For some it Pays to blog

Now we should all find great sollace in a huge windfall Christian Lander’s widely read blog, Stuff White People Like, received. His insane amount of visitors and comments instigated a book deal with Random House. Amazing.

Web 2.0 and Copyrights

It looks like the same group of people who brought J.K. Rowling to the reign of publishing royalty is now causing her problems. A fan, Steve Vander Ark, started his own website with interactive elements covering every facet of the beloved books (and yes I’ll admit it– a book series I’ve never read). And now he intends to publish a reference encyclopedia with RDR Books capitalizing on his own vast collections via his online portal. This is a tricky one. One commenter equates Rowlings suit against Ark as having “‘blog-slapped’ him.” I kind of love that phrase.

Naked Again

Scoble and Israel fine-tune their points in a more realistic second half in Naked Conversations. They continue to assert the utility of the revolutionary tool of blogging, but they also point to arguments against it. Even though I don’t agree with the blogging is sublime mentality the authors assign, I give them credit for showing both sides.

Several anti-bloggers maintain that the communication tool is not for every company, (something I agree with as well) and also believe that not every person would communicate effectively given a blog. If a person does not communicate competently the results can invalidate the blog’s goal for transparency. One bad communicator can sever a company’s credibility built by more proficient company bloggers.

Scoble and Israel step across the lines of the pervasively free range medium to assert guidelines should be followed so one is not “Dooced” or fired from their job for blogging in a irresponsible way. I find this a little hard to swallow. I understand it’s most likely not a smart idea to leak details on hardware your company is about to launch, but the idea of a censored blog doesn’t fit into the very model Scoble and Israel have been illustrating throughout their book.

If transparency is key, how can there be rules? The idea of creating guidelines, even within the confines of one company, seems extremely difficult. A CEO could feel obliged to limit regulations and a new exec could feel quite differently. I also don’t like the authors’ idea of pushing the limits to see how far a blogger could go to make their company more transparent. As a person who has been laid off twice before reaching the 30 year-old milestone (read: eToys and Smithsonian Books), I’m extremely sensitive to this idea. I’m all for free speech, but I also like to know where my next meal is coming from.

I am also a person who’s main job is to protect intellectual property. I see the world of blogging as a land mine of legal issues. While I enjoy the free exchange of ideas in a new technological media, I also see the potential for its ill-use.

Technology will continue to transform and amaze all of us, and we will hopefully utilize it for what is appropriate for each one of our own goals. What is most important is the new technology be embraced with the same energy and passion as blogging has been for Scoble and Israel.

Naked Conversations

Through numerous examples of large and small business (and one appeal to a plumber) Robert Scoble and Shel Israel, in their Naked Conversation, depict a world where little to no investment can illicit huge returns for companies. Blogs have the power to reshape public opinion, and bloggers can re-cast an organization in a more positive light.

Putting oneself out there to not only answer customer’s queries but also offer up the insight of an employee, gives transparency a pricey television ad cannot. Blogging correctly as defined by the authors is blogging often, and writing, reading and linking of other bloggers. Honesty and integrity must also be present if the conversation is to work.

Blogs seem to be a loose contract to its audience. A message that the corporation is here to listen to concerns, and to incorporate constructive criticism into its production. In this way, the audience feels good about its relationship to the end product and by word of mouth encourages others to participate as well. This original contract carries with it many more possibilities.

Although I found myself a true believer in the pseudo-altruistic benefits of corporate transparency, I do feel that the “blogosphere” is not appropriate for every corporation. It may work for General Motors, however, in my world of book publishing the current market is currently not a blog-friendly one. Book publishers are up against a barrage of elements. The price of books has increased to supplement a variety of factors, namely the large used-book market. Financial and pricing information is a touchy subject for publishers and in the free-for-all mentality of the Internet and blogging certain information could be damaging. Scoble and Shell would likely argue that publishers could contribute to customers purchasing habits if publishers were more open about their business. But, there is no foul-proof way to start this conversation. Someone in the industry would likely have to significantly pave the way before others would follow suit.

I found it interesting that corporate heads and other big wigs were using blogs as a means to circumvent bad journalism. For example General Motors Vice Chairman, Bob Lutz, successfully used his blog to dispel erroneous information to both current and future customers. This level of clarification and background to a broader context of conversations is a powerful benefit to blogging.

The authors bring up Dan Gillmore’s We the Media several times throughout Naked Conversations. Both books discuss the power the average person’s participation online has for the global market. That, along with this power, comes the responsibility to maintain trust and integrity.

I do think the next digital revolution will look quite different from the confines of the current blog. But undoubtedly blogging has transformed the current market, and the ideals and power behind blogging will shape technology to come.