Trend v. Hype

I was catching up on my reading tonight when I came across a post on Micro Persuasion in which Steve Rubel writes about how blogging may die, but the concept will always survive.

I find myself agreeing completely. This is why I believe that blogger relations is just part of a larger puzzle... one that is about Open Communications.

Also, not long ago I came across a post on Shel Holtz' blog that I hadn't seen, in reaction to my original post on Open Communications. He believes all this talk about names is a non-starter and that we are just splitting hairs. Though, he seems to agree that "blogger relations" as a field is probably just temporary.

While he has a point, I think the debate over names is important. When we go to sell "blogger relations" to the broader audience, they're going to be left thinking we're just talking about blogs, when those in the industry realize that it's much larger. I find this in my own firm where people look to me as the "blog guy" or even "Mr. Blog." But they're not necessarily interested in the broader impact of it all. Part of this is my own fault, having spent the better part of two years trying to get everyone on board the blog train. But now that they are (as are our clients) getting them to see the broader impact is another large hill to climb.

The fact is, the concept of sharing ideas with the entire world by using simple publishing tools is still in its infancy. When my mother starts doing it, when my uncle starts doing it and when the most non-tech savvy people I know start doing it, then it will be maturing.

But it will also no longer be about technology. The idea of a "blog" will just be one part of it. Who knows what form it will take, who knows where control will lie?

I think if we change the nomenclature we'll change how we look at the idea of what is going on, and only then can we truly understand the impact these technologies can have.