Taking a break…
I won't be blogging for the next few days (maybe even weeks). I have to get a lot of work done, and that tends to not happen when I am doing 2-3 posts per day.
Anyways, I hope you all have a Merry Christmas!
Blogging in Tahoe!
I've been in Tahoe the last few days, it's been ridiculously fun. It's snowing right now, and I just got out of the spa... It was so great, we were in the spa and snow was just going crazy on us! Anyways, I'm out. Going back to the cabin to play some Mexican Train and read!
WordPress rules
I was just testing out Blogspot Beta (Google's blog tool), and I can't stand it! The only thing that I prefer with that is the fact that Google lets you change the CSS for free; everything else, WordPress rules. I have yet to test out TypePad (from SixApart) and BlogSmith (I haven't been able to find out where to sign up for that actually). Anyways, the reason I originally switched to WordPress was because Scoble did. And guess what ? It was the smartest thing I ever did :D
What I learned at the SixApart Seminar
Ok so this is just going through my notes and writing the most important of the important.
The blogging cycle: Anil Dash (speaker) says it best on his own blog. Just check that here.
Email, Instant Messenging, and SMS are interruptions and they disappear; blogs aren't, and posts are there forever.
Feeds are a beautiful thing; they overcome inertia. They're notifications without obligations.
We're in the age of "personal or participory media"
Ok, I learned tons more, but this is my opinion on business blogging:
It is a complete waste of time.
If you're a Web 2.0 company and you're trying to win, blogging will have little to nothing to do with your success. It may attract some attention to your product, but at the end of the day, the product is what the users are going to be interacting with, not what you're posting on your blog.
Blogging takes away from product development. I think it even takes away from product synergy. Talking to people about your product is probably one of the most detremental things you can do to your synergy, and that's exactly what blogging does, on a world wide scale.
Don't get me wrong -- I think blogging is great; I just think it's a waste of time for businesses... Build a great product, execute a great marketing campaign, and you'll be successful (a million other things go into it, but that's the gest)... Business blogging should be used solely for customer service ONCE the product has been launched and is in the final stages of beta. I'm sure a lot of people will try to refute my argument, but take the case study of Intel: a year ago, their IT department began blogging; their shares are down $5 this year, and AMD is kicking their ass.
Need I say more?