A recent blog post from Richard Edelman reminded me of the post I wrote last July on returning back from the UK to New York. I was pretty amazed at the time about the British apathy towards the blogosphere – and when I returned in October things weren’t much better. I remember two conversations:
“Oh Piers, you were in that blogging from the start – and now everyone’s on board with fake blogs and stuff.” Head Of Media & Marketing, Online Marketing Agency (!!!)
“I know what blogs are but I don’t read them. I leave that to the team.” MD of Online Agency. (!!!)
Richard’s post seems to echo my frustrations:
“The development of the blogosphere is lagging [in Europe], with the sole exception of France. In fact, the four leading countries in blogging are in order the US, France, China and Iran. There are rarely references to blogs as news sources for establishment media in key markets such as the UK, Italy and Germany. Most blogs in the UK are on technology.”
Oh dear.
Edelman’s ‘View of the Blogosphere From the Other Side of the Pond’
Related PSFK Articles
British Marketers Won’t Get It
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P, once again you’ve hit the nail on the head. I was reviewing a famous brand’s online communications the other day and was pleased to find they had a blog. But they’d posted three times in 8 months and all within an initial three day period.
Everyone seems to view it as just the latest way to get to the 16-24 demographic and with no serious view to it being a long lasting tool to actually have a relationship with consumers.
Come on London prove that you can walk the walk.
November 24th, 2005 at 5:32 pm
The European Blogosphere
http://www.socialtext.net/loicwiki/index.cgi?the_european_blogosphere
British Blogosphere
http://www.socialtext.net/loicwiki/index.cgi?british_blogosphere
November 24th, 2005 at 11:07 pm
Have to agree, I don’t understand why most British brands don’t use blogs, I think they can portray a company’s real brand values in a much more effective way than a staid website.
Maybe brands are worried about control, but there are ways to control blogs, monitor comments, etc, although I wouldn’t go as far as to not have a comments section.
London needs to learn to crawl where blogging is concerned.
November 25th, 2005 at 5:49 am
…and a core of British Marketers ‘get it’ far more than ‘many dumb yanks’ realise.
Heads-up here… this is not a them/us Brit/Yank thing – consider the
US-based enterprises which do ‘very nicely thankyou’ without bothering with the blogs.
As blogosphere become chatosphere – territory best left to ‘today I did some knitting… and while you’re here check out my flickr photos of our new dog’ girlie sites – the market effectiveness of blogs decreases.
So, having stopped or never even started, we leave it alone and continue building great one-on-one relationships… something which can’t ever be done without genuine personal contact of a nature and depth not available through ‘posts’.
And, all the head firmly-up-arse posturing by ‘bloggers taking commercial brands to task by exposing their flaws’, has done effectively zero to dent the market impact of those businesses.
So then… am I saying logs are vastly over-rated? Yes… ‘Oh look, dear – it’s another one of those identiclone TypePad/Blogger things… how quaint’. I am. Absolutely.
The point here isn’t one of ‘to blog or not blog’ – rather it’s an issue of ‘use the medium wisely’. Wake-up and wise-up.
November 27th, 2005 at 7:48 am
Gulliver,
Thanks for your insightful comments. A couple of things to think about:
* I’m not a dumb yank. I write about British Marketers with passion because I am one of them – just not over there.
* I would argue that it’s easy to describe the blogosphere as the chatosphere when the British haven’t picked up the tools to evolve the medium on their turf. Look at what’s being done internationally.
* “[blogs have] done zero to dent the market impact of those businesses”: Look at the impact of blogs like Engadget and Gizmodo on the elctronics and gadgets industry. Hundreds of thousands of readers are influenced by what those guys say about stuff. Look at Kryptonite, look at Sony and how they’ve have to change strategic corporate policy because of bloggers.
Also – I suggest you read the first installment of ‘British Marketers Won’t Get It’
November 27th, 2005 at 1:23 pm
‘Insightful’ or ‘inciteful’… it remains my point, sir. Your serve.
Interesting how folk often become defensively-closed rather than curiously-opened when presented with an infidel in their midsts.
Honestly, I stand on the validity of my remarks.
November 27th, 2005 at 1:51 pm
G, I don’t quite get what you’re really saying in your last comment – some plain English please?? Re. “defensively-closed” : unlike many blogs PSFK has an open comments policy and we try to respond to comments whenever we can. That’s the ‘chatosphere’ that you were talking about.
