Though my blogging roots can be traced back October 2000 I started blogging regularly about a 18 months ago because I wanted my Google presence to be more than a handful of stale message board postings.
If there’s any single reason to blog, it’s to take control over your online reputation. This goes for businesses, professional organizations, and individuals. Search engines bias websites that change frequently and have keywords in the right places. Weblogs fit both those criteria.
I’ve written about how not having an RSS feed is like not having a business card. Consider this the prequel to that post.
Without frequent posts to a weblog, your reputation is at the mercy of others. Sometimes that’s good, sometimes bad, and sometimes both. With weblogs, you actually take control of the conversation – it’s your business, shouldn’t you be the one talking about it. GM’s blogs have proved a valuable tool in responding to criticism in the open. Just to prove my point, at the time of this writing, Gary Grates’ Clearing the Air post was #2 in Google for ‘gm blog’.
On a smaller scale and less positive note, my less than stellar experience at Punch Pizza ranks higher than I’m sure the proprietors would like. By default, because they don’t have anything to compete with it.
Peter Cooper (via Gaping Void) talks about how the transparency of blogs benefits the hiring process. Yes, seems to me, reviewing their weblog one of the most quickest, effective ways to determine if a candidate is a hiring fit. As Alan Gutierrez states in the comments at Peter’s site:
“Without a blog you’re forcing yourself to be a surf.” [sic]
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