Why Blogging is Hot, Even for Businesses

For the second time in as many posts, I am indebted to the wise observations of Denise Wakeman of Build a Better Blog. Ms. Wakeman reviews a podcast by Robert Scoble of Microsoft in which he discusses five reasons "why blogging got hot" -- to use Ms. Wakeman's phrase.

[Link to Build a Better Blog post - Link to Robert Scoble podcast]

Forward-thinking Hoosier businesses should pay attention to this.

Ms. Wakeman's summary of the five reasons blogging is hot are (and we quote her):

1. Ease of publishing with online platforms like Typepad and Blogger.
2. Discoverability -- it's easier now for search engines to know when you publish new content which ultimately brings your more traffic.
3. Conversationability (I think he made that word up) between websites -- it's easier to link between other websites and blogs with trackbacks and much easier to know who's linking to you.
4. Permalinking -- this is the permanent URL for every blog post that is published. Having this unique URL for every bit of content makes it easier to send links to specific posts in email and post on other sites, thus giving you the ability to make your content viral.
5. Syndication -- you can set up RSS aggregators and get info from hundreds of sites/blogs as the content is published. You get access to the best of the best in nearly real time; content is not filtered by gatekeepers.

Ms. Wakeman also introduces us to Mr. Scoble's book, Naked Conversations: How Blogs are Changing the Ways Businesses Talk with Customers. The book will be published on January 24 and looks like it's worth reading.