eBiz Tomorrow by Chris Salazar

This is a very interesting topic that I would like to take a closer look at and see if there really is a difference. Jeremiah eludes to the relationship between journalists (old media) and bloggers (new media), but what is really happening? I’m sure some journalists absolutely hate blogging/techmeme and what’s its evolved into. But, truth is, its the NEW media. I check techmeme at least 5 times a day, how often do I go read news articles online…close to never!

Its happening, online users are evolving and the gap between bloggers and journalists is increasing. Instead, these two mediums should connect with each other and become “journoggers” (rebecca’s term). Why don’t journalists talk with bloggers and include them in news? This way, journalists can let out some real facts, instead of filtered media.

At this point, I believe that bloggers ARE more connected than journalists. Before you doubt my statement (if you do), consider the following:

• Blogging is community-driven: It’s a fact…bloggers are connecting with other bloggers to form a conversation. Conversations drive the blogosphere! Its the back and forth arguments and “pats” on the back that keep blogging interesting and “real.” Nothing is held back, everyone blogger is in for his/her self.
• Relationships are built: No matter what happens (disagreements or not), relationships are still between as two bloggers converse with each other. In most cases, these relationships carry on to future discussions. But, each person brings their own community and own relationships to the table.
• Communities grow and grow: As I read other posts and talk about them on my blog, im bringing my community into the discussion. So what do we have now? Now we have my community, plus the original blogger and his community all talking and conversing. We’re left with one BIG community that will continue to grow.
• We’re a global neighborhood: Shel has become the innovator of this term, but its true. No longer are we having “naked” conversations, now its bigger…its global. Everyone (globally) is talking with each other. It does not matter where you are in the world, nothing stops bloggers from meeting new people
• Bloggers breathe openness and transparency: I’m sure for 99% of the bloggers out there, this is their oxygen, its their food that keeps them typing along. It’s really what this platform is for…be completely honest, let everything hang out. There’s nothing stopping you and most of the time at least someone out there will feel the same way you do
• Bloggers are real people who accept both criticism and praise: If you are putting yourself out there and expressing your thoughts, there’s going to be some people who do not agree. Thats ok! Be open about it, stay close to your blogging enemies, it keeps the conversation going…oh and it probably will attract more users too!

I admit that it sounds like I’ve been praising blogging to be some remarkable practice, but its not. It’s rather simple: be honest, be open, engage others, and build relationships.

Should journalists go away? Nope, in fact I believe journalist can become great bloggers, just with some fine tuning of course. There should be no battle between bloggers and journalists, instead…embrace each other for what you offer. Here’s my recommendations on what journalists should do:

• Use your credibility: Some journalists have far more credibility than bloggers, so why not use it BUT engage the bloggers too! Help us! We’ll help you in the blogosphere
• Be open to criticism: Despite being criticized, don’t stop what you’re doing! You are doing something revolutionary…it’ll pay off.
• Stay away from the fluff: Sometimes, I can’t trust everything journalists write (of course not everything bloggers say is right either), but at least other bloggers will clear things up!

Take a look at what other people are saying about journalists and bloggers:

• Farrell Kramer - he talks about how technology is changing how journalists work, but not what they do; and he also comments about a question asked of how it would be like if a bunch of bloggers got together to write about something
• Jay Small - he argues that technology can be both a friend and an enemy; and perhaps adoption is a keyword for journalists
• Dan Rosenbaum - talks about why newspapers aren’t dead yet

Blogs have attracted a lot of attention lately and seem to be a new trend in Web. Yes, blogs enable users to collaborate and exchange ideas on an informal basis. Yes, it is easy to use and cost-effective. However, I have wondered if blogging can benefit employees and corporations.

So my Question is…

How can a corporation benefit from employee and employer blogging?

