Blogging is Just Beginning

by Don Harkey

We are at a crossroads in history. Three factors are converging together in a once in a lifetime collision of innovation and imagination.

1) Increasing availability of "fast" internet (especially "on the go")
2) Increase in the usage and variety of social media (ex: YouTube, Facebook, Twitter)
3) Increase in the popularity of blogs

Much like when electricity was first harnessed or when TV began to broadcast, we are entering a new world that no one has yet defined. Business is changing. Society is changing. People interact differently. What is the impact of having access to that exchange student from France who stayed with your family 25 years ago? What is the impact of being able to see what your employment applicant did last Saturday night? What is the impact of being able to "show" the world what value you can bring to societies table?

For businesses and organizations, there are really only 2 choices: blog now or blog later. If it makes you feel a little more professional, you don't have to call it a blog. Call it an information page, or an online resource or a product forum.

Let me put it this way... we are only beginning to define the implications of social media on businesses. There is a "Social Media Think Tank" meeting in Springfield, MO to discuss this very topic (email me if you want more info). We are only starting to figure it out. Where do you want your organization to be? You can wait until everyone else has tested it out and everyone jumps onboard or you can be one of the pioneers.

Writing about blogs within a blog trying to convince businesses that they need to thinking about blogging is kinda like showing an engineer or an accountant the value of a calculator. What is interesting as a current blog reader will be to see the evolution occur. Spread the word!