To Blog?...or not to Blog???? #1

Blogging? Me?
As a senior business guy in a large company I would never imagine I will “waste” my time writing in a blog. Of course, as a person coming from the IT industry I knew about the phenomena but never really experienced it.

Well, here is why I started.

Trying to achieve business in a new territory I work in, I noticed that my company is not visible to its customers, compared to the local competition. So despite the fact we have better product feat to most of them – they still buy from the big visible ones. Therefore, in my business plan, I decided to be on their table or e-mail box in a monthly newsletter manner. With our people face and customer faces are popping up together in that newsletter – making the customer familiar with us.

Since I wanted to do it effectively I consulted a good friend, and a fascinating person, Yigal Chamish (also in Hebrew). As the #1 “Knowledge Management” corporate evangelist in my country, and an internet expert I decided to get his advice on how to best start a newsletter.
I was surprised and intrigued when he told me, after few minutes, that what I am looking for – is not a newsletter, but a better way to communicate with my customers (genious...I sarcastically laughed...). That better way, he suggested, would be your blog. It’s all about social behavior, he said. People talk to people, less to companies, which are virtual entities. A newsletter is a one way communication (what about the feedbacks? I laughed..) – a Blog is quite interactive and creates communities if it’s a good one – directing me to few corporate blog examples.

Blogging? Moi?
I don’t have time to write stories. What a waist of time! I prefer to shoot out the newsletter and run to customer meetings waiting their (if at all) feedback…. Who has time for BLOGGING? What’s in it for my company? For me? But he he continues to hammer me –“you should tell your personal stories... business as well as personal stories…write about Imelda Marcos, about your Thailand Painting vacation….write them in your long flights…. You’ll be amazed how people (some of them will be your customers..) will connect PERSONALLY to these…and after all, that’s what you wanted, right?”

I don’t believe in this. I don’t have time for this. In flights I usually answer my emails and prepare presentations…., and also I am not a sensitive teen age girl who can write on her disappointments in life….who to hell, is interested in my personal Thailand vacation ? Or my meeting with Imelda Marcos? Who can connect to these…and also - as a respected business person I fear that my customers may think that “Tuvia is out of his mind after 50……”

May be I am out of my mind…. since I was truly intrigued. I consider myself an open minded person who is not afraid, and doesn’t say no to new theories, new things or trials…. so – I decided to do both; – the newsletter (lucky me I found a sponsor in our marketing department that follows my guidelines….), and a blog, just to compare and check realities. And I’ll try to do them both as professional as I am…

My guts feeling still say that Newsletter will be much more effective for my business needs. We’ll see. What do you think?