an e-mail message as you would if you were talking with the person on the phone or meeting with them face-to-face. It’s always best to err on the side of being too formal, if you are uncertain.

Dave’s notes from his presentation provide a great overview of the issues to consider when e-mailing in a professional capacity. He includes practical advice for effective e-mail communication as well.

:: Jennifer 12:12 PM [+] ::

Blog community

Kaye Trammell’s post 27 NW blog street is a nice overview of the blogging state of affairs – which is something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately too.

Trammell writes, “To live here, you have to want to be here. Some blogs in the community are already are abandoned after neglect & some are fixer-up-ers. But for every one of those that don't leave the most positive impression of our little community, there is one that is so amazing that people travel from all corners of the Internet to check it out & see it for themselves.”

I like her discussion of blogs as a community. This is not something that’s easy to explain to someone who doesn’t blog. I think this perspective would be helpful to PR and communication practitioners who are trying to figure out how blogs fit into their roles in the organizations they work for.

:: Jennifer 9:30 AM [+] ::

What do your customers want to know?

Justin Hitt’s post titled Provide value in every communication effort is a great example of how to produce effective communication in marketing materials. There is a prevalent mindset among many marketing and communication practitioners that it’s important to tell potential customers what the company wants them to know. So when they write marketing materials they ask the question, “What are the most impressive things about this company that we want the public to know?” Instead they should ask, “What would a potential customer want to know about what we have to offer?”

Hitt writes: “When answering a customers request for more information, don't just send sales materials full of pitches. I see so many materials full of details about the provider, but very little about the desires I want.”
When a company uses marketing materials to toot their own horn, they aren’t answering the right questions and they aren’t speaking to the viewpoint of potential customers.

Hitt continues: “In every customer interaction focus on educating prospects about the benefits they will receive. You will improve your response when you spend 80% of your time educating your prospect about the solution and 20% selling them on the idea that you can provide it. Prospects don't care about what you have to sell, they want to know how you can help them produce certain results.”

Consumers aren’t looking for a specific company, with specific attributes. They are looking for a solution to a problem or desire. And they aren't interested in a boilerplate description of how wonderful your company is. Considering things from the customer’s perspective is the best way to write information they’ll want to read and to get your message across.

Thanks to B2Blog for the link to this article.

:: Jennifer 3:53 PM [+] ::

For more communication tips, take a look at the archives.