Two assignments for you…
1. Read Shel Israel’s recap of his and Robert Scoble’s presention about blogging to Amazon.com.
2. Now read Robert Scoble’s intepretation of the same presentation.
Done that? They both paint (in my opinion) the picture that Amazon simply doesn’t get blogging.
Shel’s comments sum it up,…”We got a great many questions challenging any contention that Amazon would benefit from blogging in any way”
Ok, now read Werner Vogels’, CTO for Amazon.com, version of events.
…they make the suggestion in their responses (at least Shel does) that Amazon doesn’t “get” blogging. They are wrong. Amazon is a long time pioneer in the space of involving their customers with our product. And we really listen to our customers; any Amazon employee who encounters an issue on a forum or weblog or at any other place is empowered to escalate those issues internally immediately until they get fixed. Customer feedback is essential for Amazon and we will use all effective means to get it.
Are we seeing a trend here? It seems to me that too many people are trying to enforce their own ground-rules for blogging. Ironically, Shel Israel tried recently (in two attempts) to impose his thoughts on who should and should not blog, which included not trying to force a CEO to blog. So why give Amazon a hard time for not embracing blogs with open arms?
It seems to me, Amazon does a fantastic job of communicating with their customers – much better than Microsoft (even with Scoble’s voice) – so why force them to embrace something they don’t feel they need? I agree that many companies can benefit from blogging – embracing communication with their customers – but Amazon.com does a fantastic job of that already.
Can we stop with the rules, guidelines and the blog “kool-aid” serving already? Let those who want to blog, do so; and let those who don’t see the benefit, stay out of the medium.
Be a blogvangelist, sure. But be mindful that others won’t share your beliefs. Don’t try and “out” them for not embracing blogging.
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Andy Beal is an internet marketing consultant and considered one of the world’s most respected and interactive search engine marketing experts. Andy has worked with many Fortune 1000 companies such as Motorola, CitiFinancial, Lowes, Alaska Air, DeWALT, NBC and Experian.
You can read his internet marketing blog at Marketing Pilgrim and reach him at andy.beal@gmail.com.
