A lot of bloggers read blogs, but there are also some very
valuable books out there on blogging. The three books that I
recommend for bloggers are "Blog!" by David Kline and Dan
Burstein, "The Corporate Blogging Book" by Debbie Weil, and
"Naked Conversations" by Shel Israel and Robert Scoble.
1. "Blog!: How the newest revolution is changing politics,
business and culture" by David Kline and Dan Burstein.
This book talks of the power and influence of blogs. It uses
political examples. Through these examples we can learn what
good blogging is (honest, open) and what it is not (poorly
written, blatant marketing). It talks about freedom of the
press and countries and companies that try to suppress blogs.
It also warns and gives examples of blogs that share insider or
confidential information and what happens.
To quote from it: “most people or at least most of the media’s
coverage of business issues in blogging are missing the fact
that the real excitement here is not how much money business
can make from blogging, but how dramatically blogging will
reshape the world of business from top to bottom and create new
sources of competitive advantage for firms that learn how to use
this new medium intelligently… Bloggers not only tend to be more
passionate about their interests and hobbies than other people,
they also have marketplace influence far beyond their numbers.”
This is a highly inspirational read for anyone who blogs. We
live in revolutionary times and as bloggers (and blog readers)
we see history being made. We are truly cutting edge. The world
is changing before our eyes.
As A. J. Liebling, a great 20th century journalist, said:
“Freedom of the press is limited to those who own one.” With
blogs, anyone can.
2. "The Corporate Blogging Book: Absolutely Everything You Need
to Know to Get it Right" by Debbie Weil.
Debbie is one of the pioneers of corporate blogging. She is not
only an advocate but she explains the pros and cons of corporate
blogs.
A section from the book: "Blogs are a key enabler of this new
way of talking with customers, employees, the media and other
constituencies. Packaged, filtered, controlled conversation are
out. Open, two-way, less-than-perfect communications with your
customers and employees are in….Listen, learn, debate, be
willing to change, admit mistakes, be equals, with your
children, be fair to others with whom you have an adversarial
relationship. Acting like a dictator will get you nowhere."
She has top 20 questions about corporate blogging and in one of
those she talks about the three most important things to know
before starting blogging. The book also has good examples of
blogging policies.One of her points is savvy bloggers read
other blogs. My advice is the simplest way to do this is to
subscribe to them.
One concept that she talks about is citizen journalist and
citizen media. Blogs are a new media and it is run by the
citizens. Blogger Halley Suitt explains, "The word PR will be
gone; the word blog will be gone. Your employees will be your
ad agency and your customers will be your back-up ad agency"
3. "Naked Coversations:How Blogs are Changing the Way
Businesses Talk with Customers" by Shel Israel and Robert
Scoble
This is an excellent book. I am passionate about business
blogs. I truly believe they have value for a business. The book
re-affirms this. "Naked Coversations" is easy to read, fast and
well organized. It combines advice on blogging (and why blogs
help companies) with stories of real bloggers.
Blogs have dangers but those dangers tend to be overrated. Not
blogging is a greater danger. As I have said many times, blogs
are a new media. Companies that ignore it do so at great peril.
At the same time, blogs cannot be blatant self or company
promotion - readers (and other bloggers see right through that
and can decimate a company).
How do I know if a book is good? If I make a change as a
result. I turned off word verification on my blog to make it
easier to comment (I still review all comments and don't let
spam through but am trying to make it easier to have a
conversation). I get twice as many emails as comments on my
blog as a result of my blog. The book drives home that comments
and conversations are good.
I also know a book is good if I buy multiple copies for people
that I think should read it. And in this case I did.
All three of these books, "Blog!" by David Kline and Dan
Burstein, "The Corporate Blogging Book" by Debbie Weil, and
"Naked Conversations" by Shel Israel and Robert Scoble should
be read by anyone who has a blog or anyone interested in
blogging.
Copyright © 2006, Jim Estill
About The Author: Jim Estill is the CEO of SYNNEX Canada. He is
an active blogger at http://www.jimestill.com
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