
The Weblog Elevator Pitch- One Year Later
By leelefever on April 27, 2005 - 4:27pm.
It was one year ago that I won my first contest as a writer. The challenge was to create the "perfect corporate weblog elevator pitch". It was put on by the folks at Weblogs Inc. via the Social Software Weblog and Judith Meskill.
At the very least, I hope the little contest preserves a look at what people thought was an accurate summary of how blogs could be used inside a corporation. One day, people may say "that was sooo 2004". For now though, I still stand beind the pitch 100%.
Here it is:
First, think about the value of the Wall Street Journal to business leaders. The value it provides is context — the Journal allows readers to see themselves in the context of the financial world each day, which enables more informed decision making.
With this in mind, think about your company as a microcosm of the financial world. Can your employees see themselves in the context of the whole company? Would more informed decisions be made if employees and leaders had access to internal news sources?
Weblogs serve this need. By making internal websites simple to update, weblogs allow individuals and teams to maintain online journals that chronicle projects inside the company. These professional journals make it easy to produce and access internal news, providing context to the company — context that can profoundly affect decision making. In this way, weblogs allow employees and leaders to make more informed decisions through increasing their awareness of internal news and events.
The Weblog Elevator Pitch- One Year Later
So now I'm intrigued. How would you set up a company weblog for a small shop? I'd love to talk to you about this next time I see you...
The Weblog Elevator Pitch- One Year Later
Sure thing Christi, I'm sure I'll see you soon...
The Weblog Elevator Pitch- One Year Later
Maybe it's my incompetence, but yesterday I spent 2 hours searching the net for a good...no, great article that could describe the benefits of blogs for senior executives.
Came up with zilch. zero. naught.
Let me clarify this statement. I found lots of:
- great articles on blogs in external/customer facing application
- great articles for an audience with lots of spare time or who have a 'techy' bent.
- lots of artcicles that make the value of blogs in business questionable.
Unfortunatly, what I needed was:
- a great sales pitch for senior people who don't get turned on by web technology AND
- a powerful account of how blogs/wikis/forums can be utilised to build a strong sense of community in a business and allow a more personal, emotional and engaging conversation amongst employees and leaders - particulalry when they are geographically seperated.
And then I thought...maybe I'm looking at this wrong?
Can blogs be used to foster a community when a business is trying to change and embark on a brighter future? Can it be used as a powerful engagement tool?
The Weblog Elevator Pitch- One Year Later
...darn, I just lost 10min of work, I was typing away in a trance and for some reason it didn't post. So here's the short version.
Do you think that blogs (or forums) can be used internally to build a sense of community and engage a large organisation as it embarks on a new dawn? Can you get leaders and employees to connect in a way they haven't done before? Can you justify the benefits to senior executives?
I'm struggling with it. I visceraly believe that it can be done, but I haven't found a way to describe it and convince people around me.
The Weblog Elevator Pitch- One Year Later
ach well...go figure.
The Weblog Elevator Pitch- One Year Later
Thanks Manu! I'm just about to leave town, but wanted to say one quick thing.
Often, when an organization is embarking on something new, there is a disconnect between the people with the vision and the people *executing* the vision.
I see opportuntities to use a weblog to give the people with the vision a platform for evagelizing and pushing forward the idea in new and engaging ways.
OK, I am now on vacation! :)
Post new comment