In a Blog a da Vida, Honey – It’s Crantastic

By on November 22, 2006 in Blogging with 9 Comments

I was talking with a conservative business owner recently about…well, you know what it was about.

He said he thought "we" needed to change the word BLOG to something else for it to really stick in business. I disagreed, the word is out there – let’s get over it and move ahead.

Now this guy isn’t just white-collar conservative, he’s tight-collar conservative. But he’s not alone, I hear this a lot. I think it’s a crutch.  A lame reason not to…ahem…blog.

Another super-positive, salesy pro I see occasionally hates the term BLOG. Won’t even say it. Thinks it’s a bunch of jabberwocky. Loves the tool though, thinks it’s crantastic (a brilliant idea? – I dunno).

Frankly, I think we’re singing the same song from 10 years ago, just in a different tempo. Sort of like Eric Clapton’s Layla (both are classics if you ask me). Of course, maybe you think In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida is a classic, which makes sense (or does it?).

Someday we’ll be over the word BLOG and things will be supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

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  • http://www.maryschmidt.com Mary Schmidt

    Well, if I had my druthers, it’d be a different word. But, as you note, it’s there, let’s move on, shall we?
    However, the continuing adverse reaction to the word well illustrates the power of labels. You can have the best product, technology, whatever in the world – and if people don’t like its name, it can be a difficult sale. (King Crab versus Spider Crab; Patagonian Toothfish versus Chilean Sea bass, etc.)
    That said, blogging has caught on because of its benefit and power and it – I truly believe – is changing our world for the better. From shopping to politics. Even in the most repressive regimes – somebody, somwhere is huddled over a computer communicating what’s really going on, enlisting others to speak out, and making a difference.

  • Larry Hendrick

    Mike, Iron Butterfly rules …
    Yes the name is somewhat cumbersome, as is the term podcast. In a meeting yesterday, the CEO said, “We don’t want anything to do with blogs or forums on our website … they’ll just cause us trouble.” Another stereotype that must be overcome.
    Slowly but surely, they will see the value. I truly believe we are on the very front part of the leading edge, hanging ten, as it were.

  • http://thoughtsphilosophies.blogspot.com Carolyn Manning

    Somebody has to speak up with a ‘yay’ here. I really like the word. It has a ring to it that sounds as if it’s steady and sure.

  • http://successcreeations.com/ Chris Cree

    Mike, when you’re looking for an excuse, any excuse will do. For so many people “change is bad” and a great excuse not to change is that “a blog sounds unprofessional.” Thhhpppptpptt!
    Sure some people don’t like the word blog. It doesn’t sound stuffy and “businesslike”. But that’s part of the point. A whole ton of businesses would greatly benefit from getting just a touch less stuffy so they could relate better to their customers.
    “In-a-Blogga-De-Vida…” :lol: Mike, I knew there was a reason I liked you!

  • http://www.instigatorblog.com Ben Yoskovitz

    It’s a shame people get hung up on a word.
    When it comes to podcasting I’ve seen people recommend that you call your podcast a Radio Show — i.e. The Ben Yoskovitz Radio Show instead of The Ben Yoskovitz Podcast — cause people *get* radio.
    I wonder if when radio came out, people said, “What the hell is radio? That’s a stupid word.”
    I don’t care what we call it, except for the fact that it’s frustrating for both the blog-enthusiasts and the blog-detractors to get passed that.
    More conservative types might want to call it “online publishing” which is very cut and dry, but even that might irk some folk.
    You can’t please everyone all the time…in the meantime I’ll say blog and podcast and online publishing and conversations and community instead of audience and just keep chugging along.
    Eventually super conservative business guy will yell at his employees, “Why aren’t we blogging!?!?!” And the employees will say, “Um…um…”

  • http://www.allbusiness.com/blog/CustomerServiceExperience/10783 Glenn (Customer Service Experience) Ross

    Great title, Mike. I’m green with envy.
    I remember the early 90′s. People were “too busy” to read e-mails. Most of these same people can’t live without their Blackberrys and Treos now.
    Regards,
    Glenn

  • http://www.thegoodblogs.com Vernon Lun

    Best blog title of the week!

  • http://www.converstations.com Mike Sansone

    >Mary, great point about the word making it tougher to sell the idea – and I think we agree at some point, people need to realize we’re not just playing around:-) (and I like Ben’s take on “radio” here)
    >Larry, thanks for sharing the story. I wonder if the CEO was an Iron Butterfly fan?
    >Carolyn, I too think BLOG is a solid word…and how many of us turn our heads when we hear it? How many times do we notice heads turn when we use it?
    >Glenn and Vernon – Thanks for liking the headline. Thought it would be a nice holiday-eve read. Now if I could just get this song out of my head!

  • http://www.realoasis.net Richard Boyd

    Ya the word “blog” put us off weblogging for 3 years. That and the fact that we couldn’t find a reason to weblog. Still after we rationalised things we decided to web cast, it’s like Podcasting but with text and images :)

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