Blogs: An Introduction to Blogs in Business

                                    INTRODUCTION     HISTORY     STRUCTURE     APPLICATIONS    IMPLICATIONS     EXAMPLES  

MI 720 Information Technology

Technology Brief Website

Section 1, Team 6

Jessica Wesson, Aaron Breeden,

Stacey Whelan, & Jatin Tuteja

"The blog has become... the single most

effective vehicle to communicate to all of our

constituencies -- developers, media, analysts and

shareholders.  When I go out and have dinner with

a key analyst on Wall Street... and ask them if they've read my blog, they almost universally say yes." ^[1]

“We've moved from the information age to the

participation age, and trust is the currency of the

participation age. Companies need to speak with

one voice and be authentic. Blogging allows

you to speak out authentically on your own behalf,

and in the long run people will recognize that.

Do it consistently and they trust you.”^[2]

~Jonathan Schwartz, CEO

Sun Microsystems, Inc.

A blog, or weblog, is a regularly updated journal published on the web in reverse chronological order.^[1]  Blogs are a forum where people can express their viewpoints on any subject, including sports, politics, technology, science, travel, etc.   Some blogs are intended for a small audience, while others vie for readership with national newspapers. Blogs can be influential, personal, or both, and reflect as many topics and opinions as there are people writing them.

Blogs are powerful because they allow millions of people to easily publish their ideas, providing access to millions more to read and respond.  These forums engage the writer and reader in an open conversation, and are shifting the Internet paradigm as we know it.  Blogs have become an influential player in business, allowing news and information about a firm to spread rapidly across the web, impacting the media, the public, investors, and even the organization itself.  Businesses have begun to realize that blogs are an important tool that need to be both recognized and utilized, as it can easily become either an opportunity or a threat to any organization, depending on the degree to which it is embraced.

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