Bloggers: A Force to be Reckoned With

So during my last post, I toyed with some of the challenges of having a corporate blog.

In the BusinessWeek article “Blogs will Change your Business,” it mentions how this blogosphere is basically turning traditional media on its head, which is really crazy to think about. Think about it. Anytime you wanted to have your voice heard, you had to call the news channels or your local newspaper. With the growth of the blogging world, there are millions of “news” channels. As I’ve learned, it takes two minutes to open up a BlogSpot account. With some strategy, you can make your blog more viewable by linking to other blogs, and using Technorati. Consumers now have more power than ever to make their voice heard. Likewise, companies have less control over what’s being said about them, publicly.

Business Week says it best: “How does business change when everyone is a potential publisher? A vast new stretch of the information world opens up”

I guess it’s a “if you can’t beat them, join them,” kind of thing. Ignoring the blogosphere will only do you harm. You want to know whats being said about your company. Though so many companies have caught on to the blogging trend, I think they ignore the biggest opportunity of having a blog - to facilitate communication with their customers. Companies need to use these blogs not just to inform customers on new products or up and coming events, but to address the concerns and needs of their customers. It can’t just be a one way street.