Perceptions of Bloggers

Rare is the day I don’t have a conversation (or nine) about blogs and blogging. The perception about blogging is all over the map. I acknowledge that we humans have a desire to "label" groups of people.

Some business folks think of bloggers as:

A Pajama Clad Community

A Horde of Political Zealots

A Gaggle of Teens

An Array of Geeks

Many of these business leaders recognize a change, but can’t figure out what’s coming

They are confuddled by all of this and don’t know what to do. They sit tight – and then…

Someone gets run over by the Cluetrain. Conversations are taking place – and they aren’t yet engaged. Sometimes, they don’t even know the conversation exists. But they have to do something, even the Wall Street Journal is tapping into the blogosphere. Huddle up.

Frustration builds. What to do – what to do. Let’s put a label on the bloggers and do nothing. We’ll just watch how things play out – it will go away…won’t it?

So, are these bloggers looked upon by these business leaders with disdain – or is it actually envy?

Get over the labels. You’re right.

Bloggers are people. People sharing passions, ideas and building relationships – and sometimes, building businesses. These people may be your customers

Blogging is a tool. A tool for communication and conversation. Some companies are using blogging to build relationships with their customers. Is yours?

Thanks to these Flickr photos in order of appearance:
- Pajamas by oetii
- Rally by Winograd Watchdog
- Students by David Hernandez
- Geeks by Twylo
- Train by jimfrazier
- Dead by mmonk
- Boredroom by c2k2e
- Generations by piacere

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Find Your Social Media ROI

I hear it from a lot of business owners: “Where is the ROI with all this Social Media?“ If this is a question you ask yourself, maybe we should work together a bit more. We can work together solo, or via a professional learning community. Find and increase your ROI. There is a “there” there.