Ok, me doing a book review on Naked Conversations by Robert Scoble and Shel Israel is a little like, well, me doing a critque of the way Barry Bonds hits. I mean, these guys have been in since the beginning and are considered gurus on blogging, whereas I'm just starting out. Still, maybe that's a good perspective to have.
What Scoble and Israel are doing more than anything is making a case for executives to blog. They talk about how many companies and even individuals have taken to blogging as a way to get their voices heard. Some, like Microsoft (where Scoble used to work) have used it to put a human face on what was perceived to be a monolith. Others (like Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban) have used it to fire back at the media when they felt they've been treated unfairly. The authors are True Believers in the power of blogging.
Yet it's hard not to notice that in almost all cases, when you peel back the onion, the audience the blogger is trying to reach is -- surprise! -- the developers. Blogging still appears to be primarily the province of the technologists. Those are the people using it (for the most part), and the ones going out and posting to the blogs of others.
Still, the authors show that some executives are beginning to adopt the technology. That part has real promise, because it's providing direct access to executives who formerly were insulated by layers of people running interference. For example, imagine being Joe Average car driver trying to tell a General Motors executive what you think of his cars. You'll never get through on the phone. You can write a letter, but odds are you'll receive a canned response from someone in customer affairs. Ditto for an e-mail. But if you want to weigh in with General Motors Vice Chairman Bob Lutz, all you have to do is read his blog and post a comment. That's unprecedented in the modern world.
The book also does a good job of showing the evolution of blogging from the first ICQ software to instant messaging to blogging. It provides some rules and guidelines for blogging, paramount of which is being honest. In short, it provides not only a justification but a roadmap for would-be bloggers. Thus it is a great starting point.
Business blogging is still really in its infancy. Even companies such as Microsoft that have received a direct benefit are still on the fence about it, tolerating but not necessarily encouraging it. If you want to get in early on the phenomenon, Scoble and Israel will show you how.