I appreciate the discussion, anyway.
November 27th, 2005 at 2:04 pm
Hi Gulliver,
You’re absolutley right to argue that we should use the medium wisely. And yes, a core of British marketeers absolutely get it. Just look and W+K, svedka, nike etc. However, the majority still haven’t come ot terms with the new do-it-yourself nature of online media of which blogs have so far played a key role. Therefore marketeers are ignoring/unaware of this new media channel that not only resonates with that key demographic of 18-24 yr olds, but also brand evangelsits who have made the effort to blog about a brand.
To answer some of your specific points:
Yes, some blogs are very rudimentry and little more than diaries, but that’s not to say they’re irrlevant. Take Belle de Jour, little more than a diary, yet what a diary and potentially some great media space for an underwear, fmcg or indeed any brand chasing a female target audience.
To say a brand has done very well thank you without needing to blog is the equivelent of saying in 1950 ‘we do very well without advertising on TV thank you’ – it’s simply ignoring a communication channel
I think you’ll find that the ‘head firmly up arse posturing’ by the blogosphere actually had a pretty dramatic effect on Sony within the last few weeks as they completely reversed their DRM policy on CDs (just google sony DRM). And I’m sure it will continue to help shape the news and social agenda.
November 27th, 2005 at 3:54 pm
In New Zealand, one newspaper stated that blogging would be an upcoming trend for 2006. Worrying. So much for the internet being the great technological equalizer, even in the west.
November 27th, 2005 at 7:00 pm
Some clarification…
Much of my ‘work’ is to purposefully ‘inciteful’ – move among things and agitate in a constructive manner to stimulate thought and change. Arrogant, and true. If Peters can say ‘I do life-changing work’ then so can I. Perhaps even more pissed-off than he is, the nonsense-as-usual web-antics bore and dismay me – I yearn for honest, authentic challenging stuff that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
Something we ALL do at times, many (b)log sites are inward-facing closed-loops operating in ignorance and isolation of ‘real world concerns’. Bottom line here – the blogosphere (and what an absurdly self-reverential term that is) hugely over-values itself.
Both Kryptonite and Sony continue much-as-before, largely unscathed – with the change-inducing pressure more likely coming from mainstream sources rather than bloggers wittering in the void.
Fact is, to the great majority, that which comes from the tv and the newspaper greatly outweighs the web. And will for some time – like ‘for ever’.
‘…shape the news and social agenda’? Sure – and the media will continue to form and firm a social agenda comprised of ‘moderately interesting for a few moments – then we move on’ stuff that leads to nil great change. Blogs won’t change that. We’ll still have nukes, pollution and corrupt politicians. The major net effect of the web will be to make it easier/faster/cheaper that which we do already.
‘Share information, spread knowledge, raise awareness’, the web has an important role… that’s ‘the web’, not ‘blogs’ – which are simply are part of the mix. The ‘Rapid Access Publishing’ which blogs offer is valuable – when used appropriately – something for which we’ll have to wait awhile as the sector matures and consolidates. Meantime, add ‘Contemporary’ to ‘Rapid Access Publishing’ and form your own acronym.
In 6-24 months we’ll have seen the peak-and-fall of much blogging… as it settles into background noise – rather than the foreground noise it currently is. Thereafter, it’ll remain a good – and at times effective – way to develop an off-the record conversational tone for appropriate vendor-purchaser interaction.
Sidebar… many use their cellphones more for text than conversation – often when it would quicker and more effective to dial’n'talk. Instead, trapped in the tech, they miss the obvious. And that’s what we so often do with blogs. We sidetrack ourselves into largely meaningless nonsense – like this.
Take a look around. It ain’t complicated.
November 28th, 2005 at 12:24 pm
A couple typo corrections…
>Much of my ‘work’ is to purposefully ‘inciteful’ – move among things and agitate
Should read: Much of my ‘work’ is purposefully ‘inciteful’ – to move among things and agitate…
>The major net effect of the web will be to make it easier/faster/cheaper that which we do already.
Should read: The major net effect of the web will be to make it easier/faster/cheaper to do that which we do already.
And, I’ll welcome anyone who wants to constructively engage with this issue and air it elsewhere, with other input, in an at-least article-length piece.
November 29th, 2005 at 2:55 am