Week Six

http://eightbar.co.uk/2007/07/19/virtual-art-is-real-too-watch-the-worlds/
"It's less about writing than it is about conversation and dialogue. You can misspell words. It's about self-expression. That's what really makes a good blog.
It's not Strunk and White," Kim said, referring to the authors of the popular grammar book, Elements of Style. "It's more about whether a person has passion."
But before tackling a blog, the writer should know his audience and conform to the unwritten rules of blogging, or face the backlash of the blogosphere.
The biggest demand is that the blog be honest and transparent.
David Berger, an executive involved with new media at IBM, said Big Blue has about 4,000 active blogs, but it doesn't assign them. That would be in direct conflict with the way blogs work outside of corporate America. Personal blogs are written by people who talk frankly about their world.
"If you overtly try to use blogs to advance some sort of corporate end, you've already lost the battle.
There's a smart way to capitalize on the medium.
It's in the authenticity of the bloggers themselves," Berger said.
Despite its short history, there have been some celebrated gaffes in the world of blogging.
Last year, Sony was exposed for a " flog ," or fake blog, about two "friends" who hyped the company's PlayStation Portable video game console at alliwantforxmassisapsp.com, which has been taken down. Sony fans were outraged when the site was traced to a marketing company in St. Louis.
A blog earlier this year titled "Walmarting across America" followed a happy-go-lucky couple, Jim and Laura, as they drove their RV across the United States, parking in Wal-Mart lots. Later, it was discovered that the flog had been staged by Wal-Mart's publicrelations firm, Edelman. "The biggest mistake is to try to shade your identity or your product," IBM's Berger said. If you're blogging to create awareness and lure potential clients for your small business, you're on the cutting edge when it comes to marketing your firm.
For many others, blogging is something they've only vaguely heard about. But that is about to change. "We're at the early stages of blogging, which I believe will be a powerful marketing tool," says Josh Linkner, founder of ePrize, the Pleasant Ridge-based marketing company that handles company sweepstakes and other things. "Today, most businesses have a fax machine but that wasn't the case 20 years ago. And today most have an Internet site or e-mail. Blogs are a way to reach people and I believe will be next thing you'll have to have," he adds.
Linkner is practicing what he preaches; he plans to launch a blog in the next 50 days that will be available from his company's Web site at www.eprize.com.
Blogs - or weblogs as they are sometimes called - have been around since the late 1990s, and today there are millions of them. "Blogs are different from an Internet site in that they help position you as an industry expert, as it is more of a conversation," Linkner says. "Most people think of blogging in terms of MySpace or think it is something only for their kids, but that is not the case," says Andy Leff, adding that MySpace has more than 170 million users. Leff, 25, of Philadelphia started IncPlace in January along with Seun Olubodun, 25, also of Philadelphia. It offers a place where businesses can go for free advice on blogging and other ways to market themselves over the Internet. The company is based in Philadelphia. Most people he has helped are over 40. "They know about the Internet and how to look for information there, but they don't know much about blogging," Leff says. "I want to change that."
Good flexibility
An effective blog can make it easy to add and update content, so there's always something new. And that can draw interested parties in, Leff explains. Despite the benefits, not everyone is jumping on the bandwagon just yet. "I sent a call out to our members last fall" asking for anyone who was blogging to be included in an upcoming survey on the topic, "and it drew a blank," says Michael Rogers, vice president of communications for the Small Business Association of Michigan (SBAM). "My sense is that a lot of small business owners barely have time to make Web sites, let alone create blogs," Rogers says.
John Truscott of the John Truscott Group, a Lansing-based publicrelations and consulting firm, says some of his political clients are blogging to generate awareness. And Truscott fully expects more businesses to add blogs in the future. "I participate in other people's blogs and will likely have a blog myself at some point," he adds. If you are considering starting a blog, there are some things to keep in mind.
Setting it up can take several hours to several days and you might want to hire an outside firm to help, Leff says.
And the cost can range - from setting it up yourself through free services such as www.blogger.com to spending a few hundred or even thousands of dollars.
Then there is the time involved once your blog is operating. Leff spends about an hour each day on his blog posting articles or comments. "As a small business owner, you are selling yourself every day. This is just another way to brag about your products and services," he says. (SIDEBAR) Andy Leff's tips for business owners
*Passion makes perfect. "Don't even think about pursuing a blog strategy if you have no real passion or excitement for the topic."
*Go at it regularly. "Write on your topics daily, weekly, monthly - whatever works best with your schedule."
*Write well. "If you hate writing, hire someone."
*Be transparent. "The blogosphere will tear you limb from limb if they discover you're a ' flog ,' or fake blog." access world news www.libraries.unt.edu
Blogs are web logs.
Splogs are spam blogs.
Flogs are stealth public relations blogs.
Social media marketing-wikipedia
Strategic public relations
Transparency
Disclosure
Blog controversy
Fake blogs in: hotels, restaurants, online shops, authors of books
Other examples of flogs have been found through hotel, restaurant and online shops where good reviews are posted under false identities.
Criminal prosecution