Using Blogs to Project Thought Leadership

Venture capitalist Brad Feld ruminates why he blogs. Feld is one of a number of VCs that have rolled their own blogs. Other notables include the legendary Fred Wilson and Jerry Colonna.

The venture capital (VC) community has not always been known as an incredibly transparent industry, but these Weblogs I bet are changing perceptions. Blogs such as Feld's help me "feel" their smarts first-hand and also understand a bit about how VCs are operating in the post-bubble era.

These and other business Weblogs demonstrate the power of the medium to showcase smart individuals as industry thought leaders. Many business-to-business public relations campaigns already include similar elements - e.g. bylined articles, speakers/expert bureaus and more. I am convinced Weblogs will become the next major weapon in the PR arsenal. Right now they are more useful in reaching certain audiences over others - and companies need to proceed with caution as Tom Murphy notes today - but eventually blogs will increasingly become more present in the business community's collective consciousness.

In just a few weeks of blogging - with frequent newsy/provocative postings and a bit of blogosphere publicity - PR people can help companies launch Weblogs that can become the go-to source for information on a particular micro or even a macro topics. They might even spur broader media interest as well if they are unique enough to attract the eyes of reporters and editors. The key is they be relevant, timely, opinionated and real.