WEEK 2, TASK 1 : Business Blogs

Been searching around the business blogs as required, varying in quality from each one.

I came across 4 Blogs that were notable for comparison and had features I both enjoyed and disliked.

Google Blog


http://googleblog.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2011-01-26T10:17:00-08:00&max-results=10


Google's Blog was interesting as it gave information on more obscure aspects of the company (Holocaust Memorial, Art Gallery stuff) aswell as the usual promoting use a blog can give to customers. I first noticed the use of direct speech to the reader (using "you") which gave the blog a personal and one on one feel to it, making it very much a personal blog rather than just a news stream on the site.

It also provided pictures and video content to keep it interesting and had answers to questions in order to keep consumers informed on certain issues. The most notable post was a comparison with Microsoft's Bing as the blog flat out accused them of stealing Google's search results. This gave some interesting behind-the-scenes likeness to it and could only be read on a blog.

Blockbuster


http://blog.blockbuster.co.uk/page/2/


A blog close to my heart, and by heart, I mean my wallet. I was disappointed to see that Blockbuster's blog was very by the book and perhaps expected of a big business. promoting deals and giving information on new releases with little personality from the blogger. There was the odd "top 10" lists and "year in movies" but no real in depth look at the industry. It had pictures and videos that only gave the illusion of interest. These were mostly trailers and advertisements.

The overall look of the blog was unimpressive and rather dull. I wouldn't return to the blog as it's so impersonal and more like an advertising robot. The information it provides I could get better elsewhere, or just be searching new releases on Blockbuster's site.

Marvel


http://fans.marvel.com/go/universe/help


Their blog appeared to be great in concept. A whole section dedicated to writers, artists and staff's personal blogs? Count me in! Does it work? Sadly no.

The page for the blogs only displays recent posts and has no search function, no list of bloggers, nothing. It's very unintuitive and limiting in what you can look at.

From the recent ones I clicked for a blog post from the online editor of Marvel.
The style is extremely personal and a good read, as it isn't just promoting product. It provides insight to the industry, and can be very witty, great for fans of Marvel.
 I imagine the rest of them would be like this, especially from writers and artists, but as I have to search through backlogs of recent posts, I couldn't be bothered trying! This of course is a very bad sign.


Overall, I'd say my least favourite was Marvel, purely on the principle that I can't find my favourite artist and writer's blog and have to rummage through random posts from hundreds of blog posts. It provides the best insight, has comment boxes and promotes interaction and a treat for fans, but when you can't find anything, it's a real pain. But oddly it has the potential to be the most innovative, promoting a huge spectrum of blogging from numerous sources and opinions, if only they fixed the user interface.

Blockbuster's is technically the worst due to it's no real personification and it being just a vehicle of obvious promotion, but Marvel is the biggest disappointment.