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Jane Returns to the World of Blogging

We held our "business blogging chamber of commerce" conference call this afternoon and had 11 attendees. Before I talk about the call itself, let me thank those who participated.

Andy Wibbels of Easybakeweblogs.com

Anthony Casalena - CEO of SquareSpace.com

B. L. Ochman - President of What's Next Online

Bill Flitter - VP of Marketing for Pheedo

Donna Fledderer - Owner of Virtual Business Connection (A small business blogger)

Henry Copeland - President of Blogads

J. D. Iles - Owner of Lincoln Sign Company (A small business that blogs)

Toby Bloomberg - President of Bloomberg Marketing

Wayne Hurlbert of Blog Business World (The CofC was his idea in the first place.)

Zane Safrit - CEO of Conference Calls Unlimited (They underwrote a portion of the cost of the call, so I appreciate that very much.)

and, yours truly.

This group represented not only a variety of backgrounds, but a variety of opinion. However, while there were some dissenting voices, largely everyone felt there was a need for an association of this kind.

The benefits that were enumerated ran the gamut from being a credible clearinghouse of information and resources to promoting the "industry" of business blogging to serving as a networking center.

Some of the disadvantages discussed had to do with fears that the organizational structure would become top heavy and institutionalized. 

I will be making a transcript of the call available for download in some digest fashion for those of you who want more detail. Suffice it to say for the moment, there is plenty of momentum to continue working on this idea, and we would like to hear from you. Are you interested? If so, send a comment or email me.

Posted on Sunday, November 21, 2004 at 02:57AM by Registered CommenterRadiant Marketing Group in | Comments4 Comments

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Reader Comments (4)

The enthusiasm for the concept of a Blog Chamber of Commerce was great. This idea certainly has room to grow and to blossom into a powerful vehicle for increasing the profile and enhancing the image of blogs and bloggers.
November 19, 2004 | Unregistered CommenterWayne Hurlbert
I'm not saying don't do it, but don't really understand what CofC would accomplish. Another place for like-minded people to hang out? Cool but not big. Promote blogs? Take a look at Marketing Sherpa and dozens of others-they're way out there already and their readership includes everyone from Microsoft to me. Help tips for bloggers? You guys and hundreds like you are already there. Seal of approval? Not interested. Suggestion: clarifying basic mission and goals will help at this point.
November 20, 2004 | Unregistered CommenterJim Crocker
I am so disappointed that I could not attend, as I had a prospect meeting and he just could not reschedule for me. I am on board with this idea. As I mention in my post today (Sunday, Nov. 21) this is a much needed collaboration to help the uninitiated learn to trust bloggers...and to help them find bloggers they can trust. When I read the negatives about forming a group such as this, I wonder if these same people feel that way about the Better Business Bureau? To me, that's what we're attempting to do...form a Better Business Blogging Bureau, to aid visitors and readers...NOT bloggers, per se. Obviously, gathering experts and peers together to form a BBBB to serve the readers, will, ultimately, serve the bloggers, also. Those are my thoughts. I look forward to Paul's transcript and hope to be on board with any future discussion. Great going, Paul. Thanks for hosting this.
November 21, 2004 | Unregistered CommenterYvonne DiVita
My instant thoughts on this:a)I like Yvonne's comment on the Better Business aspect - esp for newcomers to blogging it would be great to fasttrack to where the more respected and interesting players are, which can hardly be a drag for those people, having new connections and new fans!b)I'm interested in how this chamber will distinguish (or not) between the blogs that are blogged daily/regularly by real individuals and those that are basically corporate web brochures or pr newsletters, using blog technology.



November 28, 2004 | Unregistered CommenterDes Walsh

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