Dee Rambeau: blogging is useless and irresponsible

Dee Rambeau, communicator and entrepreneur, has quit blogging. In posts at Adventures in Business Communications and the Auburn University Marcom Blog, he throws in the towel, calling blogging "futile and pedestrian" for him, "negative" for business in general, and "useless and irresponsible" for public corporations. Harsh words, sure to grate on the ears of blogging evangelists.

At Adventures in Business Communications, Dee analyzes why he is "done blogging." The chief reasonable reason seems to be that blogging is not a good use of his time as an entrepreneur in a B2B business run by three partners. His business' scarce resource is time; he knows time is best spent on supporting employees and customers, maintaining sales growth, operating efficiently, promoting the brand, and selling. He believes his blogging doesn't help his business and occupies too much of his professional and free time. Fair enough: Dee is allocating his time as he sees fit -- and blogging doesn't fit.

But he can't stop there. In both posts, he goes on to rant that "blogs are just websites" -- then again, he's a CMS vendor -- and that blogging "largely an exercise of EGO." I've snipped the following from the middle of a Faulkneresque paragraph:

"the reason most bloggers actually start and continue blogging. Because of their egos. Because they believe that they have something really relevant to say…something totally unique…something that someone will want to hear…will strain to hear. Is it true? Of course not. The reason that it was difficult to get published or get on the air in the old days was because you had people judging content…judging talent…filtering just who had access to the microphone or the pen…deciding who actually had something relevant to say. Since the Internet and modern blog tools allow for anyone to publish content, there are no filters. Which means that 99.9 % of the stuff that is written on blogs is bullshit…sure there are individual content creators that will rise to the top…but it's actually MORE difficult now than it was before to have an authentic voice because everyone can be published. Because of this phenomenon, business bloggers are among the most rabid of the blog class second only to political bloggers. Business bloggers NEED to be measured…ranked somehow. They need to feel that they're speaking to someone out there and making a difference. See back to #1…there are only a handful of ways to make money with a blog, so how can you actually call it "business blogging?" Business bloggers clamor to share links…clamor to post on one another's blogs to create consensus around ideas and memes…choose sides and shoot barbs at the heathens opposing them. I'm guilty…I've done it. Think about the fact that business bloggers started out as smart business people (well some did…) and they're fighting for a reputation and a ranking online. So not only are they prospecting and selling and doing all the things they need to do to build and maintain their business on a day to day basis, but NOW they're also forced to compete in the blogosphere. Why? Ego."

I'll let you in on a dirty little secret. The only reason you, I, anyone ever expresses themselves is because they believe they have something relevant to say. Remember that the next time you open your mouth to speak to your spouse, or write an email to a colleague, or place an order at Burger King. Dee would have you check your ego before telling your husband that the dog has set itself on fire again, but, trust me, go ahead and express yourself. Yes, the vast majority of the world will not care. But they aren't your audience. Your audience will be listening. And this is true whether you are a newspaper columnist, an American Idol wannabe, George Bush, or a blogger.

Is it egotistical to believe you have something relevant to say? At some basic level, yes, it must be. But we all express ourselves, anyway. Perhaps the other people in the room wish we would do the selfless thing and just shut up, but human discourse is pretty much about conversation. About having an idea, having the ego (arrogance?) to think it relevant, expressing it and -- and this is critical -- listening to the responses of the other egotists around you. That's how we get on in life.

Rambeau goes on to tell the PR students at Auburn University's Marcom Blog:

1. Public Corporations: blogs are useless and irresponsible. No Corporate Communications person in their right mind would allow a C-level executive to blog. The Jonathan Schwartz's of the World aside, it is not a sensible PR move to allow a top executive to share his thoughts in Cyberspace.

That's simply the most ridiculous advice I've ever heard. Let's leave aside the fantasy of a corporate communicator deciding what the CEO will be "allowed" to do. If none of the CEOs of the Fortune 1000 can be trusted to communicate to the public without being first filtered by corporate communication, then corporate America is in serious trouble. Yes, some CEOs are lousy communicators -- and these are precisely the ones who are too often shielded by officious corp-com drones and PR agencies. Some CEOs are brilliant communicators -- and these will (without the permission of corporate communications, mind you) use any tool in the box to communicate with the public. And may their tribe increase!

