The numbers are there – we just have to grab them

Maggie Fox, September 13 2006

I read with interest a silicon.com story from September 8th titled, “Corporate Blogs Split Cyberspace (Opinion divided on worth of your company’s latest missive…)”

They did a reader poll that showed 37% thought corporate blogs were a bad way of communicating. But here’s the interesting part – 32% disagreed, 17% are undecided and 15% don’t know what a blog is. (I know that adds up to… 101% – I have a feeling the author was rounding up).

My point is this – everyone acknowledges we’re in the early days of this method of communication, which is both good and bad. Bad because hey, you could get behind something that flops*, good because if the notion of a “corporate blog” doesn’t flop – i.e. if it becomes a du rigeur part of every forward-thinking company’s marketing plan, if you get in early enough, you both get to help write the rules and get a reputation for being innovative.

I found the poll and story of interest because I think it shows we’re at the tipping point (as in “mark this date!”). If 68% thoughts blogs were ineffective, or didn’t like them, then it would be fair to say that the writing is on the wall. Rather, we have about 2/3 with their minds made up, pro and con, with another 1/3 undecided. That’s a pretty big opportunity, and I think the next six months or so will be very instructive.

*Still trying to decide? Think about what’s happened in the personal blogosphere. Think of the exponential, almost scary, growth of blogs. Blogs are intoxicating, irresistable – they’re not going anywhere, so you might as well join ‘em; you’re sure not gonna beat ‘em.