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>> WordBiz Blogging Primer, Part II by Debbie Weil

Weblogs (or blogs) are going mainstream. That was the gist of my pronouncement in Part I of this Special Issue. I attended the June 9 - 10 ClickZ Weblog Business Strategies conference in Boston and reported to you live through my new blog. It was a heck of a lot of fun. A-list blogger Doc Searls included me in his roundup of "bloggers blogging" the event.

In Part II you'll find my article on 5 Key Questions (You've Been Dying) to Ask About Blogs along with a list of pointers to blogging tools and other useful resources.

Finally, many of you missed last issue's instant poll about blogging. Vote here and see results instantly.

USEFUL LINKS:

Part I of WordBiz Special Issue on blogging

My blog of the ClickZ Weblog conference




Publisher, WordBiz Report
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By Debbie Weil

Don't be shy. If you're still not sure what a Weblog (blog for short) is, you're not alone. One speaker at the ClickZ Weblog conference estimated that 90 percent of those in business don't have a clue. Let me ask five key questions for you.

What is a blog? What's the definition of a good blog? Why should businesses blog? Do I really need to know what RSS is? Will blogs replace e-newsletters? (And yes, blog is both a noun and a verb.) Get the answers...

[FULL STORY]

Blogging Tools

These are the most commonly used:

Blogger
(Best, quick-start tool. You can be up and running in an hour.)

MovableType
(More bells & whistles, including the ability to categorize all your blog posts. MT needs to be installed on your own server.)

pMachine
(Said to be easy to use; I know less about this one.)

New version of FrontPage may have a blogging tool built into it.


Sample Business Blogs

There aren't many public business Weblogs as I noted in a recent blog post. Much of corporate (as opposed to individual or personal) blogging is being done behind firewalls as a way to share knowledge within a company. Here are a handful:

BostonWorks.com's Job Blog
(Just what it says. Lots of good info for job seekers, updated daily.)

BostonWorks.com's HR Blog
(Regularly updated links to human resources and recruiting information.)

3M's Everything Post-It© Weblog
Created by MyST-Technologies' MySmartChannels. Here's how MyST co-founder Bill French explains it: "We were exploring with 3M the idea of a combination marketing site, demo site, and customer-focused newsletter all based on blogging. Leveraging the MySmartChannels platform, we built and launched this site in about 72 hours."

Venture Blog
A group blog by a bunch of venture capitalists

Roundtable Communications
Courtesy of Rick Bruner, who notes that this is an example of "useful information, personal voice, frequently updated content: humble but effective examples of business blogging that works."

Signal vs. Noise
Weblog (since 1999) for innovative Web design firm 37Signals.com.

SalesConference.net
International sales consulting firm. Blog is embedded in home page.

Books About Blogging

The Weblog Handbook: Practical Advice on Creating and Maintaining Your Blog
By Rebecca Blood
Good excerpt on Weblog ethics.

Blogging: Genius Strategies for Instant Web Content
By Biz Stone
(Heard him speak at the ClickZ Weblog conference. He's now working for Wellesley College helping them set up blogs for students and faculty.)

Map of the Blogosphere

The blogosphere is the community of A-list bloggers who've been going at it for several years. I found this blogosphere map by Weblog pundit Rob Glaser intriguing. It distinguishes between "opinionated," "group or community" and "media business" Weblogs. Thanks to Rafat Ali of PaidContent.org for pointing it out.

Good article that makes the case for business blogging

Weblogs: Dare We Go There?
[By Kathleen Goodwin for ClickZ]