To answer this question, I would like to explore the benefits for both the employer and employees…

Employer Benefits: “Blogs…”

• Encourage collaboration from corporate management down to the employees
• Build a social network within the company to communicate ideas and receive/provide feedback
• Stimulate thought-leadership

Employee Benefits: “Blogs…”

• Provide a “bottom-up” structure which motivates employees to share and communicate their ideas in an informal space that is comfortable
• Give employees ownership of their thoughts and in some cases pride
• Illustrate a willingness to learn
• Are very easy to use

Although an internal blog has several benefits, we must keep in mind that a “blog policy” must be put in place to help manage the information that is shared throughout the network. In another blog, I will research the components of a blog policy, but let’s assume for the sake of argument that an adequate blog policy is put in place.

Now that we have established the benefits of blogging, we need to explore the benefits of an internal (and sometimes external) corporate blog. However, I believe an internal blog is most beneficial from the employee standpoint to initiate both thought leadership and ownership.

Benefits of an Internal Blog:

• Very easy to use (just like sending an email)
• Cost-effective
• Can use different blogs for different departments in a corporation
• Includes vital information for ALL employees including:
  • Upcoming projects and timelines
  • Brainstorming of business strategies
  • Feedback of current and proposed strategies
  • News about the corporation and each department
  • Includes thoughts from the CEO, or a link to the CEO’s Blog

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In addition, to a traditional blog that can be used, I have come across a new form of a blog called “K-Log,” which is a Knowledge Management Blog. The K-Log further encourages both the teaching and sharing of knowledge. Although I am not an expert, I will still include the benefits of a K-Log.Benefits of a K-Log:

• User interfaces:
  • Email System (post emails to blog)
  • Desktop Media (post files/objects/images to blog)
  • Bookmarks (post links to blog)
• Manage information through RSS feeds
• Archive and capture important information and knowledge in the intranet
• Once again, stimulate thought-leadership and ownership

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Below are links that offer additional information regarding Corporate Blogging:

1. Traction Software
2. iUpload
3. Case Study: European Pharmaceutical Group
4. Establishing a Blog on Your Organization’s Intranet
5. Internal Blogs – Are They So Different from External Blogs?

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My conclusions:

• Corporate blogs encourage collaboration and communication of ideas throughout the corporation
• Corporate blogs create a social network amongst ALL employees
• Corporate blog provide an informal space for employees to exchange ideas and take pride in their thoughts
• Corporate blogs stimulate thought-leadership
• Corporate blogs are an effective mechanism for keeping employees updated with news, projects, strategies, and ideas

So what do YOU think? Do you agree with my conclusions? I encourage ALL to communicate their ideas…let me know what you think!

I came across an interesting article about blogging personalities written by Sheila Ann Manuel Coggins . Here is a clip of her article (to view the whole article, visit her website).

Let’s explore the 5 personalities of a blogger…
1. The Pundit - You like to blog about a specific topic of interest that you are passionate about from business, politics, technology, law, education, entertainment, to literature. You blog regularly and you welcome relevant discussions about your topic. You have a constant thirst for knowledge.

2. The Artist - Your blog captures the way you see the world. You love images more than words. Blogging only makes sense to you if there are photos or pictures - either of daily life, special people, memorable events, or works of art.

3. The Writer - Words captivate you. And, you like to capture words. Blogging enables you to write often. It also provides a place for you to share what you write with a reading public. You can be funny, inspiring, intelligent, cynical, or morbid. It doesn’t matter what you write about in your blog. It only matters that you write.

4. The Daily Grinder - You love blogging because it’s like therapy. You can write about anything and everything that happens to you - from the food you ate to what you were doing when you heard the latest ‘breaking news.’ Being able to communicate with your friends (online and/or real life) through your blog is important to you.

5. The Patchworker - Blogging is a way for you to comment on and consolidate news, current events, useful resources, and other relevant matters. In your blog entries, you usually add links to other people’s blogs or websites with original content instead of writing your own.

So What’s your blogging personality?