2. Private Companies: blogs can help with SEO (search engine optimization) for product lines, thought leadership, and other things. But if content management systems have advanced to the degree that they have, why do you need a "blog" to say what you want to say. Just use your freakin' website to do it. A site is a site is a site. It doesn't matter if you call it a website or a blog, the fact that the communicators now have control of it is what is important. Set your website up to have the ability for you to make content additions/changes right away. Offer up social tools such as comments, sharing, etc. and voila…you have a website with blog capabilities…who needs a blog?

And later:

blogging is just this: posting content to the web using a content management system. If the company that you end up working for or represent has a good CMS for their website that the PR team can control, what's the point of having a blog? Put your issues, mission, opinions, etc. right there on the website. So if you want to blog personally…blog away! Professionally it is useless.

You'd expect that from a vendor of CMS software, so we will forgive that part. But Rambeau forgets that companies do not communicate. Websites do not communicate. People communicate. Is a blog the best way for the leaders of a company to communicate with the public? Maybe; maybe not. Again, the savvy communicator will use any tool in the box.

Who knows? Dee may be motivated entirely by a jaded view of communication. And maybe his rant is meant to be a wake-up call to social media thinkers. But you know what I think the real motivator is? It's here, buried in his post at Adventures in Business Communication (emphasis mine):

I was trained in the investment business early in my business career. We used to joke that when a company or an industry or a topic finally hit the cover of Time, you'd better be long, fucking gone from an investment perspective. The smart money was already OUT! So Time elects us all…the collective populous of bloggers and content providers to be the Man of the Year. The contrarian in me is aching to be outta here to the next thing...I will be focusing on the ongoing value proposition of my company's software to our clients. (By the way…we could have created a blogging platform 4-5 years ago…but when there are other companies giving it away for free…where's the revenue model?).

Technorati : Dee Rambeau, Marcom Blog, adventures in business communication

Posted by Allan Jenkins on February 21, 2007 at 08:48 AM in Communication, Is Tedious in the House? | Permalink

Comments

Allan:

"Tak for kaffe", as we say in Danish when someone or something shocks us.

I thought I had heard all the reservations against corporate blogging, but this time it comes from someone who has actually done it continuously.

My guess is, that Dee has not gotten any comments on his blog. Any blogger who has acheived to attract comments to her blog or podcast never goes back. :-)

Bottom line, I think it is a matter of what businesses want.

I guess they´ll still spend time and monye on press releases, websites, newsletters, adds, PR-agents, etc.

How two-way is that?

Posted by: Karin Høgh | Feb 21, 2007 1:22:23 PM

How bizarre. Thanks for this article, Allan!

Posted by: Easton Ellsworth | Feb 21, 2007 5:06:18 PM

hi Allan, good points =)

I also think that a lot of corporate blogs (and other types of blogs) are just there because of ego and not really because of conversation. I think the commenting and networking is what keeps blogging going -and I would believe that Dee hasn't really practiced that ?

Posted by: henriette weber andersen | Feb 21, 2007 5:29:31 PM

Allan,
I made my post(s) knowing full well that it would spark some excitement and/or criticism. As for my "motive" it is very transparent...I feel blogging is now a waste of my time. My "opinions" about the value of blogging to a business are based on vast experience with a variety of clients...not just my own experience. But it is after all, my own opinion.

As for Karin's comment about comments...well whatever. I can count several thousand comments over my 500 posts...as if that's relevant.

One thing I might add is that what is right for me may not be right for others...but since blogging gave me a platform from which to spew my opinion, I took the opportunity. It is my blog after all. As for MarcomBlog, I think if you read some of the students' comments, you'll find that they were aching for a contrary opinion. The koolaid was getting a little too sweet!

Good luck with your continued blogging efforts. I'm not "jaded" about social media and I will continue to participate in the conversation. In fact I'm a founding member of the Social Media Club. I'm just tired of the sound of my own voice for awhile. And yes...my CMS kicks the crap out of any blog tool out there! That part you sniffed out correctly!

