New to Blogs?

You are probably wondering what a blog actually is...

A blog (or web log to give it its proper name) is a public journal that allows the author to publish their thoughts to a wider audience. What makes a blog somewhat different to a paper-based journal is simple. You (the reader) can contribute to it by posting comments and including links to the articles you find interesting or thought-provoking in your own blog.

Blogging is a fairly recent innovation, which started mainly in the technical community and is slowly being adopted by the mainstream. Even the political editor of the BBC, Nick Robinson, maintains a blog of his observations of the British political scene (http://blogs.bbc.co.uk/nickrobinson).

Part of the reason that blogging is becoming so popular is that it is really very easy to do once the system is set up. Individuals can sign up for blogs in a similar way to obtaining email accounts. Businesses can obtain blogging facilities for their own web sites to allow key members of their staff to communicate directly with their customers.

Commercially, blogging offers something more than the traditional circular to clients. It allows dialogue to start with prospective clients on thought-provoking articles initiated by the firm. Not only does this obviously increase the chances of converting clients, but it also helps decision makers establish what is of particular interest to the market. This can consequently lead to improvements in the firm's service or product portfolio.

It is also an important means for improving web site hits. In straight-forward terms, the more text you have on the Web, the more likely you are to be found!

Blogging is not without its risks. There have been several recent incidents within large organisations where disgruntled or naive employees have made inappropriate disclosures, which have either caused embarrassment or even commercial damage.

However, we believe that carefully controlled blogging has a lot to offer.