Naked Conversations : How Blogs are Changing the Way Businesses Talk with Customers

"Talk WITH me." Today s consumer craves human contact. We re sick to death of voicemail. Menus of options that never offer the option we need. A deluge of carefully spun "information" designed not to answer our concerns, but to influence our decisions. Mechanical voices telling us our call is important to them even as they refuse to answer it. We re frustrated in our attempts to reach a live human being, and when we finally do, all too often it s someone who barely speaks our language and only reads from a script. It is so surprising that the consumer distrusts the corporation? Into this charged atmosphere comes a phenomenon called blogging. It s interactive. It s informal. It s peppered with misspellings, grammatical errors, and an occasional forbidden word. It comes from a real person. And it allows the consumer to talk back. Robert Scoble, author of the nation s best read business blog, and veteran consultant Shel Israel believe bolgging is already changing the face of business. They show you how employee bloggers altered the public s perception of Microsoft. How an outspoken NBA team owner uses his blog to connect with fans. How small businesses and Fortune 500 companies alike can benefit from blogging, and how failing to use it properly can be disastrous. In the totally forthright manner that defines a good blog, Scoble and Israel are equally honest about blogging s dangers. They examine the risk and how to manage them. And they have practiced what they preach. You ll read comments they receive when they publish early drafts of this book on their own blog. Traditional corporate communication is one way, and customers are tired of being talked at. They want to talk back. This landmark book shows you how to let them, and why your business may depend on it.