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12.12.05
BBC
Getting Into Blogging
 By
Neville Hobson
The BBC's political editor, Nick
Robinson, started a blog last week, called Nick
Robinson's Newslog.
His first
post includes this text:
[...] The BBC
is about to start a trial series of blogs, each of which will be built using the
kind of software employed by millions of weblogs around the world. This is the
first of that trial.
The 'kind of software' Robinson refers to presumably means TypePad as his blog
is a TypePad blog (so a very nice coup for Six Apart Europe in getting this deal
with the BBC).
I find it interesting that the BBC has chosen to go with an outside commercial
service provider rather than developing a blog structure within the organization
using their own IT infrastructure. Perhaps part of their experimentation where
using an outside provider in this stage of development is simply easier to execute.
Robinson's blog isn't the first one the BBC has done - earlier this year, there
was Newsnig8t by BBC journalist
Paul Mason. That, too, was
(and still is) hosted on TypePad.
One major difference between the two blogs - Mason's was very much a personal
blog with a look-and-feel that was far from a BBC standard. Unlike Robinson's,
which has the complete BBC branding in its presentation and clearly is a formal
part of the overall BBC web presence. Indeed, its root URL (blogs.bbc.co.uk) indicates
that.
First podcasting, and
now blogging. It looks like the BBC is beginning to embrace new media in a big
way as a means of engaging with its viewers/listeners/readers in a variety of
different ways, traditional and non-traditional.
Will we see a blog portal, an offering to those viewers/listeners/readers to create
their own blogs as part of the BBC blog domain? I think it would make total sense
in the engagement process.
Now that would be a very inetersting move indeed and, apart from anything else,
could be the tipping point
for broadening out the world of blogging in the UK. Tie it in with the calls
for people to send in their photos and you have the makings of a great connection
between the broadcaster and a ready source of information.
Further blurring of that gap between traditional news creators and citizen journalism.
About the Author:
Neville Hobson is the author of the popular NevOn
blog which focuses on business communication and technology.
Neville is currentlly an independent communication practitioner helping companies
build dynamic relationships with customers, employees, shareholders and other
key audiences and influencers. Visit Neville Hobson's blog: NevOn.
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