"Enterprise Blogging"
Written by Laurel A. Clyde
In 2002, weblogs or blogs were discussed in a FreePint article
to library and information science. Although specialist blogging
software had been available only since early 1999
become popular as a form of online diary and as a way of disseminating
current information. In May 2003, "Enterprise blogs" were identified
as "a new breed of blog"
Nevertheless, it would seem that some businesses and other enterprises
have been using blogs for a number of purposes almost since the
beginnings of blogging. This article, based on a presentation about
"Enterprise Applications of Weblogs" at the "Online Information 2004"
conference exhibition in London in December 2004
applications of blogs in enterprises, and introduce resources and
sources of further information. In particular, information will be
provided about blogs devoted to discussions of enterprise blogging,
and online articles and papers about enterprise blogging. A web page
developed to support the conference presentation is available at
Weblogs can take many different forms, any of which might be
appropriate for enterprise blogging. They may be a one-way form of
communication, where users simply read the "posts" of the blog owners.
Alternatively, blogs can be a two-way medium of communication (between
owners and their readers) or they can be the basis of a community in
which all readers of the blog can contribute on an equal footing. Each
of these options has its place. For example, some "one-way" blogs are,
in effect, electronic newsletters, while blogs which allow all members
of a group to "post" information, can be used as the basis for group
projects. Blogs might be public (available to all on the Internet) or
private (available on an organisation's intranet or via a password).
Meg Hourihan is quoted in the Washington Post (11 September 2003) as
saying that "... some of the most effective company blogs are posted
on internal networks, or intranets. These can help different business
divisions connect or allow employees from disparate offices to share
information when working together on a big project."
individuals, or they might be team blogs or group blogs, with everyone
in the team or group having the right to post. Blogs might be
text-only, or they might incorporate graphics or multimedia. They
might be maintained from personal computers, or they might be updated
using moblogging technology - web-enabled mobile phones or hand-held
devices.
Enterprise Applications of Blogs
--------------------------------
There is very little research related to enterprise blogging; the
commercial applications of blogging are mostly unproven as yet. There
are, on the other hand, many articles and papers written by
enthusiasts or early adopters. While this literature contains many
useful ideas, there is little evaluative material, so though we know
that enterprises have used blogs for various purposes, we don't
necessarily know whether or not those blogs achieved the purposes for
which they were created. Nor do we have much information about the
characteristics of successful blogs, or the purposes for which
blogging is most successful. In an article in Itbusiness.ca, John
Saunders actually challenges his readers to send him "a story of how
blogging has helped your organization"
things are not quite as bad as this may make them seem. Karen Lasnick
and Julie Weber have reported on one law firm's experience with
blogging
Radiant Marketing blog has a case study of a small business blog at
Kuhlman Auctions,
examples.
In the literature, the following have been suggested as potential
applications of blogging in enterprises:
* Blogs can be useful sources of information for business,
particularly as each one may present information from a different
point of view, though it is worth noting that blogs are not a good
way to gain a basic overview of a subject or topic; they tend to
focus on current issues and discussion. However, finding useful
weblogs and keeping up with them is a time-consuming activity. RSS
feeds
who need to monitor a number of weblogs. In addition, specialist
tools are emerging that will help. For example, Kinja
blogs that are already being monitored.
* Blogs can be used for communication; indeed it has been claimed that
blogs have "the potential to be a key business communication tool"
can be used for communication within the enterprise as well as for
communication with clients and others outside the enterprise. Like
other collaborative tools, blogs are effective for companies that
encourage cross-functional communication. They provide individual
workers and teams with easy-to-use tools to deliver critical
real-time intelligence to customers, partners, investors, and
indirectly to internal decision-makers"
* Blogging can be a tool for project management; good blogging
software provides facilities for organising and managing timelines
and information from a variety of sources. For example, Basecamp
at designers, consultants and freelancers. It uses a "blog-like
format" for recording and presenting content; it brings together
material from a variety of sources including email, chat, PowerPoint
presentations, web links and feedback; and it supports the use of
RSS feeds
information to the desktops of all who are involved in the project.
