9. On a final note…… “ So I faced a dilemma today…I had run out of cornflakes. I decided that instead I would have branflakes….. This person’s cornflake crisis carried on for an entire entry of around 2000 words There are a vast, ever-growing number of blogs available on the internet, many of which encompass an individual’s daily life in mind-numbing detail. > However the ability for consumers to both record views and access and comment on them has made blogging become so influential that it cannot be ignored by any modern online business when trying to market and sell a product/idea or service.
Example of corporate blog…this one is a site flogging the concept of environmental friendliness
Effectively, a blog acts as a news source which can be updated instantaneously and accessed by millions, worldwide if the author allows public access No authorisation/skill required e.g. an aspiring journalist with minimal IT skills can showcase his work Age is no barrier- anyone from 7 to 70 can set up a blog. E.g. Bloggers at recent fashion shows are as young as 12 Opinions, views, criticisms evoke discussion on topics from celebrities to politics There is a blog born every half a second (http://news.cnet.com/2100-1025_3-6102935.html)
Blogs don’t necessarily need to be used for their primary function; the ability to list content including pictures can mean it’s an inexpensive, simplified content management system (CMS) Blogs are viewed as the new Word-Of-Mouth (WOM) communications type which can be exploited by marketers to spread the (positive) word about products Blogs bypass the traditional filters for sources, creating a new direct channel for information Click-through advertising space means that bloggers can actually make money from their blog, particularly if a lot of people are following the blog and thus click on the accompanying adverts
An equal playing field is provided, which can break down entry barriers to new, smaller firms who have not got access to economies of scale For example where Governments censor and restrict information that reaches the rest of the world, blogs give the chance for citizens to voice their views on events to fellow citizens and to people in other countries Hundreds of budding authors, artists, musicians and journalists have the chance to be discovered through their online publications Essentially an IT illiterate individual can use blogs easily as there is no need for coding.
The ability for anyone to start a blog, posting information means that the information cannot necessarily be trusted With the ability to spread opinions more easily, businesses can experience both positive and negative effects on brand image and reputation and must be careful to exercise caution in what opinions they express Many professionals dislike blogging, believing it degrades and undermines their line of business. For example, increasingly bloggers are present at the twice yearly fashion shows around the world. However many professional bloggers are finding that designers are barring them from shows and at ones where they are allowed entry, they are ostracised and isolated from journalists and magazine staff- for example Karl Lagerfeld, designer of Chanel turning away from bloggers Huge amounts of data left to rot online
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