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Shel Holtz
Communicating at the Intersection of Business and Technology
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Blogs and conversations

Mike Manuel is irked by the apparent pick-and-choose moderation of comments submitted to Richard Edelman’s blog. The Media Guerrilla blogger offered up a comment in response to the Edelman Public Relations honcho’s first entry. Not only did he get no reply, the comment never even showed up.

Writes Manuel, “I think it’s pretty lame of Edelman and/or the folks behind the curtain to scratch my comment like that, but I guess they had their reasons. What bugs me most is that blogging is a conversation, and that by definition requires both talking and listening. If you’re not going to listen, that’s fine, but then do us all a favor and don’t call your aggrandized CEO newsletter a blog.”

Which raises an interesting question. Are blogs necessarily two-way? And if they are, is it out of line to moderate the comments section? In a September 16 entry to the Online Journalism Review, Mark Glaser quotes Dave Winer, founder of UserLand, as noting that comments are not an intrinsic part of blogs and have (not my words) failed. “I think a blog is a publication, and publications have proven that letters to the editor are useful,” Winer said. “But blogs with comments are not letters to the editor. Letters to the editor are edited, they’re selected, and that selection process is a very important aspect of it.” If people want to comment, they should just start their own blogs, Winer says. Of course, there are contrary points of view in the OJR article.

On the other hand, as Manuel points out, Edelman’s first post said, “I want feedback, blunt and quick.” Perhaps he means he wants some feedback.

In an e-mail conversation with an IT friend about the idea of moderating blog comments, he said, “I guess I am also used to a number of IT-related blogs that prefer to remain moderated due to all the kiddie flaming against Micro$oft, for and against various flavors of Linux vs. BSD, etc etc.”

What’s the answer? Are we in PR, so new to all of this that we spend more time gushing about blogs than talking about outcomes, just naive if we expect all blogs two be uncensored,  democratic, two-way conversations? Or have some bloggers retreated into traditional controlled communication efforts? What do you think?

Just leave a comment.

12/22/04 | 7 Comments | Blogs and conversations

Comments

  • 1.

    Three PR bloggers are upset by the lack of two-way dialogue on Richard Edelman’s new weblog. Their gripes sound valid to me. I voiced a similar complaint when the blog launched.

    http://www.micropersuasion.com/2004/10/edelmans_on | October 2004

  • 2.

    Early morning in India, and I can already see Media Guerilla, Technoflak and Holtz a little irritated.

    http://pr-india.blogspot.com/2004/10/el-brillianto | October 2004

  • 3.

    When Richard Edelman, CEO of the Edelman PR agency, launched his blog in late September, he was welcomed enthusiastically by the PR blogging community. Two weeks on and after Edelman’s second post - he’s committed to posting once a week

    http://nevon.typepad.com/nevon/2004/10/twoway_blog | October 2004

  • 4.We've long since stopped gushing about the phone, and I predict we'll soon stop gushing about blogs - and get back to 'talking about outcomes'.

    Richard Bailey | October 2004 | UK

  • 5.I agree with Richard. I look forward to a time when we start talking about blogs as an additional tool rather than the cure to all our ills which it isn't.

    However on Shels question on whether it's naive to expect that blogs are uncensored.

    My response is that if you want to establish a credible, two-way conversation with your audience via a blog then treat the medium seriously. It's not naive to expect blogs to be uncensored - except in cases such as spam of defamatory comments. If an organization takes the decision to create a corporate blog then grow up and accept the responsibilities that go with it. If you're not comfortable in that environment then don't participate. Create one of those wonderful CEO's letters instead.

    Tom Murphy | October 2004

  • 6.Censorship is one thing. Insisting that comments are an intrinsic part of blogs is another. I happen to think they are, but when the innovator of one of the first blogging tools (called "the godfather of blogging" in the OJR piece) says commenting as a part of blogging has failed, it's worth some discussion. Should people with something to say just post it on their own blogs?

    Shel Holtz | October 2004 | Concord, CA

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