Wednesday, March 02, 2005 12:40 PM
There has been significant recent buzz concerning the concept of a "blog swarm," wherein bloggers in increasing numbers write about, interlink and discuss a particular item or issue such that it takes on a life of its own. In some cases, the swarm is so frenzied that the original posting or news article that gave rise to it is left behind as bloggers frame the debate in accordance with their own views.
It is this feature of the blog swarm that makes me wonder if weblogs must become an integral part of every company's business strategy.
Looking at recent headlines, a blog swarm has quickly moved towards the topic of Google's Autolink technology. Soon after the release, bloggers across the country quickly tried out the technology and then immediately started posting their opinions, good and bad, about Autolink. And, to the detriment of Google, I think, the opinions soon leaned starting framing each discussion by comparing Autolink to Microsoft's much-maligned SmartTags technology of a few years back. You may recall that Microsoft went from heavily touting that technology to rarely mentioning it in fairly short order due to negative backlash (whether deserved or not). Indeed, in looking at that debate, it seemed to me the concept of SmartTags as a technology innovation, was ultimately lost in the deluge of negative opinion about how the technology would potentially be used.
Fast forward to February 2005, and read this alleged exchange between Robert Scoble, a popular technology blogger who also happens to work for Microsoft, and Chris DiBona, of Google. Both of these bloggers are not sponsored by their respective companies, and have disclaimers noting that they express personal opinion only. Yet, what they write in their weblogs may resonant as much as any interview with an executive at Microsoft or Google. In large part, because the rest of the blogosphere can so quickly pick up and disseminate their comments. And, as we are seeing more and more, established media sources are clearly picking up on this dissemination, especially when it creates a swarm.
With Autolink, the risk Google ran is that it did not get out ahead of blog swarm by getting into the blogosphere early and often to help frame the debate over the technology. Indeed, it doesn't appear that Google has many bloggers in the blogosphere at all. To be fair, Google likely had no idea Autolink would be subject of a blog swarm. Regardless, it is now playing catch up and a quick glance at a survey of headlines concerning Autolink suggests that they are losing the battle in getting their viewpoint across. The blog swarm has framed the national debate. You can look for yourself, but I saw words like "evil," "adware," "outcry," and "SmartTags," in the same headlines as the words "Google" and "Autolink." Obviously, these word relationships would not be Google's first choice. Worse for Google, it is difficult to even find its view and explanation of the technology; it is as though their voice has been lost in the swarm.
In these days of short attention spans and a focus on soundbites and buzz, I am convinced that the first impression is more important than ever. And, more and more, blogs are becoming the vehicle to that first impression. Corporations face a choice as to whether they should ignore the blogosphere or become an active participant. In the end, the real question may be whether a company is comfortable with the blogosphere creating its own first impression with no input or active participation from the company itself. Just one guy's opinion, but that seems like a dicey proposition to me.