BBC exemplifies web principles

7 Main Principles of the Web

There are few better websites than the BBC, and there are few organizations that truly get what the Web is about better than the BBC. I came across a set of 15 BBC Web Principles some time ago, and thought, "These should be the principles of the Web."

Fully seven of the principles could be summarized as follows: In a network, network. They deal with how organizations need to redefine themselves in a truly networked world. These principles are as follows:

1. Do not attempt to do everything yourselves: link to other high-quality sites instead. Your users will thank you. Use other people's content and tools to enhance your site, and vice versa.
2. Treat the entire Web as a creative canvas: don't restrict your creativity to your own site.
3. The web is a conversation. Join in: Adopt a relaxed, conversational tone. Admit your mistakes.
4. Make sure all your content can be linked to, forever.
5. Maximize routes to content: Develop as many aggregations of content about people, places, topics, channels, networks and time as possible. Optimize your site to rank high in Google.
6. Let people paste your content on the walls of their virtual homes: Encourage users to take nuggets of content away with them, with links back to your site.
7. Link to discussions on the web, don't host them: Only host web-based discussions where there is a clear rationale.

What we have here is open-organization thinking. The BBC is thinking beyond its physical boundaries, beyond its staff boundaries. It is seeking to feed and be fed by the Web.

In the beginning of the Web was the link, not the word. Linking is an inherently open, collaborative, and sharing activity. To link demands thinking beyond the webpage, the cell, the silo, and the historical concept of the organization.

The Web organization is not measured by how many employees or webpages it has. It is measured by how linked it is. The web organization is nomadic. Its home is wherever its links are, wherever its content is re-published, wherever what it is about is being talked about. The Web organization thinks beyond the website.

The Web organization strives to be a hub, not an outpost. It actively seeks out and encourages others to link to it. The Web organization participates. It starts and contributes to conversations, and does not worry about who came up with the idea first.

The Web organization spends more time thinking about what it should share than what it shouldn't. Its first position is: Let's share this unless there's a really good reason not to. It assumes that its competitors know it already. It sees its strength in the network it is building, not necessarily what is on the network at any point in time.

The Web organization sees openness as a key strength and closedness as a major weakness. In summary, the organization that succeeds on the Web accepts this core principle: The Web is the organization.

Thanks Gerry McGovern at Marketing Profs Daily Fix Blog for this post.

Monetize your blog

If you're wondering how you can make money from blogging, I found a couple of articles that offer more than the same ideas everyone else talks about like Google's AdSense. Don't get me wrong... I like AdSense, but I was looking for more. I'll be checking out a few ideas from these two posts like Kontera’s ContextLinks and CafePress, and I'll report back on which ones I've tried and whether or not I see any results.

Tips for Earning Money through Blogging
More Ways to Monetize Your Blog

If you've ever wondered just how much money can be made from blogging, take a look at Paula Neal Mooney's list of blogger salaries. Notice that the range is very wide, but there's hope.

Should you stop blogging?

I've pointed out reasons why you should blog and reasons why you shouldn't. Now, Pete Blackshaw at ClickZ gives you 10 reasons to stop blogging.

So, if you've started a blog but are wondering whether or not to continue, these are some really good questions to ask yourself. Regardless, don't just let your blog die of unnatural causes -- neglect, boredom, disinterest. Make it a concious decision you'll feel good about.

5 Reasons NOT to Blog

A blog, or web log, is a regularly updated online journal or diary. The difference is that they often connect with other blogs through comments and linkbacks.

I frequently get questions about blogging from clients, associates and friends. Blogging is becoming something people think they should do, but they're not always sure why. It just sounds like a good idea, or someone along the way told them they should have a blog. (Sounds like the same reasons many people want a web site.) Many of them don't even understand what a blog is or what blogging is about.

I always caution people to think before they jump head first into the blogosphere. Sure, there are some great reasons to start a blog, but there are even better reasons not to.

1. Quality vs. quantity. You don't have to be a great writer to start a blog, so that's not what I'm talking about when I say quality. But you do need quality content. It doesn't matter if you write ten times a day if you're filling up your blog with useless information. You have to have something interesting to say; something interesting to write about that other people will want to write.
   
2. Afraid of commitment. Blogging well can be a huge time commitment. Your readers expect you to post regularly. Blog-tracking service Technorati is tracking more than 57 million blogs, of which it believes around 55% are "active" and updated at least every three months (1 post every 3 months isn't what I would call "active"). Analysts at Gartner have said that 200 million people have already stopped writing their blogs. Did they run out of things to say? Got bored? Didn't have the time? Couldn't make the commitment?
   
3. No time like the present. Blogs are current. If you're always behind and writing about topics that were hot a couple months ago, you're readers might not stick with you. Many bloggers spend hours each day surfing and researching topics(or have staff to do it). Be sure to factor this into your time commitment.
   
4. Everyone's a critic. Not everyone will love or agree with you, so be prepared for negative comments. The internet allows for a great degree of anonymity which emboldens many people to be nastier than they might be if they had to put their real name on their comments. Sure, you can restrict comments so that only the nice ones are displayed, but that may discourage some readers from posting at all. And if someone has a legitimate complaint, it's better to get it out in the open so you can address it.
   
5. Love the sound of your own voice. You may wonder if anyone is actually reading your blog. It's always more fun to write when people are leaving comments and talking back to you, but the majority of readers never make themselves known. Especially when you're first starting out, you have to love writing for yourself. If you set up some means of gathering statistics (like Google Analytics) you'll know if anyone is actually showing up. And give your blog time to gather momentum before you abandon it.

