Halt! Who Goes There?

Now, don't worry, I'm not about to go all technical on you but I have been catching up with the excellent (if rather grandly-titled) Thought Leaders podcast over the past few weeks and particularly enjoyed the Interview with David Sifry, the founder of Technorati which tracks the content of blog discussions worldwide and makes them 'searchable' in a similar way to Google.

I did tune out a little when David got too technical but my ears pricked up when I heard him say that he thought Blogs (as the successors to Bulletin Boards) had made electronic conversations much more thoughtful. He argued that the way in which we can identify more immediately with the person hosting a blog meant that we are much more likely to be polite and friendly when exchanging comments, ideas or even hotly-contested differences of opinion.

That's my sense too. Bulletin boards have always struck me as being more akin to public graffiti (which I find almost invariably hostile). My few tentative efforts at participating left me feeling rather exposed. Blogs, whether they're generated by contrarians or corporations, feel to me more personal and real.

For brand-owners who wish to begin a lively and friendly electronic exchange with their customers, a blog seems a good place to start.

Technorati Tag: Technorati, Thought Leaders, David Sifry, Blog