The Economic Times carries a story.. "Blogs Driving Motorcycles.." thats really exciting for a blogger like me, But...
"Being one of the few bloggers of India who keeps a dedicated "Blog" on "Indian" two wheelers, I naturally got excited..."
The Economic Times (Chennai edition) on 3'rd March 2007, carried a story "Blogs Driving Motorcycles".. the story is about "Blogs" becoming an important source of information not only for potential two wheeler customers but also for two wheeler manufacturers. It seems the bike makers have started to track "Blogs" in order to gauge public reaction to their new launches and thereby gain additional insight apart from their market research.
Being one of the few bloggers of India who keeps a dedicated "Blog" on "Indian" two wheelers, I naturally got excited. Maybe I expected to see my name/ my "Blogs" name being mentioned in the story.
At least I expected to see names of a few blogs being mentioned in the story. The "sites" which were mentioned in the story "Blogs Driving Motorcycles" were...
"..The mentioned "sites" in the story are certaintly not "Blogs".. So "Where are the BLOGS..??"..
- XBhp.com
- Mouthshut.Com
- BajajPulsar.Org
- Bikenomads.Com
- and a few yahoo "Bike" groups
The above mentioned "sites" in the story are certaintly not "Blogs".. So "Where are the BLOGS..??" Wasn't that story supposed to be about "Blogs" and motorcycles..
The person who wrote the report probably made a mistake by thinking that those "sites" where common people interact and posts their experiences are called "Blogs"..!! This is what the above mentioned "sites" actually are...
- XBhp.com (it is an Internet Discussion "Forum")
- Mouthshut.Com (it is a "website" where customers provide reviews of the products they use)
- BajajPulsar.Org (It is a website dedicated to the Bajaj Pulsar which has a Discussion "Forum")
- and a few "Bike" groups (probably the ones formed on yahoo groups)
I remember a famous quote "Half Education is a dangerous thing.." Since the story will be read by millions of Indians.., the author should have taken care to point out that the "sites" mentioned are NOT Blogs. I do not deny the contribution of the forums and websites mentioned in the story in creating an impact in the two wheeler scene in India... but then again those are not "Blogs"..!!
OK for the benefit of other people who still can't make out what a blog is.. let me distribute the "Gyan"..
"The owners of these "Sites" are usually not the ones who take part in the "Discussion"
- Internet Discussion "Forum": A site where common people register and take part in discussions, write about their experiences etc... (Eg: Xbhp.Com)
- Consumer Review Website: A website where consumners can write about their product reviews
- Yahoo Groups: Everyone knows what a yahoo group is... don't they..??
The owners of the above mentioned "Sites" are actually not the ones who take part in the "Discussion"... they just provide the platform for the common people to share their experiences.
Now then.. "What is a BLOG..???"
"In very simple words: A Blog is a PERSONAL WEBSITE...
Ans: In very simple words: A Blog is a PERSONAL WEBSITE... It is a "site" maintained and updated by mostly a single person (sometimes a group a persons maintain a blog too)..
A Blog is accessible to anyone on the internet. Interested people can read the posts posted on these "blogs" by the "Authors" of these "blogs" and can leave "Comments" in the Comment Option available..
The Bike Chronicles of India is a "Blog" maintained by "Me" i.e Satadal Payeng... You can read this its contents if it interests you and can leave me comments on my posts.
For more on blogs click here..
Disclaimer:
This is to remind that the Views or Opinions in the blog are entirely mine unless explicitly stated. The Views and Opinions published in this blog should in no way be related to any other person or organization associated -- directly or indirectly -- with me.
4 Comments:
It seems as if more and more people are finding the story behind the corporate marketing on the Web. Whether blogs have a big role or not is questionable. My blog, Scooter in the Sticks, is mostly about my experiences riding a Vespa. I suppose if someone's interests and experience line up with mine it may help them decide on a purchase but it seems as if they might have already decided and are just looking for confirmation.
I do know of about a dozen people who have told me that they bought a Vespa because of Scooter in the Sticks. I think the bigger impact blogs have is when something negative occurs with a product and it is not addressed by a company or dealer. That negative stuff can fly around the internet.
Steve Williams
Scooter in the Sticks
i read the internet version of this news and i had ur same feeling!
Its sad that media doing such silly mistakes..
the report doesnt really mention anything abt blogs...like urs n mine...
From a journalist's POV, there is one major difference between a blog and a website. A blog is usually personal opinion, while a website has a certain obligation to back the news up with facts. Granted, this blog here often quotes actual sources, but not all of them do. As for forums, the ability to sort out the wheat from the chaff is a mandatory skill there :-D
But of course, 99% of paper journos who write about motorcycling knows jack squat about the subject in hand. Hence, reports like this.
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