I'd always heard that great executives should always alocate 1-2 hours per day to read an get informed. The reality, is that like many, I was always TOO busy... But now there's NO excuse! You can now download NewsGator that runs in your Outlook 2003 - so if you aren't too busy for e-mails you can't be too busy for blogs. It's actually like tapping into the brains of all the people that could answer all your queries, all your fears and in the meantime you'll stumble across great ideas and sometimes quite inspiring stuff.
Blogging really kicks off when you start to interact with your consumers. We moved our web pages for Paradise Garage to the blog format and we jumped from 250 unique visits to over 1000 but the greatest move only started to take effect today as we replied to our first comments and not very favorable at that - but they were actually very tuned in. They should be - they are straight from our customers!
It's the beginning but it's all about gaining their trust and we've sat for hours looking at a comment wondering whether to remove it - once we had some basic rules - applied to life - opinios are fine, personal attacks not - it was easy. I was VERY surprised however to see these stats on the post in eMarketer.com titled "Executives Not Quite Hot to Blog".
"It's a funny thing about a Porsche. There´s the moment you know you want one. There's the moment you first own one. And for the truly afflicted, there's the decade or two that passes in between. From its first days on the road over 40 years ago, the 911 has ignited the kind of passion in drivers that only a Porsche can. And now once again it is poised to redefine what's possible. Introducing the new 911 Carrera - it is quite simply the purest expression of who we are...
You see, we spend so much time listening to "experts" harp on about experiential marketing, about getting an emotional connection with our consumer and then... comes along a 3 minute advert that changes everything - actually it makes it all clear.
You sit and watch the Porsche. It is in fact a beautiful car, but I never got it when people talked about it in such an emotional way. Not like a Ferrari or other super car. A Porsche. The dream.
The advert made me sad, isolation when you are that young must be tough - especially when other kids just don't get it. Your dream, your life, everything revolves around it. Then you get a chance to go and live a glimpse of it. You don't get treated like a kid - the Porsche guy understands you - he gets it. So he lets you in because only you can appreciate the shape, the aura around such a masterful creation. You sit in it, the smell... only Porsche owners will ever understand the smell - the memories, the promises - it will take care of you even in the most difficult of times.
You are too young to even think about how many salaries it will take to be able to buy one but it doesn't matter. You will own one - the time you have to wait - that's what causes the pain - you will have to remain so isolated, so alone waiting for the day. It seems so far away, though that doesn't discourage you. For this - you will wait. It will come. Why? Because it is quite simply the purest expression of who you are... there is no substitute.
The stuff Oscars are made of... and no, I do not own a Porsche. Nor do I want one - I don't get it. But as I watched the advert over and over again, I remembered so much of when I was younger... and I miss those times. When everything was possible. When dreams were part of my life.
