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JULY 27, 2005
Tracking the Blogs [Page 2 of 2] Q: What growing pains are you experiencing as blogging becomes more popular? A: Well first off is just the sheer amount of traffic and attention. When we put up our page about the London bombings, there were so many people, so many bloggers who were posting pictures. They were doing news reporting essentially. You would be amazed how many people were blogging just to say "I'm O.K." There were people here in the States and in other countries saying, "We feel for you, London." That kind of outpouring of emotion and support is half the equation. Just keeping up with this incredible growth is a challenge. The second half is that there were so many people who wanted to get up-to-the-minute reports from the street. What's going on? What did people see? It's not just about blogs. You go to Technorati today and you're seeing pictures, you're seeing links, you're getting a multimedia experience. And you're getting it not just from CBS, ABC, and NBC. You're getting it from millions of people who are on the ground. The challenge and the opportunity that Technorati has is: How do we keep doing great stuff for these bloggers, how do we keep providing them with the best tools for themselves? And how do we also work with the people who aren't bloggers, the people who are just readers? And that's a challenge and a responsibility that we take very, very seriously. Q: When I used to be a blogger, I thought Technorati was quite addictive. My favorite tool was just searching to see what other bloggers were saying about me and what I wrote. A: Well, thank you! That is the highest compliment that anybody can pay, that you're addicted, that you love it, that you come back again and again, that we're providing you with great information you can't get anywhere else. That's job one. And I never, ever, ever want to lose that because bloggers are essentially putting food on the table. To me, what's the big opportunity here? To not only build something interesting that people like, but frankly, to do something that's good for society and good for people. And if you'll allow me to get corny for a moment, the thing that I feel so passionate about, the thing that I feel there is such an opportunity for with blogging -- and you kind of see the nascent pieces of it -- is an opportunity for the reinvigoration of civics. People getting reengaged, so they don't have to feel powerless. Q: If another company can match what you do, will bloggers stay with Technorati? A: If Technorati is being of service to bloggers and readers, we're going to do just fine. Our corporate mantra is "Be of Service." Hey we're a Web site, [but] we also have to be providing some real value to people, because that's what being of service is really about. And that doesn't mean controlling or owning, because when you're of service, you're supporting. If you're providing people with something that they like and that they value, with that value comes money. So I'm not worried about us in terms of business. Keep your customers and users happy, and everything else follows. We've had four months, month on month, with greater than 40% traffic growth from month to month. Q: What are you working on that business users might be excited about? A: First, there's advertising and sponsorship. Business users can advertise on search results that have something to do with their company. Second, we're unveiling a new service in August that's currently in beta testing that's geared toward professionals -- people who need a deeper view of a company or its products, such as PR people, people in marketing or advertising, financial analysts. [Basically,] people who need to track buzz, how it changes over time, who are the influencers who is talking about their company or their product. These will be subscription products.
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