Thursday, February 26, 2004
ISSUE: The Difference Between a Forum and a Blog
I am convinced that a blog can be a more useful business tool. Unfortunately, it is not easy to get clients to understand how to use them. Blogs with an individual voice, while common, are still invisible within channel organizations. Even rarer is the multi-party business blog. When I mention the topic of blogs as a community building tool for communicating with channel partners, I get blank stares and rants about how forums do not work.
The difference between a forum and a blog is like the difference between a conversation in a bar and a discussion with a subject expert. I have participated in several forums about channels, channel programs, vendors, vertical markets and small businesses. Each starts off with the best intentions. But after a flurry of activity, it goes dead. Other drag on and on debating such great topics as whether small business can make strategic decisions. Threads get comments and the arguments start. Some comments are thoughtful, many are not. After a few weeks, and everyone has had their say, some more than once, the thread dies. Nothing happens. No one is convinced. No one changes their mind. Nothing is learned.
Contrast that with the blog. An individual with a specific area of expertise gains an audience because of his or her ability to explain a point of view. If they articulate their points well, they get read. Comments, e mail and real world experiences link the blogger to a community of others who have a shared interest in the topic. Instead of just arguing, opinions are formed, discussions are framed and decisions are made. Best of all, it is done in a non-corporate, human voice.
Channels consist of thousands of third-party participants. Beyond the traditional channel program, the channel ecosystem consists of tens of thousands of companies and individuals with shared business issues. Blogs cut through the noise because the blogger, unlike a forum moderator, is not merely there to make sure everyone plays nice. The blogger is there to state a position, gather feedback, synthesize results and explain implications. No CRM package, forum software or social network will connect with channel partners the way a blog can because a blog is a facilitator of opinion, not a collection of comments.
Scott Karren, The Channel Pro
I am convinced that a blog can be a more useful business tool. Unfortunately, it is not easy to get clients to understand how to use them. Blogs with an individual voice, while common, are still invisible within channel organizations. Even rarer is the multi-party business blog. When I mention the topic of blogs as a community building tool for communicating with channel partners, I get blank stares and rants about how forums do not work.
The difference between a forum and a blog is like the difference between a conversation in a bar and a discussion with a subject expert. I have participated in several forums about channels, channel programs, vendors, vertical markets and small businesses. Each starts off with the best intentions. But after a flurry of activity, it goes dead. Other drag on and on debating such great topics as whether small business can make strategic decisions. Threads get comments and the arguments start. Some comments are thoughtful, many are not. After a few weeks, and everyone has had their say, some more than once, the thread dies. Nothing happens. No one is convinced. No one changes their mind. Nothing is learned.
Contrast that with the blog. An individual with a specific area of expertise gains an audience because of his or her ability to explain a point of view. If they articulate their points well, they get read. Comments, e mail and real world experiences link the blogger to a community of others who have a shared interest in the topic. Instead of just arguing, opinions are formed, discussions are framed and decisions are made. Best of all, it is done in a non-corporate, human voice.
Channels consist of thousands of third-party participants. Beyond the traditional channel program, the channel ecosystem consists of tens of thousands of companies and individuals with shared business issues. Blogs cut through the noise because the blogger, unlike a forum moderator, is not merely there to make sure everyone plays nice. The blogger is there to state a position, gather feedback, synthesize results and explain implications. No CRM package, forum software or social network will connect with channel partners the way a blog can because a blog is a facilitator of opinion, not a collection of comments.
Scott Karren, The Channel Pro
