Blogs may be old hat to you, but...

My recommendation: Make it jargon-free and provide information that makes the reader say: "WOW."

You won't be able to satisfy all readers, however, you will be able to satisfy most.

I have found your blog to be somewhat redundant. Let the so-called A-bloggers blab about all the high-tech stuff. Most likely your readers are looking for solutions to real problems/issues.

Bottom-line how can blogs change my business or help me make money. When it comes to blogs, I think the biz-world is grappling with that issue.

Best,

Ken Leebow

PS. It appears the "Remember Me?" function is not working -- in your post comment area.

Ken

Thanks for the suggestions. It's something I am trying to figure out, what people might be looking for. So you mean you find our stuff redundant compared to what other bloggers are writing about?

And thanks for the pointer on the bug.

Heather,

In my months of serious blogging, here's what I have discovered:

1. The serious bloggers are probably two-years ahead of even Net-savvy folks. When I present RSS to Net-savvy people, they are not familiar with it. That's a real reality check for me.

2. Many bloggers report on and follow a) only positive-blog stories, b) other serious bloggers.

So, many of the posts become very redundant or just "preaching to the choir" stuff.

3. On a very positive note; by observing serious bloggers, you learn a lot. And over time, much of this stuff will flow to the general public.

Another example might be Flickr/tagging. Before the general public "gets it" people have to explain it in layman's terms -- otherwise it just sounds geeky and most people will tune it out.

Since you "guys" are pros, and have the resources, I think you can be very different than the typical blogger. For example, since RSS is so important, write a very clear and concise explanation of it.

As far as podcasting, I don't believe the typical BW reader cares about it. That doesn't mean don't podcast, just be aware that most people are too busy to 1) download a file, 2) pop it into an MP3 player, and 3) hope that the content is worth listening to.

Don't know if that answered your question/comment.

Best,

Ken Leebow

So OK, I'm with the guy from Texas ... I devoured the article after you got me scared that I would be left behind in the business and social world without a blog and now I have visited four of them, but I STILL DON'T UNDERSTAND what they are and how they work and how they are different than a website. Could you give us "newbies" a two sentence definition of a blog?
Thanks, Krisine Breese in Los Angeles

BAKER responds: Kristine, they ARE Web sites. From a user's perspective, they're just incredibly easy to set up and write on. It's this ease that makes them powerful. The technology? For the great majority of us, it's beside the point. Here's a site to look at: http://dangillmor.typepad.com/dan_gillmor_on_grassroots/2005/05/dave_winer_a_to.html

I have the CEO of GM in my bloglines subscriptions - I think it's pretty cool that I can read his musings. Blogs should prove an invaluable source of information for investors.

I think people just need to read a bunch of different blogs to get the idea. How would you explain newspapers to someone who had never heard of them without showing them a few? You could give them a definition, but they would really need to experience a newspaper to get it.

Two comments to some of the critical/negative remarks: (1) defining a blog is like defining an elephant: you need to have seen a number of them and ideally also worked with them to really understand them. So to all who want a definition of a blog - just do it and eventually you'll get it. (2) BW is also published in Europe where bloging is not in infant but embryonic state. It was a great decision to evangalize bloging in BW to get the attention also of the nonbloggers.

One paragraph for people who keep hearing the word "blog," but don't know exactly what makes it different from a website would have made the difference. You needed to start out by telling people that a Blog is a website, and then explain what makes it a Blog. Instead, you started telling everybody there was this big new thing, but the explanation started sounding very familiar. The basic concept has been around for a long time -- people have been rambling about themselves and their thoughts on personal websites for over a decade (with some interactivity), and the socio-political ones probably entered the national culture with Drudge weighing in on Clinton. The improvements in functionality are what have made it change and blow up to what it's becoming. Instead the article began with this "revolution." But the concept is not revolutionary. The applications (because of function changes) are revolutionary. There's the disconnect, I think.

Hey guys, nice work of blogging blogs. I'm new to this and have not found any "how to" or "FAQ" area in your blogging section. I feel like I'm listening in on conversations that are spoken in an unfamiliar dialect. What is a trackback ping? Any help?

Hey Brandon,

Thanks for the comment. So there isn't an FAQ per se, but if you look on the lefthand side of the blog, under the listing of comments and recent trackbacks, you'll find something called categories. In this bucket, you'll find different posts we have done to try to explain some of the basics, such as podcasting. When in doubt, look there.

We'll be building it up over time, with help from comments from other bloggers.

Er, righthand side, I mean, right...hand...side...of...the...blog...

Heather - Is it inappropriate to say, "Thank You" when your question has been answered in the blog? If it is, sorry. Just wanted to acknowledge your efforts. Thank you for your explanation. Brandon