Why Establishment figures enter the blogosphere
Duncan Riley> Another question through on email today from a journalist who shall remain nameless, who is covering an interesting section of the Blogosphere. Perhaps I need to start a new “Ask Duncan” column or a Q&A category and invite bloggers to ask questions as well, but its always enjoyable providing media quotes for two reasons: 1. its helps promote a positive view of the blogosphere and 2. It’s gives me the opportunity to reflect more deeply about specific issues that I may have dealt with in brief, or at some time in the past here at The Blog Herald.
Ive paraphrased the question and provided the answer here for everyone’s perusal. The response is designed more for the formation of bite sized direct quotes as opposed to say an academic paper, so apologies to the purists.
Journalist: Are we seeing more establishment figures – be they politicians or CEOs – move into the blogosphere?
The rise of blogging has seen the spread of what was originally the domain of computer geeks into the mainstream and the use of the medium by establishment figures in both politics and the corporate arena is a natural progression of this.
In terms of politics, blogging is another tool for both candidates and incumbents to spread their messages, along with print, radio and television and the general internet, but differentiates itself in being able to create an open discourse with constituents/ voters that allows immediate feedback, and allows politicians to be more aware of the issues that matter to people on the ground that might not naturally be politically active or would not contact their office otherwise.
In terms of their exposure to Corporate America, blogging has been popular for some time now amongst IT & Internet related firms, but we are now seeing a quick spread of blogging amongst non-tech corporations who are seeing the benefits blogging can bring in building a better relationship with their customers, irrespective of whether the relationship is B2B or B2C.
These new relationships help differentiate these corporations from their competitors and help provide an edge in brand awareness and building that can potentially give those engaging in blogging an edge in competitive markets.
(In terms of the “Establishment”)
The Establishment has finally realised that to remain the establishment they must engage with a public that has become sceptical of corporate PR and political manipulation in the age of Cable TV and the Internet. Blogs provide the ultimate platform of one-to-many communication that encourages openness, honesty and integrity yet quickly punishes the use of the spin of old.