One of the benefits of corporate blogging that is not often discussed is all the new people you meet just by keeping your corporate blog updated. These people come from two different avenues. They either read a blog post and comment or e-mail you directly or you are reading their blog and something strikes a cord which motivates you to comment or e-mail them. The trick to really getting the most benefit from this initial contact is to start and then maintain a dialog with this new connection.
What has been fascinating to me is that when I e-mail or comment on someone's blog I often get an almost immediate direct mail back. Additionally given that I am commenting on a specific subject we are already well into a discussion by the time the second or third e-mail is shared.
Has anyone else experienced this?
I agree. I think the big difference is that when compared to other mediums through which they might bump into the company or the individual the blog is still seen as a very personal medium.
That allows folks to interact on a different more personal level from the beginning and get things moving in a better direction sooner rather than later.
In short it just feels more participatory for both parties than other more sterile mediums.
Posted by: Sean Campbell | January 07, 2005 at 01:26 AM
absolutely. I also find it extremely useful while hiring. When a candidate comes in, they are already into the discussions and topics on the blog. The interview is 10x more productive. They'll say something like "I've been following your discussion about ..., Here's what I think..." vs. "what are you working on these days?" and if a candidate hasn't read the blog before coming in? End of interview.
Posted by: marty | January 07, 2005 at 07:19 PM
That's interesting because I also do the same thing when it comes to hiring folks. If the role is technical and they haven't read our blog (considering the kind of things we work with) then pretty much they have to dig themselves out of a big whole at that point.
And people who don't get blogging at all. Well they have a hard time fitting into any kind of technical role in our company.
Posted by: Sean Campbell | January 07, 2005 at 11:33 PM
I find this surprising because I know of technical contacts who run their own businesses who just don't get blogging. They might understand how to do it, but they don't get why you do it. On the other hand I think the CEO perspective makes total sense. You want to find someone who is continually learning and staying in the loop with the latest developments. This topic would make a great article.
Posted by: Anne Stanton | January 07, 2005 at 11:45 PM
That is exactly it from my perspective. Because we are leading edge in everything we do (or nearly so) it is very difficult for me to have someone on staff who isn't already on the blogging train. It is usually a good indication that the person isn't up to speed enough with current trends to really make an impact as part of the organization. That said that wouldn't be true for other folks who work with a different set of technologies.
Posted by: Sean Campbell | January 08, 2005 at 09:43 PM
I do believe in what you're saying, but I'm having a bad time making people participate at my blogs (an ezine and an "interative sales ebook"). Maybe here in Brazil, as I feel this revolution is still bedinning, I will need a little more time.
A lot of my friends, customers and even my university cla , give me some kind of congratulation, but when asked to podt ANY comment, they just change subjects. Some time I have the impression that they even what to discuss the matter.
Give me more time (or give them more time) and let's see. I hope thing change.
Posted by: Satyro Oliveira | January 15, 2005 at 09:46 PM