Corporate blogs = web sites of 12 years ago

Christine Halvorson, the blog developer for the well known Stonyfield Farm blogs, in a press release announcing her new company, Halvorson New Media:

Corporate blogs are where company web sites were 12 years ago, when businesses sat around wondering if they really needed to build a web site. Think how silly that seems now. Businesses fear losing control with blogs, but blogs are the perfect way for them to regain control and, at the same time, be more open with consumers.

Couldn’t agree more Chris. Take law firms for example. When I started a law firm website in 1996 to market my law firm in rural Wisconsin, people thought I was an drunk. ‘What would a law firm do with a website.’ ‘It certainly wouldn’t draw clients.’ ‘No one looks at websites in selecting a lawyer.’ ‘Websites and the Internet are a fad.’ ‘The liability and ethical restrictions make websites impossible.’ I heard it all, but by 2000 98% of law firms had websites.

I hear much of the same with blogs today. Blogs ain’t no fad. They’re real and they’re spectacular. And best of all, the mass acceptance of blogs is not going to take near as long as websites.

But c’mon Christine, why a press release? Wouldn’t your blog do everything and more than a press release. And you don’t run the risk of alienating the blogging community by doing the press release. It’s the bloggers who will spread the word for you.