Google’s blog search tool launched to much fanfare. Steve Rubel did a little experiment to see which blog search engine would return the most granular search. Today, he pronounces Technorati the winner based on this sample of one.
I couldn’t agree more with his central point — blog search has a long way to go. A mind boggling task with many moving parts — how to do a live scan of millions of frequently updated sites? We do blog monitoring for Weblogs Work clients, and today our method involves a hand cobbled portfolio of search tools and terms. We’re in the early stages of working on our own mashup. Mostly for ourselves, but maybe for public use at some point.
Case Study: Consolidation of an existing corporate website and blog into a WordPress blog/website.
The M | Ventures website was designed completely in flash and was considered a very good site in 2003. The site had two big problems, (1) it did not rank well in search engines (Google hates flash) and (2) it was very difficult to update. A screenshot of the site can be found to the right.
The general partner started blogging in 2005 with a blog titled Texas Venture Capital Blog. He took to the blog format quickly and asked one of his IT guy to create a simple theme to replace his default Kubrick design. The simple theme can be see to the left. Notice that it included a simple header and Google ads.
Soon the general partner realized how easy it was to update his blog through the WordPress CMS and how well it ranked in Google and other search engines. He asked this simple question: "Why can’t my blog and website be one in the same, housed entirely in a WordPress site?" The answer was simple, "There is none."
Weblogs Work took the assignment of consolidating the two. First our designer worked with the general partner to come up with a new look and feel. The concept was to create something with a Texas feel – perhaps cows, spurs, horses and cowboys. The designer took these ideas and came up with a very subtle ‘Texas’ design that can be seen below. The Google ads were removed. And the interior pages were kept very basic. The new site is a work in progress, but each aspect can easily be edited by the general partner without assistance from anyone else. Visitor statistics are built right in and he is generating dealflow from the site today (something his old site NEVER did).
Rodrigo, one of our WordPress developers, IM’d me this morning with the link to Google Blog Search and suggested, "Googbye Technorati!" David Sifry has some comments here. I think he is right on the mark with his comments:
"The blogosphere is abuzz with Google’s launch of their Blog Search. So far things look pretty interesting, and having a big traditional search player like Google working on blog search is a validation moment for the entire blogosphere."
Mark Cuban has some comments here. Of course Mike at TechCrunch has some comments here.
Not only is the Juicy Fruit blog bad, it broke my browser. So, while I’m staring at the spinning beachball of death, and waiting for your inane sound effects to stop effecting, I had time to go see what Techcrunch and Heather Green at BusinessWeek’s blogspotting have to say. It’s unanimous: I’ll be the third to say it — trainwreck. Don’t say we didn’t warn you. Says Mike Arrington:
If you take everything good about blogging and web 2.0 and chuck it out the window, and then add back in everything that is wrong with traditional marketing, you’d end up with the Juicy Fruit blog.
Hugh MacLeod continues his running argument that blogs and the other new communication tools will cause a sea change in how we think about advertising. [via David Parmet]
[PS:] Blogs are just the tip of the Cluetrain iceberg. It wasn’t the tip that hit the Titanic.
Global PR Blog Week, 2.0 happens here next week, as professional communicators around the world will discuss the impact of blogs and other new DIY media technologies on PR and marketing comunications. We encourage you to check it out.
Roger Staubach launched a new blog called Monday Morning CEO. Roger is just one of many CEOs blogging for their businesses:
"I don’t have the time to personally stay in touch with all of our people or our 2,400 clients so I hope with the help of my staff this weekly post will do it some justice. It won’t be formal by any means, just a short dialogue between the reader and myself. Hopefully when you close your browser you will have a better understanding of what I do for a living now as well as the 1200+ people carrying Staubach business cards around the country." [via]
Another local real estate CEO, Lance Puig of York Street Properties, will be launching his very own blog in the coming weeks. You can be sure we will profile it here.
Heather, from Business Week, points to a great article in PRWEEK titled, "Managing the new breed of influencers." Heather pulled out an interesting and helpful quote from the article from Waggener Edstrom SVP Lynann Bradbury:
"Bradbury cautions against a knee-jerk reaction to a negative blog that could offend the writer or a response that comes on too strong, making the person look like a corporate shill. Her advice is to offer information and give the blogger an opportunity to get involved in the issue that concerns him or her. "We say, ‘inform, not influence,’ and ‘involve, not invoke,’" she adds."
In our practice we have a hard time trying to explain that there is a ‘blog culture’, one that is sometimes difficult to understand and navigate if you are not reading blogs.
"The important thing is to get into this world culturally," advises Jonathan Carson, CEO of BuzzMetrics. "You need to be regularly reading blogs to know the culture. You need to have institutional knowledge to know what tools are available to help you find what you are looking for."
Andrew Gordon explained that, "And that’s where the blogosphere gets tricky. Finding who’s talking about you, and how influential they are, is a science. What to do once you’ve found them, well, that’s the art."
In part six of a series of interviews with lawyers who are using blogs we talked to Clark Allison author of the California Estate and Business Law Blog.
Q: When and why did you start a blog?
A: About two months ago.
Q: Have you generated additional legal business directly or indirectly related to your blog?
A: Yes. It has greatly added to my credibility and bone fides with potential clients, existing clients and referral sources. As an example, several weeks ago an investment advisor who has referred many clients over the years emailed me about a recent court decision that appeared to have a chilling effect on planning strategies he often uses. Instead of calling or emailing him, I blogged on the issue and then sent him and other financial advisors I know a link to my post. The effect was great: I was able to answer my referral sources concern directly, leverage my research time to educate many and enhance my stature as an expert on the topic.
Q: Have any of your peers seen your blog? Do they comment on it? Does the fact that they read it cause you to write differently?
A: Peers have seen it and have given me positive reviews. However, I don’t blog for my peers. I’m in business to help my clients and make a living, not impress my peers. My objective is to educate clients, prospective clients and referral sources through a medium that also develops a personal relationship with the reader. Blogging allows me to present what I know and who I am to develop credibility and trust. Of course if I do a good job, the effort will reverberate back to peers as well.
In part five of a series of interviews with lawyers who are using blogs we talked to Francis Pileggi author of the Delaware Corporate and Commercial Litigation Blog.
Q: When and why did you start a blog?
A: I started the blog in April 2005 to provide a forum to publish articles more frequently that I customarily would publish about once a month in other publications, and to share my knowledge and familiarity in my practice areas with more people. I have given seminars and written articles on corporate law and ethics for many years, and I thought a blog would be a forum that would allow me to provide similar content and reach a broader audience.
Q: Have you generated additional legal business directly or indirectly related to your blog?
A: The measurement is not precise , but I have had clients indicate that they have seen my blog. It may be similar to writing articles in that it may not be the only thing that makes their decision, but it is part of the mix.
Q: Have any of your peers seen your blog? Do they comment on it? Does the fact that they read it cause you to write differently?
A: My peers have seen my blog, and because I expected them to see it, I don’t think I write any differently because of it. I assume my peers and many others will read it, so I have had them in mind from the beginning, much like the articles that I have had published over the years.
