By Neville Hobson
Expert Author
Article Date: 2004-12-29
A highly-readable and lengthy feature on blogging is in the 10 January issue of Fortune magazine, as part of its look at the 10 technology trends to watch in 2005.
"Freewheeling bloggers can boost your product-or destroy it. Either way, they've become a force business can't afford to ignore.
According to blog search-engine and measurement firm Technorati, 23,000 new weblogs are created every day-or about one every three seconds. Each blog adds to an inescapable trend fueled by the Internet: the democratization of power and opinion. Blogs are just the latest tool that makes it harder for corporations and other institutions to control and dictate their message. An amateur media is springing up, and the smart are adapting.
Unlike earlier promises of self-publishing revolutions, the blog movement seems to be the real thing. A big reason for that is a tiny innovation called the permalink: a unique web address for each posting on every blog. Instead of linking to web pages, which can change, bloggers link to one another's posts, which typically remain accessible indefinitely. This style of linking also gives blogs a viral quality, so a pertinent post can gain broad attention amazingly fast-and reputations can get taken down just as quickly." About the Author: Neville Hobson is the author of the popular NevilleHobson.com blog which focuses on business communication and technology.
Neville is a UK-based communicator, blogger and podcaster. He helps companies use effective communication to achieve their business goals. Visit Neville Hobson's blog: NevilleHobson.com.
