Publishing vs. Community: Blogging’s split personality

Last week a classroom dialogue sent me to thinking about how well blogging fits into a conceptualisation of Web 2.0 tools, particularly in the context of marketing.

With Web 2.0 often being characterised by a 2-way exchange that takes place at its most fundamental activity level, blogging seems at once to be a Web 2.0 icon and to be breaking all the rules.

Take the example of a company executive, President X, who has been told by peers that to be current he simply MUST have a blog. The classroom exchange raised somewhat contradictory ideas:

1. President X, not being a veteran of online exchanges, will need to be prepared for an onslaught of communication; his blog readers and participants are all going to expect personal responses from President X.
2. President X should rarely need to make direct replies to individual items or individuals. He should observe and learn from whatever exchange and community develops online, with the community there representing an online segment of his company’s audience that for his purposes become a “many-to-many” dialogue rather than a labrynth of one-to-one exchanges.

I was initially a strong proponent of point B, because it embodies more of the ethos and potential of Web 2.0 thinking. But after some thinking and surfing I have doubts, leading to a question of what blogging and its Web 2.0 character is currently founded upon: being a way for anyone to create and publish content online, having content extensively shared and linked through the blogosphere, or allowing for an immediate community exchange (via commenting directly within a blog).

To answer this I think we should go blog shopping.

The vast majority of blogs involve very limited direct exchange of ideas on a topic. On most blogs comments left by readers are very few, if any. There are exceptions, such as the recent, rapid shift of newspapers to embrace a blog-ish format allowing reader comments; it empowers readers as a community and empowers papers and journalists with direct, rapid insights to their audience’s attitudes and reactions. Assessing the broader blog dialogue on a subject is so much harder, though, than looking at a single blog’s comment postings, because it involves tracing the web of links and quotes that emerges through the blogosphere to create a dialogue about either a theme or an individual, originating blog post.

Going back to President X, I think two basic possibilities exist – dependent upon the intended audience.

If he creates a blog addressing his business from his own perspective and at a level of thinking that an executive would have, as do many blogging business executives, then his audience is likely to be businesspeople (perhaps including some clients) whose interests and work relate to the business of President X. Probably he will see very few comments posted directly to his blog, and to follow the broader blog community dialogue on his topics he will need to read his peers’ blogs extensively and track visitors and referrers to see where or if his posts are being read, quoted or linked.

If, instead, President X creates a blog aimed at the core audience of his company – and advertises the blog – then it is possible that a thriving community may emerge using the commenting tools at his blog to relay their ideas, opinions and questions. In this case, as in the example of newspapers adopting blog formats for their online stories and editorials, the blog functions more as an online community space (a more specific analogue to MySpace, etc.).

The first example, an executive businessperson’s blog, makes sense if President X wants to engage and challenge his profession and his executive peers online, developing himself and advancing his field. Maintaining such a blog might revolve primarily around creation of posts, although following his topics and his peers in the blogging community is required to maintain and develop his relevance and currency in that community.

The second example, developing a users’ or consumers’ online community, a space for involved consumers to express themselves, makes sense in the context of marketing. Maintaining this sort of blog or online community space shouldn’t demand much of President X’s time; rather it should be managed by a careful moderator within the PR department who handles direct replies as needed. President X can create strategic content and watch the community’s activity and input, but the community won’t likely expect direct access to an executive. Assuming an adequately knowledgeable and talented PR moderator, and assuming President X actually reflects community input in the actual evolution of the brand, services or products (i.e.: the company really gives something back), the community should feel that the company is responsive to its posts, and individual members’ involvement and attitudes should be bolstered by the blog. This online presence could serve a variety of additional functions, as a space to test new product or brand ideas, to feel-out the status of a brand’s reputation and personality, and to collect new ideas and innovations coming directly from engaged and possibly influential audiences in the marketplace.

The readership of my blog is small and the likelihood of a community posting a long string of comments is small. Nonetheless I would love to see any ideas, comments, or criticisms from anyone, particularly about blogs in a marketing context and “when does a blog become an online community” – or whether this is a necessary distinction.