Blogging BBQ

Branding is a pivotal aspect of any business. As the article tells us, blogging has revolutionized the way that people view businesses. Blogging is now a powerful marketing tool.

This summer, I helped the BBQ company that I worked for investigate ways to better their blog presence. Although they had previously used a blog for marketing purposes, their blog presence could be a lot stronger. The company has thrived off of being a family business, and of course for also having the best BBQ in Boston. In 2012, they decided to jump into the food truck game as well.

As we worked on a plan it was clear that a blog would be a great outlet to further promote the idea that the company is still a family owned business with family values. Because food trucks are also so hot right now, we decided that it would be interesting to tell the stories of the guys that work on our food truck. Each of us (yes, including me) had our own interesting BBQ background that would make for a riveting series. In addition we could add pictures of the food, video of the preparation and other multimedia aspects that would really make the blog pop.

Though I have left for the summer, the company is still working on their blog development. Like the article said, however, we all felt that the blog could really help further our brand as a company that welcomes its customers as members of the family. For blue-collar companies, blogging can be a trendy way to show that, behind the scenes, some things never change.

How important are blogs in establishing a “buddy-buddy” relationship with your customer base as a company?

Connecting Information-Can this be any easier?

Chapter four discusses the importance of hyperlinks, which is an important topic in online media.

In my opinion, the most important role of hyperlinks is for citation purposes. Hyperlinks make citations easier and are far more accessible than footnotes. The chapter also discusses the importance of a clean interface. I think that hyperlinks also help in this regard. With hyperlinks, you have less to look at. While they catch your eye, they do not distract your thoughts. And if the information, or report, that the site drew their information from is of interest, or more information is desired, an original source is just a click away. 

 

More interesting to me is the information in chapter seven. Chapter seven discusses blogs and their impact. I found the section on blogging versus journalism to be particularly interesting. 

After the situation with Edward Snowden and Wikileaks last spring, the question of whether bloggers should receive the same rights under the first amendment that journalists receive became a hot topic in Washington. South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham famously got in trouble for gaffing that bloggers should not receive first amendment rights. He meant that they should not receive the same rights as journalists, but the mistake shows the fine line that the issue presents. 

Many journalists feel that they are above bloggers, that they are more professional than bloggers because they are more often paid for their work. Blogging is an open forum, so anyone can do it.

One of my biggest questions is whether a differentiation can be made between more professional bloggers and less professional bloggers. If so, perhaps we can create forums that “professional” bloggers can go to and be protected. As it stands, however, I cannot blame people for saying that bloggers do not deserve journalists rights because I do not expect them as a blogger myself. 

DQs: Should bloggers receive the same first amendment protection as journalists?

Can we create a differentiation to help protect the more professional bloggers? 

Are Bloggers Journalists?-Syracuse University

Bloggers as Journalists-Forbes 

NY Times Debate on Bloggers as Journalists