The Digital Defrost at Software 2006
We hosted a lively discussion here at Software 2006 in Santa Clara yesterday. I counted about 55 people at the afternoon session dubbed 'The Digital Defrost: How Blogging and other Social Media are Changing Marketing Communucations'. Sabrina hosted the panel that included Andy Lark, blogger and consultant with Sun PR history; Bruce Lowry who runs global PR at Novell and writes their Open PR blog; Fred Vogelstien, formerly at Fortune; and Sarah Lacy from BusinessWeek. Andy already posted a great recap of the panel along with some thoughts it triggered for him. Thanks to all four of you for joining us and sparking a good debate. Several people have commented to me that they wished we could have kept going!
This is an enterprise software show -- an audience that is still figuring out the relevance of the blogosphere for their paying customers. Almost every type of tech company except enterprise software (with only a few exceptions) has realized that blogging as a communications media is vital to their business. Webbie start-ups have even commented that a post on engadget is more valuable to them than a mention in The NYT or The WSJ. That comment has sparked a lot of pondering over traditional media value. It dawned on me during our panel that it's not so much about value as it is about relevance. A Web 2.0 start-up and its product are more viral in nature than an enterprise software company that has to appeal to a F500 CFO. So the engadget post for one has the same power the NYT piece has for the other. Sarah predicts that enterprise software companies won't embrace blogging. Andy sees a divide building. He guessed that for nimble start-ups that have a hard time grabbing the attention of the mainstream media, blogging can be their most important communications tactic. While larger public companies who want to retain control of their brand may not jump in, thus the divide.
My view? Enterprise software has already caught the viral thing (look at Ray Lane's 7 Laws that he ended his keynote with yesterday) and companies will adapt at the rate their cultures and customers will allow. I just overheard Tom Foremski in the press room here say that "enterprise software has gotten interesting all of a sudden..." and that's a terrific way to end the conference, and this post!
This is an enterprise software show -- an audience that is still figuring out the relevance of the blogosphere for their paying customers. Almost every type of tech company except enterprise software (with only a few exceptions) has realized that blogging as a communications media is vital to their business. Webbie start-ups have even commented that a post on engadget is more valuable to them than a mention in The NYT or The WSJ. That comment has sparked a lot of pondering over traditional media value. It dawned on me during our panel that it's not so much about value as it is about relevance. A Web 2.0 start-up and its product are more viral in nature than an enterprise software company that has to appeal to a F500 CFO. So the engadget post for one has the same power the NYT piece has for the other. Sarah predicts that enterprise software companies won't embrace blogging. Andy sees a divide building. He guessed that for nimble start-ups that have a hard time grabbing the attention of the mainstream media, blogging can be their most important communications tactic. While larger public companies who want to retain control of their brand may not jump in, thus the divide.
My view? Enterprise software has already caught the viral thing (look at Ray Lane's 7 Laws that he ended his keynote with yesterday) and companies will adapt at the rate their cultures and customers will allow. I just overheard Tom Foremski in the press room here say that "enterprise software has gotten interesting all of a sudden..." and that's a terrific way to end the conference, and this post!
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It's true, enterprise software is interesting again...just after I pronounced it dead--dead boring.
That is a lesson in life, whenever you find yourself pronouncing some subject dead--it is just the opposite :-)
And, what the hey! How come I wasn't on that panel!? That's what Andy said and Bruce...
Posted by: Tom Foremski | April 06, 2006 at 12:20 AM
Tom. Let's come up with a great panel topic that hasn't been done yet. Maybe we can work some other 'dead or alive' into our next group gig. Let's do a panel party -- debate and cocktails. Maybe it's a Rooster Club thing. Fun!
Posted by: Shannon Latta | April 06, 2006 at 10:08 PM
Shannon, thamks for starting the debate...you will like my post at
http://dealarchitect.typepad.com/deal_architect/2006/04/kudos_to_horn_g.html
Posted by: vinnie mirchandani | April 17, 2006 at 12:58 PM