Rebecca Blood: Thrive on the Writeable Web

Rebecca Blood's keynote was a great kickstart to the New Communications Forum.  As one of the earliest bloggers (she started Rebecca's Pocket in April of 1999), Rebecca provided an overview of the growth of blogging and focused attention on some of the key outcomes of the DIY media revolution. 

A blog is a container, she said, in which you can put whatever you'd like:  recipes, haiku (or hyku?), thoughts about a product, photos of your cat.  The big boom was driven by simple blogging software, which made everyday writing non-threatening.  With people freed to add their own bits of expertise, Blood said, we get improvements through incrementalism.

This is a key element in the rise of open-source projects like Wikipedia (a fave among New Comm panelists -- lots of chatter).  Wikipedia went online in 2001 and now has more than a million entries in 105 languages.  Knowing one new fact allows me to add value to the project, and the structure of the project makes it simple for me to contribute.  For Blood, Wikipedia is an ideal example of leveraging the writable Web, proving that consumers will become producers when it's simple to do so.

This move back to a participatory culture is changing the nature of PR & other mass-media industries.   We're hardwired to share information, says Blood, and the new marketing will utiltize the connections that are driving the cultural shift.  Instead of controlling the communciations channel, marketers should think clearly about objectives and consider the possible social media tools available. 

Scan widely:  google groups, forums, blogs, mailing lists, Wikipedia, podcasts.  Follow what's happening on the writeable Web.  Yes, you can open up on your own channel and talk directly to people, but the most powerful dimension of the new technology is connection.

Leverage the two-way nature of the conversation to:

• discover new product ideas and service niches
• listen in as people talk freely and frankly about their experiences with your product
• find out what it takes to make those who aren't your customers into your customers

The writeable Web is a massive multiplayer focus group that is happening 24/7. 

Elsewhere:  Shel Holtz and John Cass blog the keynote.  Technorati thread.