Corporate blogs that don’t get it

Blogs were the buzz-word over 2005 - you needed a blog to communicate with customers.

Right?

So why is it that companies that set up corporate blogs cripple the channels of communication?

Check out the blogs at Jupiter Research - here’s one by Michael Gartenberg.

Firstly, he’s talking, but you’re not allowed to answer. There is no allowance to make comments or send trackbacks.

Blogs as a method of communication should be taken to be a two-way process. When you make it one-way, the blog becomes a dictatorial monologue.

Secondly, Michael Gartenberg shows how bad the monologues can get, with some plain awful formatting.

For example, his experiences trying out Apple’s Boot Camp is all lumped into a single paragraph of almost 500 words. There are even bullet points embedded in the drawling text that show how malformatted the entry is.

If you are going to run a business blog, try the following:

1. Allow user feedback - if you can’t be bothered to listen, why should anyone else?
2. Break up the formating - capture user attention in short sentences spaced out from each other;
3. Get to the point - make sure people can quickly and easily see what you’re discussing.

In the meantime, Michael Gartenberg’s blog is a fine example of how not to blog. You’d think people who worked for a company like Jupiter Research would know better.