BLOG Searching for Competitive Intelligence, Brand Image, and Reputation Management

Abstract

Do you know what they are saying about you in the blogosphere? Should you care? Aren't blogs just for kids, political campaigns, and geeks, and of no value in business? If you think that, you're likely missing out on an increasingly powerful information source. Why have blogs, which are simply Web pages with reverse chronologically arranged individual posts, become so powerful? According to David Sifry of Technorati [www.sifry.com/alerts/archives/000298.html], the number of blogs has been doubling at least every five months. The current estimate is that there's over 10 million blogs in the blogosphere. Yet it's not the large number that creates the stir over blogs. Their power comes from the speed of information diffusion, their low barrier to access, and readers' ability to scan many blogs through XML feeds. The vast majority are not journalistic endeavors or political advertising. They are as individual and unique as their writers—and they can damage your company or brand very quickly.