After blogging for a while, one can quickly lose sight of the fact that many people do not understand why blogging is beneficial in the context of both personal life and business. That could not have been more evident than at a recent conference I attended where I led some roundtable discussions on blogging.

Simultaneously, a cool new local magazine here in Reno called, RLife asked us to do an article on blogging to help clear some of the confusion about it. Instead of writing in the usual article format, David LaPlante and I made into more of a conversation because isn’t that a large part of what blogging is all about?

The hope is that we shift the mindset of readers from the historical perspective that blogs are places where weird people post their thoughts, to an understanding that blogs are powerful channels of communication offering valuable information and the chance for collaboration. I’ll take the liberty of posting it in its entirety here. Obviously, we had fun with it.

What’s all the Blog About?

“I’m constantly learning and growing through the exchange.”

Blogging has been around for a number of years, but it seems like there’s been an explosion of blogs dedicated to Reno and Nevada lately. The reason? It has gotten easier. That, and there’s a lot to do and talk about regarding the Northern Nevada region. In order to explore this phenomenon further, we decided to ask local bloggers Robert Payne and David LaPlante what the fuss is all about. David is the CEO of Twelve Horses and was named Marketer of the Year by Nevada’s American Marketing Association in 2004. Robert is responsible for brand building and global positioning of Twelve Horses. They must be doing something right, since EDAWN recognized Twelve Horses as its 2005 Business of the Year. Both David and Robert are certified technophiles and blog addicts, so who better to help us navigate the sometimes complicated world of blogging?

Robert Payne: There’s so much to write about regarding blogs, where should we start?

David LaPlante: Well, for those who haven’t yet discovered the joys of blogging, why don’t we give them a (very) brief tutorial on blogging 101?

Payne: Sounds good. I’ll start from the beginning. The “Blog,” which is short for Web log, originally started as a “log” of diary-like entries published on a Web site in reverse chronological order. Avid bloggers were primarily made up of a select few of internet savvy individuals who either had strong opinions or useful information they wanted to share online. While some of that still holds true, a lot has changed in the blogosphere.

LaPlante: Agreed. The software and tools surrounding what constitutes a blog has evolved considerably. Many blogs for all intensive purposes look just like well-designed websites with interactive features and rich media. While it’s still a way for people to publish their thoughts for everyone to read, blogs can also serve as an extension of an individual or company’s brand.

Payne: Exactly. If someone Googles, “Robert Payne” they will find www.robertpayne.net; likewise, if they search “David LaPlante” they will find www.davidlaplante.com. Other search terms might even lead people to things we have posted about on our blogs. It is not only a means of getting to know us better but also an extension of ourselves and a means of forming new relationships.

LaPlante: Yeah. We’re cool. Totally A-List all the way. If you don’t have a blog, then you’re a loser <grin> - just joking. Actually, we’re two of perhaps a couple hundred super-active online bloggers who live in Reno. Why do you think they are blogging?

Payne: Because they have the opportunity to share their personal experiences and perspectives online, interact with the online community both here in Reno and throughout the world, and quite possibly, bring about social change. Personally, I’m constantly learning and growing through the exchange. What about you?

LaPlante: I enjoy participating in the online conversation, and creating an archive about my life and interactions with people for my kids to read someday. And I really like interacting with other Nevada bloggers online.

Payne: Who are some of your favorite Nevada bloggers?

LaPlante: Well I guess you’d have to start with Myrna the Minx (www.renodiscontent.com). Love her. Hate her. She’s got a huge following. Business is always good for political bloggers. She’s filled a huge hole in the local conversation that mainstream media just doesn’t delve into. She’s very direct and funny as hell. Too bad she’s anonymous, I’d love to buy her a XXX Blonde at the Silver Peak.

Payne: It’s certainly one of the more well known blogs in town. She gets a lot of different comments from both sides of the fence. I also really like the downtown makeover blog, (www.downtownmakeover.com) simply because it highlights so many of the awesome things happening in downtown Reno, from the many construction projects (with updates) to the cool events and when they’re happening.

LaPlante: Love the DMO blog. It’s cool and positive. Unfortunately, blogging can also skew in favor of the whiny. It can seem like an unmediated City Council meting that NEVER ENDS at times. So when I get tired of politics and current events, I wander over to (www.thebaconstrip.wordpress.com), (www.renobikeproject.blogspot.com), or (www.reno-rambler.blogspot.com) for some bike blogging.

Payne: Politics. Redevelopment. Biking. There’s certainly no shortage of topics people are blogging about. The last time I checked, www.Technorati.com (the blog search engine) was tracking more than 700 blogs about Nevada and something like 70 million different blogs in total. A lot of local businesses are picking up on it, too. But I often hear from non-bloggers, asking how we have time to visit all those blogs?

LaPlante: You don’t have to visit them, just subscribe to their RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed. I subscribe to about 90 blog feeds, and about 30 of those are local feeds. I use Google Reader to manage most of them. I also subscribe to feeds on my Blackjack cell phone .

Payne: Google Reader rocks and RSS is revolutionizing the way people can consume content online. It’s like the TV Guide for the internet. I know exactly when people post new content to their blogs; but I digress. What do you think should be the biggest take-away for people reading our conversation about blogs?

LaPlante: That there’s room for a whole other RLife to be going down online. There’s a ton of very vocal, funny, pissy, smart, dumb, cute, ugly, typical and atypical local bloggers that are all about the Reno life. Get online and join in with all that’s out there.

Payne: Cool. Blog on!

tags: blogging, Reno, Nevada, RLife

This entry was posted by Robert Payne on Friday, July 13th, 2007 at 3:11 pm and is filed under Company News, Nevada, Reno. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.