E-consultancy Interview

I was interviewed by e-consultancy today. Some interesting questions and (hopefully) some interesting answers.

Comments

[Tracey "Word Doctor" Dooley]

Great interview, Simon. I don't normally read my emails word for word (my Inbox is becoming a joke -- 300 messages a day and rising). But your interview contained in the body of an email from Econsultancy actually got read!

I particularly liked your views on the way techology is progressing, and the consumer reaction to it.

One question: how you feel about blogs versus online or email newsletters as a marketing medium?

Cheers,

Tracey "Word Doctor" Dooley

[Simon Andrews]

I think blogs are a great tool but the very interesting thing is the rss that drives most blog traffic - on demand information. But as people are "invisible" with rss then brands/people can't give personalised info. The next level of rss where people can get personalised content will be really interesting - take a look at http://www.skinker.com for a smart emerging technology

[Tracey "Word Doctor" Dooley]

That's really interesting. A little 'out there' for me (can you believe I have a degree in IT?! It was some time ago and technology doesn't hang around for a nanosecond), but quite exciting technology nontheless.

However, isn't this 'alert' service dependent on the end-users having the feature installed on their desktop, too? Isn't a subscription-based blog or ezine just as effective at reaching your 'opted-in' audience?

Personally, I prefer newsletters over blogs as a marketing or B2B medium. But I think a lot depends on the wants and needs of your clients. And, of course, there will always be pros and cons with each approach.

I did use to read (well, OK, skim) a lot of blogs. But I quickly became swamped trying to catch up with their ever-changing content. Plus, getting to them can be a pain.