Technorati's Peter Hirshberg on Japanese bloggers, Jello and the shoe shine guy

Technorati chairman Peter Hirshberg gave a fab opening keynote at last week's conference on corporate communication and technology held by The Conference Board in New York.

Apologies for taking so long to get this post up. I've been going non-stop. I was on the blogging panel for The Conference Board, did blog training with a corporate client and then was on another panel for the Annual ASJA meeting. Fun week in nyc.

Here are a few highlights of his presentation:

Why Japanese is the leading language of the blogosphere

Texting! In Japan, blogging often means texting a one-liner which automatically posts to your blog. (Read more about Japanese bloggers and their mobile Internet use.)

Want to ignite CGM (consumer generated media or content)? Your brand has to match the passions of your customers

He gave as an example use of the word "Jello" on Elise Bauer's popular Simply Recipes blog. She wrote a post titled Why I Love Jello...  on November 29, 2006, noting also that she had a case of "wicked bad flu." The entry received 97 comments from readers.

By mentioning Jello, Elise was tapping into her readers' passion. They in turn linked to her post on their own blogs. Mention of the brand spiked in the blogosphere (also because of the holidays).

Her blog gets one million visits a month, according to Peter.

What the shoe shine guy knows about digital media strategy... A lot

Peter has made a series of very funny man-on-the-street videos over the past few years, asking New Yorkers what the word blog means, asking directions "to the blogosphere," etc.

(You can see some of his videos here.)

He showed us one of his classics, a video interview with the shoe shine guy at Grand Central Station in July 2004.

While he's shining Peter's shoes, the man opines about whether blogging will take off. And if it does, what it will mean.

"I really don't think this blogging thing will take off... But if it does take hold and become infectious I would imagine it's going to take several years."

Peter interrupts to ask: "Who's it gonna hurt and who's it gonna benefit?"

The shoe shine guy replies: "It's gonna benefit whoever owns it... and it's gonna hurt the publishing companies."

Remind me again why we need all those MBAs to explain business strategy to us?

Comments

[Elise Bauer]

Hi Debbie,
Peter mentioned that Jello post in a keynote? That's funny. He does have a point though, most bloggers I know love to write about what they love, people, products, etc. It's great when a company can recognize and tap into the passions of their customers.

[Carol Hirsch]

Hi Debbie,

Thanks so much for the posting. For all you Debbie Weil fans, she provided some invaluable insights of her own on her panel at the Conference Board's Corporate Communications and Technology Conference.

We're glad she did. Attendees unilaterally praised Peter and Debbie's presentations, noting that for many Fortune 500 communications groups, getting into the blogosphere is a terrifying prospect. What Debbie and Peter were able to impress upon them was the level of professionalism and the importance of the discourse established through blogging. I know many (most) were going back to give it a try themselves.

Information on The Conference Board can be found at http://www.conference-board.org

Thanks again,
Carol Hirsch

[Asia Business Advisor]

Thanks for posting this - interesting read in English about Japanese blogosphere.

[John Redford]

They say the best cure for water on the brain is a tap on the head.

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[Ownershit group]

The Gods offer clues about the ownershit group. Not having any blacks working in-house was a clue not only did these proprietors have a family history against blacks but they also have a personal history in a prior life!!! Also, the "romance" event was a clue they are preditory on women as well.
Once charecterized as good, now revealed as positioning.
Reverse positioning. The clients fall along the same lines.