The New Community Rules

Chapter 5. Using Blogs to Communicate, Influence, and Learn from Your Constituents

In the last 10 years, blogs have grown to be more than just personal diaries; today, they are vehicles of change within organizations and show that many new companies are embracing the two-way communications culture. Blogs are excellent communication tools—you can start your own to convey your company’s feelings to the wider public, or you can reach other bloggers who might blog about your product. Today, some very powerful blogs have been able to successfully connect consumers directly with service providers.

A Short History of Blogging

A blog, which is short for weblog, is a website that is usually maintained by individuals or groups, and more recently, businesses, that offers commentary and ideas for a larger audience. A typical blog features an entry, often sprinkled with graphics and video, followed by comments by readers. The entire layout of the blog is displayed in reverse chronological order with the newest entries posted first.

Blogs are different from static websites because they incorporate social elements. Most, if not all, blogging software includes RSS (real simple syndication), which is a format that allows content to be accessed within many publications. Blogs often invite users to comment, and an ensuing dialogue can occur, which can generate hundreds to thousands of responses.

Definition

RSS is a popular web format for publishing frequently updated content, such as blog posts and comments, ...