Do you know what a "blog" is?
If you answered no, you are not alone. According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, 62 percent of Americans are not familiar with blogs. However, as the number of blogs on the Internet continues to increase, the knowledge of them is quickly growing.
And, in our ever-more complex society, one of the best things about blogs is they are simple to use and create.
Blogs are an online journaling tool for information sharing. A blog differs from a traditional Web site primarily because its content is more dynamic and its presentation is much simpler--at its core a blog is essentially just a Web-based log of text entries, photos and links to other sites and resources organized by date. While many are used for disseminating personal information (imagine an electronic diary) they also have practical business possibilities.
What makes blogs so appealing is their broad accessibility. They are very low cost, easy to set up and maintain and do not require much technical knowledge.
To set one up all you need is some software and a host service just like you would have for a normal Web site. Even simpler yet, some sites such as MSN Spaces and Blogger.com are offering free on-line blog-creation services--no special software or skills required. Once a blog has been created it is very. easy to update and customize using design templates that can be found online or are built into the software.
How can a blog benefit your business? Blogging technology suits many businesses well because of its low-cost marketing potential and the fact that blogs can easily be created from scratch or added to existing Web sites.
Blogging culture also encourages bloggers to link to one another, and, as a result, informative and well-created blogs often get more attention than regular Web sites. Also, blogs often rank higher in Web search engine results such as Google because they are updated more frequently and the blog structure is easier to index than Web sites.
Blogs can also be a great resource internally within your business to help share knowledge more efficiently. A blog on your company's intranet could remind employees of current issues, policies and procedures or be used as a simple knowledge base where employees and team members can learn from each other. They can also be used for feedback purposes and posting remarks and comments to record information about how to do things better or streamline business processes.
As with any Web site or presentation, one of the keys to a good blog is preparation. How will you make your blog interesting and relevant?
For instance, a lawyer creating a legal blog might want to consider the use of humor to draw a broader audience (see http://ernietheattorney.net for a great example).
Frequent updating is another critical point for a successful blog. An out-of-date blog is akin to reading a copy of last week's newspaper. Finally, log entries need to be informative, focused and well organized with correct grammar to entice users to visit again and again.
That said, time is one of the biggest factors when determining whether creating a blog will be useful for your business. The initial set up is just the first step; it is a substantial ongoing commitment to research, gather information and write regular log entries.
So how do you get started with blogs? First, surf the Internet to get a sense of the style of blog that appeals to you. Once you have decided on a general theme and topic for your blog, consider using a hosted service to help get your blog up and running quickly. As you are ready for more advanced features there are more robust tools available for in-depth collaboration and knowledge management.
Sean Patton is an accountant and information technology professional with Cordell, Neher and Company, PLLC. He can be reached at 663-1661 or sean@cnccpa.com.
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