Cheers.

Posted by: Dee Rambeau | Feb 21, 2007 5:52:11 PM

Allan,
BTW, I appreciate the comparison of my writing being Faulkner-esque, although I'm quite certain you didn't mean it to be a compliment. I'm a big fan of his and of "stream of consciousness" writing. :)

Posted by: Dee Rambeau | Feb 21, 2007 7:15:54 PM

@Karin & Henriette -- "tak for kaffe," indeed, though Dee does (or did) receive many, many comments to his posts.

@Dee -- But *is* the Kool-Aid sweet? Who are these Kool-Aid sweeteners? Name me one, please! On my blogroll of 400+, about half of whom are communicators, I search in vain for a "blogging evangelist." I can't find a single communicator who sees social media as anything more than one more tool in the box.

Yes, there's a lot of talk about social media in communication circles. But for good reason: it's a new, largely untested tool that we barely just now getting our heads around. So of course we are talking about how it works for some, doesn't work for others; of course, we are discussing how to use it for clients; of course, we are dabbling in its esoterica.

But Kool-Aid drinkers? C'm'on... where?

Posted by: Allan Jenkins | Feb 21, 2007 7:18:37 PM

I could have written "Benjyesque."

Posted by: Allan Jenkins | Feb 21, 2007 8:53:39 PM

I've always found Dee's comments on various blogs to be worth reading, so I hope he keeps contributing.

As for his rant, meh. Anyone who hasn't considered blogging to be a futile, time-consuming pit of attention and time just hasn't been blogging long enough!

My prescription: Take two YouTubes and a podcast, and call me in the morning...

Posted by: Eric Eggertson | Feb 22, 2007 4:44:32 AM

Allan,
you're kind of a mean old sot, aren't you? Benjy?
Eric, thanks for the props...

Posted by: Dee Rambeau | Feb 22, 2007 5:33:06 PM

I respect Dee for his openness, but I have to disagree with his opinion that using a good Content Management System is just as good as blogging for improving search engine rankings. The three keys to search engine optimization are.

1. Accessibility and Information Architecture
2. Content Relevancy and freshness
3. Quality Inbound Links

If SEO was only about information architecture then Dee would have a strong point. However, his CMS argument ignores the fact that blogging is not just a technology, but it’s a practice and culture which just so happens to be naturally inline with the keys to achieving top rankings.

The practice and culture of blogging is one that includes frequent posting on targeted subjects. The culture of blogging is one that thrives on peer citation in the form of back links.

Posted by: Stephen Turcotte | Feb 26, 2007 10:53:52 PM

I'm one of the students reading Marcomblog, and I read Dee's post. I'll be honest and tell you that after a semester of drowning in blogs, writing all of the time, and feeling like absolutely no one reads any of it--I understand. And sometimes I feel like it takes entirely too much time to write on a blog that no one's reading. But, as you said, I don't think blogging is useless for businesses. I think that blogs are a great way for customers and clients to meet the person behind the company brand or logo. I'm glad that I'm learning how to use these social media tools, and I hope that they will be valuable to my future employer.

I'd like to encourage you to post this reaction on Marcomblog, too. This way my classmates can see another outlook. I enjoyed hearing two views on the matter.
Thanks,
Sarah

Posted by: Sarah | Mar 14, 2007 5:20:12 PM

Allan,
Like Sarah in the post above me, I am a student at Auburn who is very new to blogging. I cannot speak for the rest of the field, but as far as students go, it was comforting to us to know that blogging was not going to rule our lives. We have been swept away by the blog wave; spending countless hours reading, commenting and posting. It's easy to get caught up in the hype thinking that somehow our ability/inability to blog will have a great impact on our career. As the semester has progressed, I have learned more about the real value and non-value of blogging. Dee's post, although a little extreme perhaps, was a welcomed piece of information to a group of students aren't sure about it all yet.

I appreciate your response to Dee's post. It gives it a more balanced approach. Both your and Dee's views are respected and greatly appreciated by the students. Thanks for the insight.

Posted by: Derek | Mar 19, 2007 4:23:14 PM

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