* Blogs can be used as a competitive intelligence tool, particularly
for carrying out research to support new business proposals or
product development. For example, the Traction blogging software
"handles the collection, organization, sharing, linking and
retrieval of information from multiple sources, including e-mail,
Web content, external news feeds, business analytic systems and
customer contact reports"
* Blogs can be used for marketing, for example as a "way to connect
with potential customers". Says Ellen McCarthy: "few business
bloggers can say how much their daily postings affect the firm's
bottom line, but most assume that customers who check in regularly
will be more likely to purchase a new product or be faithful users
of the services offered"
Blogs can be used as an alternative to email marketing, or as a
marketing tool in their own right. Marketing-oriented blogs enable
enterprises to provide information and discussion about new products
and about developments within the enterprise. For a report on blogs
in marketing, see
* Blogs have been promoted as a tool for knowledge management and
knowledge sharing. Ross Mayfield has suggested that blogs can help
to capitalise on "a wide variety of areas of expertise within a
group", encourage contributions from different people, and provide a
basis for internal data feeds so that they can be viewed in context,
among other things
recognition provided by signed blog entries provides motivation for
people to participate; they get credit for their ideas. Blogs can
"make knowledge workers more productive" says David Goldstein
knowledge captured through a blog (and accessible through its
archive) "remains within the enterprise, even if the knowledge
worker does not"
* Customer service is an area in which the potential of blogging is
being explored. Blogs could provide customers with information about
products, assessment of the value of the products in particular
settings, contact information and direct contact with people who are
using the product, tracking of updates to the product and new
versions or functions.
* A blog can be used as a newsletter or can take the place of a
newsletter; it is a form of online publishing. This is particularly
the case with one-way blogs, but nevertheless the capacity for users
to comment (where the facility is provided) does make a useful
addition to the traditional newsletter format.
A potential problem is that blogging does not fit with the corporate
culture of many organisations. If an enterprise values a "top down"
approach, then blogging, with its emphasis on freedom and open access,
may not be a useful tool: "bottom-up organizations use blogs" says Jay
Cross; for him, "... blogs are the leading edge of the social software
movement that's propelling the bottom-up, self-organizing reformation
of versatile businesses. A bottom-up organization values the
collective work of individuals over top-down authority; it supports
cooperation and co-evolution in lieu of command and control. Instead
of telling people what to do, it provides the networks that enable
them to do what they want to do"
potential problem is that while "blogs are popular in the technology,
marketing, media and law sectors, with professionals using them to
connect with suppliers, customers and employers"
they may meet with less acceptance in other fields.
Blogs About Enterprise Blogging
-------------------------------
A number of well-regarded weblogs have emerged, the primary function
of which is to discuss and track developments related to enterprise
blogging. They include the following:
Business Logs
CorporateBlogging.Info (including Business Blogging Basics)
KLog News: Enterprise Weblogging News, Resources and Commentary
Mopsos - Corporate Use of Weblogs
Online Business Networks Blog
Radiant Marketing Group: A Blog Dedicated to Small Businesses
that Blog
Ross Mayfield's Weblog
The Small Business Trends Blog
Articles About Enterprise Blogging
----------------------------------
Articles and papers about the applications of weblogs in enterprises
have been published in both print and online journals, newsletters,
and news services. Some examples include the following:
Blogs in Business
Carroll, Jim: Jumping on the Corporate Blog Wagon
Cross, Jay: Blogging for Business
Easen, Nick: The Budding Business of Blogs
Golden Blogs
Lasnick, Karen and Julie Weber: Blogging: One Firm's Experience
McCarthy, Ellen: Making Blogs More Than Just What's for Dinner
Rosencrance, Linda: Blogs Bubble Into Business
Saunders, John: Enterprise Blogs: The Final Frontier
Small Business Blog Case Study: Kuhlman Auctions
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Dr L. Anne Clyde
and Information Science Department at the University of Iceland
of countries, including Canada and Namibia, as well as in Australia
and Iceland. Her teaching and research interest in the use of online
information services and the Internet has resulted in a number of
publications, including a new book, Weblogs and Libraries (Chandos
Publishing, Oxford, 2004) reviewed by FreePint at
about weblogs and blogging for a number of professional and research
journals. She maintains a teaching page about weblogs at
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