Friday, September 15, 2006
Dr Joe on Blogs
Dr Joe Webb discusses printing industry blogs in his latest Fridays with Dr. Joe WhatTheyThink column:
I was recently asked if there were any printing industry blogs other than mine. Really, there are none that I could find. An RIT grad student, Adam Dewitz, is running one and others are what one might call "personal blogs" with a mix of business and other items, such as Lornitropia. Some companies are creating trade-show related blogs. Of course, there's Richard Romano's often tongue-in-cheek "Blogito Ergo Sum." I have seen other blogs that were started but not maintained; there are a few entries, and then they are seemingly abandoned.
...
It does amaze me that the printing industry, which is in the communications business, after all, has not been more aggressive in taking advantage of this communications tool.
I'm not sure what Joe means by saying there are no other blogs covering the printing industry. Either he didn't try hard enough or he is constraining his definition of printing industry blogs to mean blogs that only talk about THE industry. While it might be true that he's the only one talking about the printing industry at a holistic level, I have noted here in the past that there are a number of blogs by people in the printing industry.
"personal blogs"
I'm also not sure what he means by 'personal blogs.' Blogs are about being personal, that is what has made them unique. Blogs are about personal conversations on topics people care about. The definition of blog in the Merriam-Webster dictionary is:
a Web site that contains an online personal journal with reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks provided by the writer
While I'm in disagreement with Joe's assessment of printing blogs, I do agree with his final remark:
It does amaze me that the printing industry, which is in the communications business, after all, has not been more aggressive in taking advantage of this communications tool.
I have asked this same question on Printmode a number of times.
If you have a printing related business and want to learn more on how blogs can help you communication with your market. Drop me a line, I would be glad to discuss the details and help you get started.
Update:
Dr. Joe provides his thoughts on blogs via email:
personal blogs are ones where there is writing about family, jobs, etc, and not almost exclusively about the industry
trade show blogs are just for that show, company blogs are just for that company, etc.
technical/technology blogs are out there of course
as far as i can tell, mine is the only blog exclusively devoted to the industry and its economic analysis, except for printmode, of course
For some reason, comments didn't get enabled when I first hit publish. Fixed now - comment away. (Thanks for pointing this out Steve)
Posted in: Printing Industy Blogs
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