Influence in the Blogosphere

Blog. Blogging. Blogger. Are you hearing these words a lot these days?

It’s not surprising given that “blog”, according to Merriam-Webster was the “#1 word of the year" for 2004. The Pew Internet and American Life Project reports that by the end of 2004, blogs had established themselves as a key part of online culture. In fact, blog readership jumped 58% and 8 million American adults have created blogs. Blogs are clearly fun for gossip but what is their role in the social sector?

Our business is to help organizations push their idea or issue into play in the policy world – get laws passed, approaches adopted, stakeholders motivated or behavior changed. Historically, organizations have relied on traditional media combined with production of weighty reports to reach the marketplace of ideas. But, the influence of the traditional media is clearly declining -- circulation for newspapers and magazines has fallen year to year for several years and based on our review of web activity data, “flagship” reports aren’t getting the attention they used to either.

Blogs, on the other hand, are booming. Why? They work the way the Internet works – they deal in ideas, one idea at a time; they are brief and easy-to-digest; delivery is immediate; they are highly differentiated; and they are intensely networked. Moreover, it appears that blogs influence the policy world. Columnist Michael Kinsley can attest to the power of blogs when he stepped into the topic of Social Security privatization. If that isn’t enough, we know journalists love them.

This new communications channel is evolving quickly, but we keep abreast of the changes so you don't have to. We know how to write for a blog (carefully!), how to staff a blog; how to manage the technology; how to integrate it with existing sites, and how to leverage it for greatest impact. Our staff include avid bloggers like Chris Wolz and our strategy team with Influence, Bill Johnston with Online Community Report, or Oscar Merida with his personal space “Record as I Am”. Make sure you check out our newest offering, Technology Blog, which covers web development approaches, trends, and innovations.