Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Blogging the iPhone and the Importance of Social Networking
Here at Symetri, we're very aware of the importance of social networking, particularly blogs. Any business or writer or entity in general should have a blog out there delivering relevant content, whether it's industry news or attitudes about Britney Spears new do. About seven years ago, the crucial component to a business was a face on the web in the form of a site. Even if you weren't selling anything online, a presence on teh interwebs linked a human to a phone number or information about a business.
What sites were then blogs are now. A website is analogous to the brick and mortar; a blog is the smiling customer service rep. The blog is the voice, the human component to so much steam-cleaned copy, the lightning bolt to Johnny 5.
So why am I pining romantic about blogging? Why point out the importance? Because of the impotence. Because a blog is never more noticeable than when it is missing. It all has to do with the iPhone.
If you'll recall, the day after Apple announced it, Cisco sued over copyright infringement of the name. Speculation exploded on both sides and then slowly came to a low rumble. Trying to search out the details amid a blog-flood of opinions, Slashdot sent me to Cisco's blog. That was the voice of reason - the VP - pointing out what was going on. But that's Cisco's blog, and looking for another horse's mouth, I was surprised (well, not really) to find it missing.
Cisco has a blog that concerns news and industry information, yada yada. But when the rubber met the road, when fans, detractors, and the general public were startled by the upheaval and looking for the comfort and honesty that comes from a human voice, Cisco responded. Apple did not. Their blog reflects that nothing has happened negatively concerning the iPhone (and that Vista's a wannabe Mac OS).
Another example of silence: Jet Blue's "blog." (The first problem is: while it's cute to call it a "flight log," nobody's looking for a flight log. They're looking for a blog. Some conventions are conventions for a reason. Second problem: Tlog or Flog?) Last week, during the horrifying weather, Jet Blue canceled about 1/4 of their flights over 11 airports nationwide, stranding people in airports and on tarmacs. They have since rectified the issue (in part) by taking full responsibility and are unveiling a Customer Bill of Rights.
This was the perfect opportunity for a voice of comfort in a time of despair, accountability in a time of chaos, to be followed by a lauding of this Bill of Rights (here's the problem, we're sorry, here's how we're going to fix it). But the last post was on Feb. 1.
And there is your lesson: Have a voice. Make it loud. Make it timely. And smile. People are watching.
Category: Search Engine Marketing and Optimization
What sites were then blogs are now. A website is analogous to the brick and mortar; a blog is the smiling customer service rep. The blog is the voice, the human component to so much steam-cleaned copy, the lightning bolt to Johnny 5.
So why am I pining romantic about blogging? Why point out the importance? Because of the impotence. Because a blog is never more noticeable than when it is missing. It all has to do with the iPhone.
If you'll recall, the day after Apple announced it, Cisco sued over copyright infringement of the name. Speculation exploded on both sides and then slowly came to a low rumble. Trying to search out the details amid a blog-flood of opinions, Slashdot sent me to Cisco's blog. That was the voice of reason - the VP - pointing out what was going on. But that's Cisco's blog, and looking for another horse's mouth, I was surprised (well, not really) to find it missing.
Cisco has a blog that concerns news and industry information, yada yada. But when the rubber met the road, when fans, detractors, and the general public were startled by the upheaval and looking for the comfort and honesty that comes from a human voice, Cisco responded. Apple did not. Their blog reflects that nothing has happened negatively concerning the iPhone (and that Vista's a wannabe Mac OS).
Another example of silence: Jet Blue's "blog." (The first problem is: while it's cute to call it a "flight log," nobody's looking for a flight log. They're looking for a blog. Some conventions are conventions for a reason. Second problem: Tlog or Flog?) Last week, during the horrifying weather, Jet Blue canceled about 1/4 of their flights over 11 airports nationwide, stranding people in airports and on tarmacs. They have since rectified the issue (in part) by taking full responsibility and are unveiling a Customer Bill of Rights.
This was the perfect opportunity for a voice of comfort in a time of despair, accountability in a time of chaos, to be followed by a lauding of this Bill of Rights (here's the problem, we're sorry, here's how we're going to fix it). But the last post was on Feb. 1.
And there is your lesson: Have a voice. Make it loud. Make it timely. And smile. People are watching.
Category: Search Engine Marketing and Optimization
Labels: blogging, social marketing, symetri
posted by Symetri at 2/20/2007 02:57:00 PM 
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