I wanted to bring your attention to an interesting article recently published in Germany's PRReport (the equivalent of PRWeek in Germany) and featuring some contribution from our own Georg Kolb) highlighting how weblogs have grown into serious online media in Europe. Although the author is not precisely clear whether the statistics apply to only Germany or Europe overall, 89 percent of the overall communications managers haven't got a weblog strategy in place though 43 percent of them perceive weblogs as interesting. It is obvious that in Germany/in Europe many PR experts are unsure about weblogs and how they can make the best out of them.
At this point there is a huge difference between Europe and the United States in the adoption of blogs and other forms of peer media. In Europe we are still asking ourselves what weblogs are, but over in the United States, it is all about the management of weblogs and their usage. Beyond that, the question is to what extent weblogs compete with traditional media. Are they a risk for critical journalism? With regard to these questions it is interesting that, on the one hand, traditional media representatives are discussing the impact weblogs have on them. On the other hand, publishing houses invite their staff / editors to weblog. The editor also examined the commercial aspects of blogs, for example, how can companies make money blogging? Finally, the writer comes to the conclusion that corporate communications will be changing dramatically in future and that weblogs definitely will have an impact on this change.
Christine Vogl-Kordick, Text 100 Munich
