So Search Engine Journal posted a long and comprehensive list of nominees for best search engine blogs recently. You can find it after the jump here.
If you kept up with the flow of posts and articles to all of these sites, you would certainly be well informed about the state of all things search-engine-industry related. But looking at a list of this size, it begs the question: would you really want to, and would you even be able to do so if you did?
In today's super-flat, broad-AND-deep, online media world, is it even possible to keep up with your RSS reader anymore? Back in the olden days of consolidated editorial publishing, there were maybe 10-20 industry and mainstream news media pubs a given marketing exec had to keep up with. A challenging task, but not an unmanageable one if he or she had access to a quality clipping service and a capable in-house or agency PR and Communications team who could remain vigilant about addressing crisis management and proactive about driving key messages with their "pitch list" the rest of the time. By my (quick) count, there are at least 50 unique blogs and sites represented in this list specific to Search. Now, I know that there aren't nearly that many covering every industry, SEC code, or vertical.... search is aggressively covered because, well, it's search - the most popular web application in the history of the Internet, and it's an inherently online service so online media are going to provide ample coverage. But Search gets covered aggressively as an "industry" in mainstream pubs, newspapers, and elsewhere too. Total it all up, and you've got to stay on top of hundreds of online and offline/barely online media outlets and properties to stay current on the industry? Good luck.
Perhaps it's not quite as bad if you are in a less "new media" industry... something like, say, shoelaces... or piston rings. But even for consumer brands like, say, Etnies shoes, or for middle and major market business services companies like, say, Bain Consulting, keeping abreast of "the state of your brand and industry" is an exceedingly much more difficult task now than it was ten or twenty years ago.
And what about the Communications and word of mouth implications of the new media landscape?
In today's multi-channel media world, it can sometimes (not always - let's not get carried away - but sometimes) matter more whether you get 10 good blog posts than if you get one good national publication "hit", if your goal is getting brand engagement and word of mouth.
With the volume of content being published these days, brand managers need more than just a big OPML file to keep up with everything that's being discussed about their products, services, and brands. They need technology tools built to collect, analyze, and make sense of all the white noise... and often times they need extra resources (or a partner) to help them understand where the brand equity trend-line is headed and how to formulate a strategy for how to better manage their brand presence online.
Having a social media market research and engagement program is rapidly turning - for many industries - into a "gotta have" aspect of the Marketing function rather than a luxury bolt-on for bleeding-edge marketers only.
The good news is that the technology tools are advancing rapidly, and addressing each level of the marketplace. And Spring Creek Group is certainly not alone in offering a Social Media Management strategy and program for partners who want to learn where to start, what to do, and how to do it when it comes to this new and evolving channel.
Maybe you don't need to keep up with 50+ blogs to stay on top of your market -- in all likelihood it's more like 5 or 10. But the real question is, should you and are you? If not, perhaps it's time to start at least understanding what's going on out there that's pertinent to your industry, your business, your brand, and your customers. From attention and understanding flows insights and strategy... from which can emerge a gameplan for what, if anything, to do about it.
Happy posting (and reading) in 2008.
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