Blogging

I am doing some research on corporate blogging for a new client and came across the following very good article from Amy Gahran. Amy makes many fine points- some more obvious than others.

I am discovering that it takes a special organization to lower their guard, enforce transparency and understand that the Internet is an interactive (vs broadcast) medium.

Among the tips that Amy offers up:

Don’t overlook the “obvious”
Tell stories
Keep track of internal discussions
Don’t just write about your organization
Be open to suggestions from anyone

More: Finding Content Pearls within Your Organization

Steve Rubel points to a great post by Robin Good. Robin offers ways to determine how much of an influencer a blogger, or anyone else online for that matter, is. Robins list suggests that you check sources such as Technorati and Alexa. 

I would add a few ideas to the list:

In addition to Alexa, see who else links to them through Google or another search engine.

Check their advertising potential. If the blog has ads then they may have sizable traffic.

Check out their valuation on BlogShares.

The WashPost’s Howard Kurtz has an interesting column on tech entrepreneur Mark Cuban. I’ve always admired liked the design of Cuban’s blog. He also disproves conventional wisdom that blogging  has to be done in short bursts.   

Cuban Tries to Score Online

Billionaires can be bloggers, too. And if you’re Mark Cuban, high-tech entrepreneur and basketball team owner, blogging enables you to communicate directly with the fans — and slap some sportswriters with such labels as "the new moron in town."