Naked Conversations: How blogs are changing the way businesses talk with customers (Scoble & Israel, 2006)

“We wished we read this at the beginning of this class,” say Amy Martin and Shannon Hames about Naked Conversations: How blogs are changing the way businesses talk with customers. But, says Martin, there remains a big split between people who value blogs and those who are horrified to learn that people get any information from blogs.

Martin’s blog addresses the issues of baby boomers and their hesitation to adopt social technology. She quotes Scoble and Israel, saying, “Truths are first ridiculed, then violently opposed, and finally accepted as being self-evident.” Martin suggests that we many in the greater population are still at stages one and two.

The book gives the would-be bloggers the following six characteristics of blogging excellence:

• publishable
• findable
• social
• viral
• syndicatable
• linkable

The tip Hames found the most valuable: “Be Linky.” Bloggers, readers, and social media users could all learn more by linking to each other. When we link, we teach the Internet a connection, and those connections are valuable.

• Overall Response: An excellent resource for would-be bloggers and businesses scared of social media.

About Digital Media Book Club: In the growing field of strategic communication, social media rockstars, academics, and digital thinkers are investing time and energy to share their learning with others. In my Digital Strategic Communication class, students in the Master of Arts in Organizational and Strategic Communication program at Queens University of Charlotte are sifting through a variety of texts to discover the embedded wisdom. These are their thoughts and reactions.