Monday, October 04, 2004 2:10 PM
I recently read an interesting article in
Portals magazine about the blogging efforts of yogurt maker
Stonyfield Farm. Stonyfield is using the weblog medium to help strengthen and expand relationships with its customer base.
To do this, they hired a full time writer to produce content for five different Stonyfield weblogs. The company feels the investment in a new employee is worth the cost and will pay dividends going forward. On this point, I think they may well be right. In large part, because the company has not lost site of the biggest challenge for a weblog: the continual production of good content over the long haul. By securing a full-time employee whose sole focus is producing the content for the company's weblogs, Stonyfield has given itself a solid chance for success.
In looking out over the blawgosphere, it is evident that most blawgs are still homegrown efforts maintained by a single person who also has a "day" job. This result of this reality is that many well-written blawgs have died on the vine over the last couple of years simply because the author did not have the time each day to produce new content. This points to both a challenge and opportunity within the legal vertical.
As weblogs continue to expand and more companies and law firms explore new ways to utilize them, the bottom line challenge will still be producing that solid, interesting content day after day. The idea that a law firm would hire a full-time staffer to produce--or help produce--content for a blawg may seem radical today, but what about tomorrow? Moreover, for the many firms and lawyers that could not afford a full-time staffer for such a role, the outsourcing option may become more and more viable. Really, what would it take for the same public relations firms that law firms hire regularly to assist with producing p.r. material, to offer new services in assisting with the production of quality blawg content? Perhaps a p.r. firm staffer interviewing a firm's attorneys or detailing cases the firm has recently resolved? The story ideas are likely endless if someone has the time to pull them together.
At the end of the day, the business community tends to move much faster than the legal vertical. Taking this reality to heart, perhaps moves like those showcased by Stonyfield are simply foreshadowing activity within legal. At the very least, law firms can take note of such efforts and learn from the experience.
Link: Stonyfield Weblogs.