• Rapid communication
• Simple to do
• Can provide more authentic voice
• Lots of advanced features available

Perhaps the most well known new web tool, blogs are web pages that are simple to add new writing to. They are usually organized in reverse chronological order (newest posts first) and have lots of links. There are tens of millions of blogs online, the biggest blog search engine being Technorati. (Check it out to see what sorts of blogs are being written about your interests.)

Blogs are intended to expand who has a voice online, but can also be used internally within organizations. Blogs are typically updated quickly and often. They are an excellent way to create discussion with stakeholders in any project. The amount of information available in the world today is staggering, and many of us want trusted guides through various nooks in the knowledge landscape. A good blog is a great way to act as a guide for others interested in your field.

I believe that blogs work best when used with RSS feeds set up for supporting research and social bookmarking for research archives. If you would like to be an active participant in global discussions about subjects you are interested in, if you’d like to develop informative relationships with people around the world – then a blog may be just the tool for you.

Similarly, if you are interested in communicating with team mates internally, in an accessible, open way (they’ll love it) then perhaps you should be blogging for internal communication. A company or organizational “group blog” can be a central place for people to come who want to find or share information about their workplace.

If you don’t have a blog but would be interested in having one, visit my contacts page and get in touch. If you already have a blog, I can probably help you get a whole lot more out of it.