Why don’t more business sites use weblogs? They keep things current, they’re easy to update, they’re easy to set up, they let lots of people participate, they’re mainly text. All the best attributes of good business web sites, rolled into one. It seems like such a simple idea, but so few people understand, as the Cluetrain Manifesto puts it, “what the web is for.”
I guess those of us who love and understand the medium just have to keep plugging away. The rest will catch up. Someday.
Or maybe the medium will move past while no one is looking.
Businesses, especially large ones, quickly become institutions based upon control — more than anything, control of information. Blogs make communication and expression free, which is why I haven’t seen a single Fortune 500 company entrust one to their employees. Can you imagine the process of scrubbing a blog entry would have to go through before being approved for a corporate site? *shudder*
Example:
Original Entry — “We’ve just come out with a new line of home-user widgets. They work well, they look cool, they last, and best of all, you can afford them. [link]Go check out what our widgets can do for you![/link]”
Final Entry — “WidgetCo believes in strong families. Your family. Your widget. [link]Be a part of the feeling.[/link]”