Blogger has media executives eating out of his hand.

  eating out of my hand 
  Originally uploaded by id-clare.

Media is changing.  This article from the NY Times is one of the best examples of this.  A young college student's blog has become the source for big media types around the world.

When his postings dropped off last month after his girlfriend dumped him, Mr. Stelter found himself fielding complaints from powerful network executives about when he was going to get over his romantic travails and get back on track.
Source: NY Times, The Kid With All the News About the TV News, Julie Bosman

Many of us have had ego-blog moments.  Where we break a threshold of viewers or receive an email from someone we really respect in the industry.  But this kid is redefining these moments with TV executives feeding him 20 or 30 tips a day that often turn into real scoops.  And the leaders in the industry actually becoming addicted to his blog.

So here I sit in meetings every week with people that don't understand what a blog is.  Or that want to come up with a new word for "blog" before they will use it.  See Mike Sansones article on this one.  In reality, my clients and associates are struggling with every aspect of social media - from distributing their message to interacting with bloggers.

There are so many inter-related areas that make blogging difficult for organizations.

• Disruption (of control, communication channels, ownership, etc.)
• Creating content of value (voice vs. control)
• Policies
• and more...

I believe the first step is engaging people (those overlooked entities inside organizations) to begin reading blogs.  Give them the tools to begin monitoring and visiting social media sites. My arguments for this are easier for them to grasp and take action on.

• People are talking about you. Are you even aware of these conversations?
• Are you interested in who the new innovators in your space are and what they are saying?
• The key to all social media strategies is having a network of people you consider associates or friends.  How will you find these people if you aren't using these tools?
• And most importantly, I want you to be in touch with what social media is and what it is becoming.

Because.

What social media really is might just surprise all of us.

Thanks to the wonderful Servants of Chaos for this find.