From here, to web 2.0

There's a continuing discussion about where PR is heading and blogging is headed. The consensus is PR is not going to stand still, web 2.0 (please get over yourself if you don’t like the term) is the new frontier and much of it is up for grabs. I see that some big PR companies (like Edelman, Ketchum, Hill & Knowlton) have already started placing their bets. Other companies are just walking into the room, some are stepping up to the table, and a few don’t even know there’s a casino in the city.

Lee Hopkins from the land down under sums up the general state of mind very nicely beginning at minute 37:20 of For Immediate Release, The Hobson & Holtz Report, Podcast #99. FIR is a twice weekly podcast on communications and PR, hosted by Shel Holtz and Neville Hobson. I later found a transcript of his entry on Lee’s blog, which is aptly titled -- Where to now, then?.

Lee starts off with a sober questioning of where blogging or podcastig fits into life and whether the big promise of blogging and podcasting has “run out of steam” as the early adopters drop off once they realize that producing podcasts and blogs “of value takes time (a considerable amount of it) and dedication.” Lee expresses how he is “constantly amazed that Shel and Neville are able to create the time to put together their shows” and how “They show a level of commitment to this new medium that staggers and humbles” him. This is not just an exquisite piece of suckupery by Lee but more of an eloquent way of asking whether blogging might be too expensive of an undertaking for the ROI (Just listen to FIR, it truly deserves the kudos).

At first listen, Lee’s report seems a little tentative about the viability of blogging for dollars. Near the end, he seems to succumb to just being happy with the social benefits he receives from his little community and then half heartedly relinquishes the blogging greatness of a GodinCity or a Scobletown, as a nice aspiration; but not a necessary measuring stick of validation for one's existence. An interesting way to put things Lee, I am in Boston thinking that you would be a pretty good guy to do business with if I had the attention span for your business communications training. I’m not sure if this helps but, Hopkinton MA, is the starting point for the big marathon that leads to the big city of Boston :)

Ironically, I think Lee’s post supports a strong case FOR the PR punch of a value blog and for the growing market opportunity for blogging service providers. What I mean by value blog is a blog that adds insight or value to the ongoing conversation, and provides usefullness and ideas to a certain community.

Here’s how I see it… Blogging or podcasting has a low barrier of entry but building a little community of like-minded individuals takes effort, availability and a dedication by the blogger. This work does count for something because it creates an archrival reference point of content for that potential customer to find and view. This content can be a significant differentiator in a cluttered world of spin.

Building a metropolis may have a higher barrier of entry but that speaks to the case for blogs leveling the playing field. If all that it took was a willingness to spend money online, then we'd probably see that someone from Vonage had become an A list blogger by now. Those Vonage guys sure know how to spend on web advertising (but i digress)

The bacteria fighting world of 2.0 tames the hucksters and helps the thought leaders refine their sweet spot within the online conversation. This explaines why the top of the food chain is filled with interesting people that understand how to cultivate a community around ideas. This is what I think it means to blog. If it were so easy for humans or predators to make it to the Galapagos Islands would it still be such an exotic place? The barriers to entry means that the blogosphere is a great breeding ground for the fittest ideas. Anyone can throw their ideas into the mix.

Here's why there is money in them thar hills. Bottom line oriented companies will want the goodies of the blogosphere (which are SEO Rankings, Branding, Thought leadership, Market research) but they will not have the expertise or the manpower to do most of the heavy lifting. I've spoken with a lot of C level folks from big companies and they tell me that they don't want to be left behind on this one. To me that means there will definitely be a market for many of the Marketing and PR blogging folks out there to provide services that help a company become a good corporate blogger, while also being strategic and leveraging the qualified traffic and goodwill. Stonyfield Farm BLOG "Cow"munities! are a great example of a low ticket, high volume consumer products company leveraging the goodwill of value blogging for branding and sales. Now the caveat here is Stonyfield Farms had a great product before blogs came along. The product needs to be good. The blog is not going to sell it for you. You can lead a horse to healthy stories that hit on the target audiences for an organic yogurt company but you cannot make a horse eat yogurt.

If a random company is trying to sell ice to Eskimos, then all the blogging value in the world will not translate into a directly correlated ROI. I think the sweet spot for corporate blogging is for companies who are selling niche high-ticket products with high margin to national or global audiences. Web 2.0 can be a winning marketing and branding strategy.

The question is not if the big bucks will come from blogging and podcasting but when. I think Web 2.0 is still a very new concept with people. Many a CEO has read the BusinessWeek story, Blogs Will Change Your Business, and they’re saying "blogging, pod casts and wikies are great" but I don't think a lot of people really understand why they're great yet. I remember when I first started a blog for a client in 2002, (original site here) I thought it would be great for search engine marketing at that time because it was enabling my customer to produce keyword focused content on a regular basis and I knew that would provide great search engine position results. I had already been in the Internet business since 1995 but I really did not get blogging at that point. I just saw it as a great way to make a few friends and improve search engine rankings. I did not see all the angles. We obviously get it a lot more now but I think 2.0 is in its infancy.

2.0 is in it’s infancy relative to the mainstream. Remember that there was a time when the web was looked at with skepticism. Like it was another ham radio thing. Ten years later we see that the Internet has changed our world, created billions in wealth and has made millionaires out of many (maybe you know some intimately :).

Let me preface this next paragraph by saying I don't believe that blogging is for every company.

Once serious business leaders begin to really get 2.0, many will say 'oh shoot', my company really needs to embrace blogging. Maybe they will start out by trying to do it all on their own. That will be a mistake for many companies because doing blogging RIGHT not only requires writing talent and insight but research, relations, and responsiveness. This is a huge time suck. Show me a CEO that has the time to do all that. When companies realize this, is when 2.0 services companies and maybe even some PR agencies will make big bucks. Is that going to be in 2006? I think to a tip of the iceberg degree, yes.