July 16, 2005
This Is Not a Blog
Posted by Kevin | Print This Article
So Nielsen/NetRatings has unveiled a study showing 2/3 of people who read blogs don’t realize they are reading blogs, according to Jonathan Carson. They either don’t know what a blog is, or claim to have heard of them but don’t really read them. That’s because they’re not reading blogs — they’re reading websites!
You know what’s the most interesting thing about this survey? It’s the fact that the common-sense response to the finding can only be … “Who cares?” Who cares if people know that what they’re reading is called a “blog” by a bunch of consultants and geeks? Jonathan Carson wonders if “blog” will become a “b2b term” not used by consumers. Probably. It doesn’t really matter.
Blogs are just a tool. The bigger issue in play for organizations is how the use of language is changing on the web, and how conversations have been enabled which makes them inevitable. Tools enabling this trend include blogs, RSS, wikis, audio, you name it. There’ll be more new tools coming down the pike, but they are all being driven by the larger trends of conversation, collaboration, and community.
Asking “people on the street” if they read blogs is like asking them if they view websites that are fully XHTML-compliant.
Of course, even taking into account these people who read blogs without knowing it, the “blog-reading” public is still a minority. That’s going to change — not because people will suddenly start reading self-proclaimed blogs (like this one). It will change because more and more websites will be “bloggified.”
(Via Steve Rubel.)
Kevin, I understand the point you’re making, but I still feel a need to push back on it. I actually think it does matter whether “people on the street” know what a blog is and whether they are reading one, just as it’s useful for people to know the difference between, say, genuine editorial and “advertorial” in a magazine. As we both know, blogs are generally written with a different style, tone and desire for feedback than the usual website. This informal, more honest and often no-holds-barred form of self-expression is a refreshing change of pace for many, but a possible source of confusion or concern for others who aren’t familiar with them. Given the broad lack of knowledge of blogs, then, I think we could be doing more to encourage people to understand what blogs are, and what they contribute to “the larger trends of conversation, collaboration and community.”
If blogs are tools, shouldn’t we take the opportunity to educate people on how they can use these tools well for their own communications needs, whether those needs are personal or professional? Also, I don’t think that the comparison between blogs and XHTML works in the way you’re applying it here. No matter how important it is, XHTML will always remain largely obscure to the general public because it isn’t intended for them. XHTML is a complex language that is truly relevant only to people who are involved in web design. Blogs, by contrast, are accessible to all and intended for all. A blog is both a medium and a forum in which words, language and images are used to share ideas in ways that are authentic and personally relevant to their creators. Even if most people never write one of their own, understanding what blogs are about will help them become more informed readers of others’ blogs.
You ask the question: who cares? Well, I do and I think others do as well. And I think all of us who inhabit the blogosphere should care how blogs are used, how they are understood and how they are perceived. As always, Kevin, you make provocative and interesting points. I look forward to continuing this and many other conversations with you!
Jeff, an overreliance on techy buzzwords is ultimately detrimental. The reason peoples eye glaze over when we talk about blogs, RSS, wikis (god forbid), etc., is that those of us who drink the Kool-Aid early on forget that it’s not the “things” that matter but the end result. We want people to read our stuff and become engaged in our community. Does it matter if we call it a “blog”? I’d argue it doesn’t matter at all. Maybe the word blog will seep into public consciousness and become less strange sounding — maybe not — I don’t know. But the real interesting things will happen when “websites” cease distinguishing between “regular content” and “blogs” — when the blog concept of content, language, ineraction, etc. takes over the “regular content” to begin with. When will that happen? Will it ever? I have no idea. But lots of websites (including my own organization’s ) use “blogs” without actually calling them blogs. We’re actually going to be integrating several different commentary blogs on different topics within the next generation of our website, hopefully launched this fall. Am I going to call them blogs? At this point, I think probably not. But life (and language) changes …
I can see both sides of this one. I personally would like to see aspects of blogs incorporated into most Web sites (including ours), especially the interactive components. Someday, I think that will be (to make Jeff crazy) a best practice. But we’re nowhere near that yet, at least not on a global level.
I don’t call our blogs “blogs” on our site currently, because so many people don’t know what that means–I did an informal survey about a year ago asking meeting planners and hospitality folks about blogs, RSS, etc., and to a person it came back “what the heck is that?”. Yet a good proportion of those I surveyed also mentioned that they visit my “Web site” regularly.
I think the difference between blogs and regular Web sites is pretty obvious, but that blogs should make it clear that they’re editorializing, not providing the approved, edited, official word of the association, just to make sure no one gets confused. I don’t think it matters what you call them, but it does matter that people understand that they’re reading something opinion-based, not unbiased reporting.