Blogging can be fun and interesting. There are a lot of great reasons to blog, but it's important to know what you're getting into. Let me know why you like to blog and what benefits you see; but also let me know what challenges you've faced or why you haven't jumped into blogging yet.

Spring Forward

The April edition of Brainstorm!(TM) is available online.

Spring Forward!

• No Dumb Questions and No Dumb Answers: Encouraging community participation
• Smart Tools: Our favorites for your business
• Brain Candy: 13 Most Fun Buzzwords of 2006
• Updates, News & Announcements from Kayda the News Hound
  

Why Small Business Owners Blog

Anita Campbell posted Five Reasons For Small Business Owners To Blog.

• A faster and better way to create newsletter articles.
• A strategy for getting published.
• A low-cost way for a small business owner to market online.
• A method to communicate and connect — especially important for business owners.
• Satisfaction of some inner need to share.

I'd agree that these are some pretty good reasons. But I'd like to hear your thoughts. If you blog, or if you'd like to, what are your reasons for joining the blogosphere? And if you don't blog, or aren't at all interested in blogging, why not?

The 120 Day Wonder: How to Evangelize a Blog

I've been wanting to post this for awhile now, but just didn't have the time. Other more pressing issues have come up, like Tami Gosnell's American Idol progress on my Pedicab Blog.

Guy Kawasaki has some great tips on how to get the word out about your blog. I think one of the biggest and most difficult things is to write lots of content on your blog even before you start telling people about it. Blogging can be tough when you think you're just writing for yourself and no one's paying attention. But it's important that people see your content and style so they can decide to add your blog to their feedreader.

How to Change the World: The 120 Day Wonder: How to Evangelize a Blog

Lessons from Bill Cosby

Last week we were up late watching The Tonight Show. Jay Leno's first guest of the evening was Bill Cosby, a man I'd grown up with - I Spy, Fat Albert, The Bill Cosby Show, Cosby, etc. I hadn't seen him in awhile, but knew I'd be entertained by his wit and charm as always.

I was amazed by his storytelling as he talked about his first time in a really hot car (Selene Mustang). You probably know that Leno is a car fanatic.

I knew that if I tried to tell the same story it would take me less than 60 seconds - and anyone who knows me knows I can talk. But Cosby talked for at least 4 or 5 minutes with all the great facial expressions and sound effects that are hallmarks of the Cosby style. Laughing so hard, we were nearly rolling on the floor along with Jay Leno.

So here's the lesson: We all need to be great storytellers. People relate to stories. People respond emotionally to stories. People are more interested in what you can do for them than how wonderful you are and stories are a great way to tell them.

You know the story of your business and the stories of your clients better than anyone. How can you tell those stories so people will listen? What opportunities do you have to tell your story?

If you're looking for a new 30-second commercial to use at networking events, why not think about a story you can tell? If you just tell the beginning of the story, they'll be intrigued to ask for more. For example, when someone asks what I do or what my business is, I might say something like, "I got a phone call the other day from a woman who had spent a lot of money on her web site but she was really frustrated because nobody is showing up? In my business I find solutions for problems like that. Do you know anyone like that?"

What stories can you come up with about your business that would encourage people to ask for more? What problems have you solved? What is interesting or unique about what you do?

Do you share your stories on your web site? In articles or on your blog? In brochures? In classes or presentations?

I don't really know if Bill Cosby's story is true or not, but I'd like to believe it is. Somehow now I feel like I've been included in his life - at least vicariously. And if I ever get in a Selene Mustang, or any other really loud, really fast car, I'll remember that story -- and smile.

Blogging for nonprofits?

Statistically, nonprofits perform poorly when it comes to using online communication to keep in touch with their donors and other stakeholders. Even now, the majority of nonprofit web sites fail to collect email addresses from visitors. Blogging may be a bit beyond many nonprofits, but if used correctly, can be a great way to get the message out about your organization.

Bob Johnson offers some ideas for using blogs to boost nonprofit interest. And be sure to check out Nancy Schwartz's web site and add her blog to your Feed Reader. I did.

By the way, all you nonproft consultants out there (including me) may be interested in the Carnival of Nonprofit Consultants (Kivi Leroux Miller) where you can submit your best blog posts for nonprofits.

Blogging Starter Checklist

Looking for tips on how to get started blogging? Need help with what to do next? Want to get more people to visit your blog? This great Squidoo lens will help you get going and keep moving.

Blogging Starter Checklist

Btw, if you haven't been to Squidoo, you're missing a valuable resource. Take a look at over 60,000 lenses that offer personal recommendations on topics from laptop bags to poodles. Plus, Squidoo's Plexo offers an easy way to make up and contribute to top-10 (or 8, 17, 23) lists. Developed by marketing guru Seth Godin, Squidoo is a fun and effective way to leverage the power of personal recommendation online.

Quick Guide to Blogs and Blogging from the BBC

According to technology experts, blogging will peak at 100 million in 2007. At this point, 200 million people have already stopped updating their blogs because they've moved onto other things or have become bored.

"Everyone thinks they have something to say, until they're put on stage and asked to say it," Gartner analyst Daryl Plummer said.

Technorati is tracking more than 57 million blogs, of which it believes around 55% are "active" and updated at least every three months.

If you're just starting out, here is a brief guide to a very influential and widely-used part of the web.

Quick Guide: Blogs and Blogging