RSS feedsBlogging evangelists Robert Scoble and Shel Israel reveal the growing power of the new medium in their new title, Naked Conversations.
The premise of the book, set out in the tag line, is: “How blogs are changing
the way businesses talk with customers.” But this thought-provoking
title does more than it says on the tag – it inspires readers to become
bloggers.
Technology fans will recognise Robert Scoble’s name instantly. He runs the Channel 9 website for Microsoft and his Scobleizer blog is renowned. Israel is another keen technologist with experience at Sun Microsystems and Microsoft.
Their book doesn’t get bogged down with technology, though, and it emphasises
the benefits of blogging. Needless to say, as keen bloggers, the
authors maintain an upbeat air at all times, so if you are looking for a title
that will back up any anti-blog arguments, this is not the book for you.
Scoble and Israel explore all sizes of business and blog. Scoble uses his extensive experience at Microsoft to reveal how blogging played a small part in changing the perception of the software supplier from being an evil corporation, to, er, being not so evil.
English Cut, the blog from the Savile Row tailor of the same name, and a finalist in the 2005 International Information Industry Awards, is depicted as a classic example of a business that raised awareness through blogging.
All blog addresses mentioned in the title are listed at the foot of each
page. This volume is not purely a hard sell for new technology. It is a book
that business leaders would benefit from reading to realise how their corporate
reputation can be harnessed or tarnished online. It also contains powerful
messages on how the information and media trades will have to change radically
if they are to prosper in the face of
the blogs.
IN BRIEF
Naked Conversations
Robert Scoble and Shel Israel
232pp, John Wiley & Sons 2006,
£16.99, ISBN 0-471-74719-X
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