Why Real Time Business Blogging is Cool

Blogging has been around for the better part of a decade from some – and more than half that for many of the rest of us.

At the BlogWorld Expo last week we learned from a Technorati survey that the majority of bloggers are hobby bloggers.  Only 13% classified themselves as entrepreneurs who blog to support their business.

We are still in the beginning stages of the evolution of blogging.  

Ironically, the evolution of blogging shares some remarkable patterns with another trend from nearly 50 years ago, one that happens to have a similar ring to it – jogging.

The Evolution Blogging and Jogging

In the late 60′s the practice of  jogging – (think running if you are under the age of 30) – began to catch on.  New Zealand track coach Arthur Lydiard is credited with popularizing jogging.  He introduced the concept to legendary coach Bill Bowerman, co-founder of Nike, who brought it to the United States.

Prior to that there were just us nerdy runners – rail thin, and doing it for nothing more than the joy of it.

Just for the joy of it – doesn’t that also describe the early days of blogging?

Unlike today, seeing joggers on the streets was awkward, mainly because many of them didn’t really understand what they were doing.

This also describes the early days of blogging.  I’ll admit it if you will, because I was there too.

People didn’t understand the mechanics of running, how to dress comfortably, and other essentials, such as stretching.  To say the least, being a jogger was not very cool.

Then, in the late ’70′s the science of aerobics began to breathe new life into jogging.

Aerobics helped people understand the benefits of running.  Before long the word jogging became passe as it morphed into something else – aerobic training.

We even had personalities that made running cool, such as Steve Prefontaine, who once held every American running record over 5,000 yards – and was coached by Bill Bowerman.

Running for aerobic benefits was for serious athletes looking for practical results – like Pre.  Suddenly, running made sense.

That’s what took it mainstream – and that’s what we need for blogging.

That something is actually here right now.  Maybe it just needs a cool name like aerobics.

Blogging and Real-Time Marketing

We definitely have bloggers now that are personalities – that are cool.  Yet, the mainstream public still considers blogging to be a waste of time – something that nerdy technophiles do for fun – for the joy of it.

Blogging doesn’t fit their picture of what business is all about.  In other words, they don’t get it.

Just as with the word jogging, blogging will soon become passe. In fact, I encourage you to stop using it and just refer to your blog as your website – or more simply, your site.

Last week I lost a paid speaking opportunity because the buyer thought I was … “more of a blogger than a professional speaker.”  She evidently hadn’t considered that blogging is writing, and before you can give a great speech, you have to write it.

Blogging makes you a better writer.  It’s a practice that builds essentials skills for many business disciplines beyond speaking, including sales, marketing, and customer service.

What could be more relevant to business success today than a vibrant online presence that is ideally driven by content that you distribute from a site that you own?

I believe they call that a blog.

Here’s more.  Just last week Google released their  ”Freshness Update“ - which gives greater relevance to fresh or timely content for those searching the web.

There is no question about it. The future of business marketing is real-time marketing – and your blog is your online hub from which to distribute your message.

If you own or manage a business, you know how cool it is to get leads and referrals from your web presence – it’s magical.  As with running, this can become an addiction – a healthy one.

Running produces endorphins that make you feel good.  Blogging makes you feel good too – by producing new business opportunities that make for healthy profits.

The future of blogging is secure.  We just need to help mainstream businesses understand how this practice works – and make it cool.

I’ll keeping trying if you will.

In the meantime, be cool.  Your time will come.

Leave a comment below or share this with your community with any of the share buttons below – or with those on the little red bar at the bottom of this page.  

Enjoy your weekend,  Jeff

Photo Credit:  Dark Matter