Comments on: Blogs are a nuisance, but corporations have no choice.

By: Kian Ann

Kian Ann — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 07:29:13 +0000

Thanks Kris, well said. Eventually, I think even the most corporate blogs need to be “humanized”, and not just marketing fluff from corporations. It shouldn’t be called a “corporate blog” in that sense right?

I read a phrase somewhere (I’m sorry I forgot where it was) that says “Companies don’t have blogs, Humans do.”

You are also right on when you say that it is much easier for an “individual” blog to cater to the needs of the readers, corporations have their “corporat-ey” inertia to deal with!

By: Kris Erickson

Kris Erickson — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 07:05:01 +0000

Thanks for reporting your experiences in the boardroom.

Personally, I would prefer NOT to see corporations in the blogosphere. They are in fact the nuisance (witness the most recent Sony PSP marketing FLOG). If they cynically think that they can slap up a fake blog with some “urban” looking generation-Yers on it and score massive street level cred they are way mistaken.

As a participant I can contribute meaningfully to the conversaton about “what people want”. As a blogopreneur (as you so aptly put it) I can quickly adapt to meet the changing needs of my readership much faster than an overweight corporate giant.

By: Kian Ann

Kian Ann — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 15:08:41 +0000

Nelson,

I really wonder how some multinational corporations are going to survive… unless they start working on a model for mass customization now (like how Dell does it), it will be practically impossible to serve their current customers 2 years down the road.

By: Nelson Tan

Nelson Tan — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 11:13:49 +0000

The Long Tail = The Age Of Customization…

What does that spells for each and every business around the world?

By: Kian Ann

Kian Ann — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 08:34:44 +0000

Hey Walter,

Somehow I have a feeling that marketing and selling today has evolved to go the “provide what the consumer already wants” approach, rather than the “hey this product is good, try it” approach, and the Internet plays a big part of this. People buy what they think they want, not what is recommended to them.

Hmm.. after typing out the previous paragraph, I realise I’m actually talking about the long tail

What would be a good strategy for the big corporations now, that those products that used to monopolise the market will lose out to the niche and customised products catered for individuals with specific needs?

By: Walter

Walter — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 08:15:31 +0000

Its a pity that many head honchos in Singapore do not like to listen. The days of one-way monologues are over – people want to participate and contribute towards brands that they care about. If you choose not to listen to the conversations online – or offline – the recycle bin will be where your company will be headed after some time.

The two recent demises of Crazy Horse Paris and Jurong Crocodile Paradise were probably largely due to the unwillingness to listen to others. Check out my post on this.

By: Kian Ann

Kian Ann — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 06:43:32 +0000

Congrats Chris! Wonderful! Yeah, you are right on. I think maybe not all corporations need a blog, but they must participate in the conversations!

By: Chris Johnston

Chris Johnston — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 06:36:13 +0000

Great post. I just finished Naked Conversations by Robert Scoble and Shel Israel and they said the samethings. Blogs are going to be an essential part of interacting with your customers. If customers or clients are having conversations about you you should at least try to participate in the conversation.
I have a blog and I try to post daily. I maintain relationships and conversations with other bloggers and I participate in conversations in my industry. I believe that these small things give me a leg up over my competition. I think companies need to embrace blogging and use it learn what their customers want.

By: Kian Ann

Kian Ann — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 02:21:32 +0000

Thanks Shi,

Now I understand why… Somehow it will take time before the educational institutions pick up concepts like the long tail. Even TODAY, they are still teaching old school stuff. If these new graduates don’t pursue their own form of education, I think it will take forever for blog marketing to take off!

Of course, so that makes me so special, cos I’m going to change that! heh heh

By: Shi Hengcheong

Shi Hengcheong — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 23:14:13 +0000

Yeah right!

Blog posts and conversations do make good research material for journalists. Maybe that’s the best way to know what’s the feeling on the ground and, what’s hot and what’s not in the blogosphere.

Now, let’s try to understand your senior executive officers.

The problem with executives and decision makers in many Singapore companies is that these corporate honchos are brought up in the mass culture era of the 70s and 80s. How are they supposed to understand The Long Tail phenonmenon.

In the long tail, there are lots of noise and full of crap. So without a good filter, your “senior executive officers in a very well established Singapore based MNC” will definitely perceive this noise as nuisance.

And in their own “realistic” world, they are damn right!