Conversation On Business Blog Classification
My idea to classify business blogs into six different types generated some discussion and opinions. Since only a minority of bloggers use the TrackBack function of blogs, I thought I would point back to some of the most interesting responses and give you my comments. In a couple of weeks I will do some more work on the classification and make it a part of this site's static content.
One common reaction is that a classification must be more scientific to be useful (see comments), or that it should be based on some generally accepted model. I agree that both of these ideas would make the classification more credible. As a pragmatic man, though, I still believe that the end result would be in the neighborhood of my suggestion since it covers the communications needs of most organizations.
Methodological discussions are always exciting. And they of course underline a mutual belief that a classification could be helpful. Not everyone agrees - but the notion that structure kills creativity is just as wrong as it is old. It's like saying the web was better 1995 than today. In some respects maybe it was, but certainly not for businesses.
Of the more concrete suggestions to improve the classification, a very interesting one is to use one more dimension: Assertive/Reflexive.
Otherwise, many have pointed to the External/Internal dimension of the classification as it's main merit (see e.g. Ross Mayfield's Weblog). I think so to. A bit surprising maybe that this obvious dimension hasn't attracted more attention in the blog discussion. But we recognize this from corporate communications in general, don't you think?. Even if all of us know that there's just as much money to make from successful internal communications, external communications are almost always more discussed.