Comments on: Quick response on assn execs reading blogs http://www.principledinnovation.com/blog/2007/03/02/quick-response-on-assn-execs-reading-blogs/ Moving from imagination to impact... Sat, 11 Feb 2012 12:50:54 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.1 by: Greg http://www.principledinnovation.com/blog/2007/03/02/quick-response-on-assn-execs-reading-blogs/#comment-5268 Sun, 04 Mar 2007 12:14:51 +0000 http://www.principledinnovation.com/blog/2007/03/02/quick-response-on-assn-execs-reading-blogs/#comment-5268 Thanks Jeff for the link back to the Google reader instructions. Not sure if I missed them, or just wasn't ready then, but on board now. And since you're a shareholder, I'll be sure to be in touch if I need help. And thanks for the 17 feed links ... really did simplify things. Thanks Jeff for the link back to the Google reader instructions. Not sure if I missed them, or just wasn’t ready then, but on board now. And since you’re a shareholder, I’ll be sure to be in touch if I need help. And thanks for the 17 feed links … really did simplify things.

]]> by: Jamie Notter http://www.principledinnovation.com/blog/2007/03/02/quick-response-on-assn-execs-reading-blogs/#comment-5249 Sat, 03 Mar 2007 22:30:03 +0000 http://www.principledinnovation.com/blog/2007/03/02/quick-response-on-assn-execs-reading-blogs/#comment-5249 I think it’s a cost/benefit thing in terms of attention, not time (although the two are obviously related). This is all speculation, of course, but imagine the Exec. She’s been doing this job for ten years and she is full to the brim with information. She was overloaded BEFORE blogs came along. The early information she gets about blogs is sketchy, and the description of “online diary” isn’t particularly appealing. So initially it doesn’t seem to be worth her attention, which is already stretched thin. But she’s got a staff person pestering her about blogs so she does some searches and reads some blogs by blogoclumpers. But by only taking a snapshot of all the blogs, she ends up with a very diffuse set of content. Sure, there were some good posts that made her think. But some of it just isn’t interesting or relevant to her at that moment. And let’s face it, not ALL of our posts are content-rich. So on any given day, she gets this broad mix, and she leaves with her original conclusion reinforced: this isn’t worth my valuable attention. She’s not convinced, because there doesn’t appear to be an immediate payback for her. That’s the problem. You don’t get payback by reading a blog once. It took me significant time to really get the value of blogs. Not lots of time in terms of actual hours spent reading blogs. But time in terms of the few weeks it takes to get a feel for the rhythm of a blog, time in terms of figuring out which blogs had stuff I wanted to read and which didn’t. The payoff isn’t instant. Now that I’m in the flow, the payoff is unbelievable. I have access to so much wisdom and information. It’s great. But if you’re not in the flow, I think it’s hard to understand why people like us are so enthusiastic about it. It’s like when someone says, “Oh my GOD, you HAVE to read this book!!!!” There is an element of “you are incomplete unless you read this book (and I’m smarter than you for reading it first)” in that statement, and that can be a real turn-off. If we are telling people they are deficient by not reading blogs, we will not get more readers. I took the leap with blogs because I had trusted friends who encouraged me. Maybe we bloggers need more friends? :-) I think it’s a cost/benefit thing in terms of attention, not time (although the two are obviously related). This is all speculation, of course, but imagine the Exec. She’s been doing this job for ten years and she is full to the brim with information. She was overloaded BEFORE blogs came along. The early information she gets about blogs is sketchy, and the description of “online diary” isn’t particularly appealing. So initially it doesn’t seem to be worth her attention, which is already stretched thin.

But she’s got a staff person pestering her about blogs so she does some searches and reads some blogs by blogoclumpers. But by only taking a snapshot of all the blogs, she ends up with a very diffuse set of content. Sure, there were some good posts that made her think. But some of it just isn’t interesting or relevant to her at that moment. And let’s face it, not ALL of our posts are content-rich. So on any given day, she gets this broad mix, and she leaves with her original conclusion reinforced: this isn’t worth my valuable attention. She’s not convinced, because there doesn’t appear to be an immediate payback for her. That’s the problem. You don’t get payback by reading a blog once.

It took me significant time to really get the value of blogs. Not lots of time in terms of actual hours spent reading blogs. But time in terms of the few weeks it takes to get a feel for the rhythm of a blog, time in terms of figuring out which blogs had stuff I wanted to read and which didn’t. The payoff isn’t instant. Now that I’m in the flow, the payoff is unbelievable. I have access to so much wisdom and information. It’s great. But if you’re not in the flow, I think it’s hard to understand why people like us are so enthusiastic about it.

It’s like when someone says, “Oh my GOD, you HAVE to read this book!!!!” There is an element of “you are incomplete unless you read this book (and I’m smarter than you for reading it first)” in that statement, and that can be a real turn-off. If we are telling people they are deficient by not reading blogs, we will not get more readers.

I took the leap with blogs because I had trusted friends who encouraged me. Maybe we bloggers need more friends? :-)

]]> by: Frank Fortin http://www.principledinnovation.com/blog/2007/03/02/quick-response-on-assn-execs-reading-blogs/#comment-5176 Fri, 02 Mar 2007 17:09:31 +0000 http://www.principledinnovation.com/blog/2007/03/02/quick-response-on-assn-execs-reading-blogs/#comment-5176 Fair point -- the perceptions we've noted can be refuted. Ultimately this may be just an adoption curve issue. It's still early -- maybe earlier than we, who use this stuff, think. Remember how long it took for the typical old-industry CEO to use the web? Or get an e-mail address? Fair point — the perceptions we’ve noted can be refuted.
Ultimately this may be just an adoption curve issue.
It’s still early — maybe earlier than we, who use this stuff, think.
Remember how long it took for the typical old-industry CEO to use the web? Or get an e-mail address?

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