Blog What? That's What.

In the previous two posts I've sampled three blogs authored by Microsoft employees. Two of these were specific selections and the last one was pretty random.

We see a little bit of variety in these three blogs.

The first one discussed, as previously mentioned, may be one of the most prominent Microsoft blogs out there. The author, Robert Scoble, an evangelist, seems to counter or support hot, current topics. In a few cases he clearly attempts to set an agenda for his readers. In most cases it seems that Scoble is seeking to mitigate or control his reader's internalization of other agenda setters. In those cases he acts as a gate-keeper to information by providing supporting information or counter points to media stories and other bloggers.

The other two blogs sampled for today's work are somewhat similar but, distinctly differ from Scoble's. Both Dare Obasanjo's WebLog and shaykatc's WebLog provide specific information, facts even, to a discrete audience. Both authors clearly announce their expertise from the outset. When we combine each author's stated expertise with the fact that their blogs are located on Microsoft servers and the current employment status they take on a certain amount of authenticity. While Dare's blog may vere from his stated realm from time to time in general, both blogs represent a meduim that communicates facts. In Dare's case he is clearly at the forefront of emerging technologies helping to foster innovation. It's difficult to know how many people one or the other of these blogs. Judging from the comments made on both blogs it would appear that each has a relatively small but focused set of readers.

-- Edit here if either person provides some stats on readership --

What conclusions can be drawn from the samples taken here about what people are blogging? It depends.

On one hand, we have an apparently savy evangelist-type providing mediated information to his readers in a timely manner on hot topics. While not communicating undisputed facts Scoble is providing, in some cases, an alternate view to media reports and other blog author's entries. Although Scoble's blog does not frequently seek to aid in the development of his reader's technical skills it does focus on emerging technology from time to time in an attempt to draw his reader's attention. In this case it would seem that Scoble's blog represents a PR stunt with some agenda setting and a fair amount of gate-keeping.

On the other hand we have two blogs that seem to represent something a little more important in many respects. Looking back at the hypothesized goals of Microsoft's blogs (communicating facts, fostering innovation, building community) we see that both of last blogs combined perform all three of these tasks. Both authors claim specific credentials and authenticity. Both authors adhere to a relatively rigid set of topics. One provides cutting edge information on new technology and technique while the other provides facts about how best to go about accomplishing specific tasks. At the same time, both have regular contributors (via comments) and frequently link to more expansive information. This last bit in particular could really be beneficial in terms of the goal of fostering community. By helping build common knowledge among their readers both blogs create a foundation for discussion and the establishing of new or enhancing of existing relationships. A real step toward community.

To wrap this up. If we look at any single blog we're not likely to see everything we were looking for way back on day one. However, if we take these blogs as a whole (as a micro-blogoshpere) we see that the content presented to readers combines to address each goal presented in the Proposal. We are not able at this point to declare Microsoft's effort a success. Tomorrow we'll look at some of the features blogs bring to readers and how those features help or hinder meeting the goals presented. At that point, we'll make a prediction on Microsoft's chances for success.