I am most like the PUNDIT with a little bit of the Patchworker. I use blogs as a medium for not only communicating my ideas, but seeking information from my community and the business world. In addition, I enjoy reading what others have to offer because it provides me with a new prospective. Perhaps something that I did not think of. Blogs keep me up to date with the business world, enable me to communicate with the world, and provides a space to voice my opinions.

Today’s theme is “Business Ethics”

The study of ethics helps us study the goodness in human action or the good life. As a “normative” field of study, it helps us study how we “ought” to act. Applying this to business, we find that ethics helps decipher the ethical and unethical decisions business make everyday. Interestingly, the decisions made by business affect not only themselves, but employees, customers, prospects, and the community. So establishing moral standards for a company, and even on an individual basis, is essential for leading the good life or in this case a good business.

What are Moral Standards?

1. Moral standards concern behavior that is of serious consequence to human welfare, that can profoundly injure or benefit people
2. Moral standards take priority over other standards, including self interest
3. The soundness of moral standards depends on the adequecy of the reasons that support or justify them

Establishing a “Code for Moral Standards” is a great way to keep a business and all of its compenents working towards a common goal. Integrating the standards on both a company-wide and invidual basis will ensure success, maybe not immediately, but in the long run.

In addition, I would like to introduce the …

Eight Rules for Ethical Thinking in Business:

• Rule Number 1: Consider other people’s well-being, including the well-being of nonparticipants
  • Make contributions where it is reasonable to do so and avoid consequences that are harmful to others
• Rule Number 2: Think as a member of the buisness community and not as an isolated individual
  • Respect for contracts, paying one’s debts, and selling decent products at a resonable price are not only to one’s own advantage; they are necessary for the very existence of the business community (leading a good life, good business, and good community)
• Rule Number 3: Obey, but do not depend solely on the law
  • Business and business people ought to obey the law. But what needs to be added is that ethical thinking is not limited to legal obedience. “Law is the floor of moral conduct.”
• Rule Number 4: Think of yourself–and your company–as part of society
  • Business people and businesses are citizens in society. It exists and thrives because it services and does not harm society. Thus, business is subject to the same ethical rules as everyone else.
• Rule Number 5: Obey moral rules
  • This is the most obvious and unavoidable rule of ethical thinking. Moral rules are the heart of ethics, and there can be no ethics–and no business–without them.
• Rule Number 6: Think objectively
  • The rules apply equally to everyone, and being able to be “disinterested”–to think for a moment from other people’s perspective–is essential. Why? b/c business affects everyone (from employees to innocent bystanders)
• Rule Number 7: Ask the question “What sort of person would do such a thing?”
  • Our word “ethics” comes from the Greek word “ethos” meaning “character.” Accordingly, ethics is not just obedience to rules so much as it is concern for your personal (and company) character–your reputation and good name. Business ethics is “being able to look at your face in the mirror in the morning.”
• Rule Number 8: Respect the customs of others, but not at the expense of your own ethics
  • In general, one should follow the customers and ethics of the community. But depending on the severity and moral standard, one should look to their own moral principles to take priority.

Business ethics is also being able to practice the…

“The Three C’s of Business Ethics”

1. Compliance: the need for compliance with the rules, including the laws of land, the principles of morality, the customers and expectations of the community, the policies of the company, and such general concers as fairness
2. Contributions: the contributions of business can make to society, through the value and quality of one’s products or services, by way of the jobs one provides for workers, through prosperity, and uselfulness of one’s activities to the surrounding community
3. Consequences: the consequences of business activity, both inside and oustide the company, both intended and unintended, including the reputation of one’s own company and industry

What have I learned? Thinking ethically…

• is essential in creating a strategic plan
• helps create products/services that satisfy the needs of customers without hurting the surrounding community
• builds long term relationships with customers, which will lead to repeat business
• requires the consideration for the well-being of others and respect for oneself and one’s character (individually and as a whole business)

Just remember… unethical thinking isn’t just “bad business;” it is an invitation to disaster in business! There is nothing unethical about making money, but money is not the currency of ethical thinking in business.