After Action Report: Blog Panel

Sorry for the delay in posting this report on what happened Thursday. I was one of two panelists at the BusinessWire event. Mark Dunn was my contact, but Micky Pace was the onsite organiser and moderator. She did a splendid job in setting things up and running the proceedings, professional and pleasant.

I tried to enter through the front of the Pink Palace, but learned the Club Room was in the back. It kinda had the feel of a church basement meeting room, but was plenty spacious and comfortable. A woman named Carolyn was handling the breakfast part and really laid a nice spread across the back wall: donuts from Howard's (Yeah!), some ham and cheese breakfast sandwiches, lots of coffee and OJ, plenty of fruits in various styles, cheese, etc. I didn't get her full name or catering service, or I'd tell you. Believe me, she did a great job. I took home a bunch of those sandwiches. (Hey, they were drizzled with a hot mustard vinaigrette! I'm eating some now, in fact.)

Turnout was a disappointment, really the only one. About a dozen folks attended, though we had room for four or five times that many. Micky suspected that the date coming during Spring Break was the big problem. Peg, the other panelist, felt that so many Memphians not having computers or access was a factor. I thought it was just that most Memphians really don't know what blogging is or what the power of blogging can do. We both agreed that more information needs to get out. This survey backs that up. Micky said they would look into it and maybe try again in a different way.

The folks who were there were pretty sharp. The three big question topics were about blogging accountability and the First Amendment, using blogs in a corporate environment, and how to generate revenue with blogs. I was surprised to learn that the two most active questioners were from FedEx! I saw quite a few of the attendees taking notes. Every time Peg or I mentioned a site or blog, pens scribbled away.

Peg and I spoke in turns, bouncing answers and comments off each other's answers and the audience's questions, even going back to revisit previous questions and comments. We spoke from 8:45 until just past 10:30! We could have easily kept going for another hour or so.

One question I really liked was about accountability. Several wanted to know what prevents bloggers from printing outright lies? I said, "Libel laws." Which are the same laws that apply to mainstream journalists. Someone else worried about blogs turning into "paparrazi," or printing rumors and gossip. I asked her if she read People magazine. She and the rest seemed to get the point. There's a place for everything; reputations and credibility will have to be built.

Micky had passed around a hand-out of a story from the Nashville Tennessean about the evolving world of corporate blog policies. We batted that one around. One of the FedEx people seemed to want to have controls in place right away. He was worried about harm coming from blogs. I reminded him that corporate policies came about because someone made a mistake first, leading to the need for policies.

I enjoyed myself tremendously, even if I was just "a guy with a website," as I told them. Initially, they seemed to direct more to Peg, but given her corporate status, and my utter lack of corporateness, that's fine. I punctuated my comments with a statement: "Never underestimate the power of an angry customer." I talked about my frustrations with the local media and newspapers leading to the blog path. Afterwards, Micky brought up that blogs are a great way for companies to learn what their customers really think about their products. If I do this again, I hope she remembers to bring that back up. I think the PR types at the panel would really perk up at that.

A couple of folks I should mention. I got to meet former television newsman and current blogger Jamey Tucker. He's a lot taller than I thought -- 6' 2" at least -- and much thinner. On television, he appears a youthful late 30s - early 40s but in person he could easily pass for late 20s! Very friendly guy; it's a shame I didn't have much time to talk with him personally. Let's do lunch sometime!

The big surprise was Joe Larkins. That's right, retired Channel 3 morning show anchor. Asked what he's doing now, he said, "Growing a beard." Which was true! He had a really thick, full beard with stylin' shots of grey mixed in. With his turtleneck and tan leather jacket, and charm to spare, he seemed very relaxed and happy. He said his move from television was largely just a decision to try something different; that he'd gone about as far as he was going to go in television. I didn't get any hints of rancor, just relief at leaving the grind behind. He's an incredibly voluble guy too. You can't shut him up! (I kid. He told a lot of great stories about his career. Ask him about broadcasting in shorts during the Hurricane Elvis aftermath.) With his self-deprecating humor, you can really see why he's been such a popular and well-liked newsman.

There was one of the FedEx people whose name I didn't get, but she seemed really knowledgeable about blogs. I made sure to buttonhole her afterwards and she said she'd been interested for a couple of years. She's exploring ways to use blogs internally in corporations. She asked several very good questions.

So, I had a blast and seemed to have informed a few people. I made the mistake of answering a question from Jamey, where he compared blogs to talk radio in the 80s, by saying a better comparison was to 17th century pamphleteering. I know... too highbrow. Woosh! right over their heads. But I came back a few times to the fact that the Internet is equally as revolutionary as the printing press. Just as we couldn't have predicted universal literacy, or representative democracy becoming the standard of good government, from before the introduction of the printing press, so we can't predict the shape of our future from the early days of the Internet. Near universal access to vast libraries of information was a science fiction staple since at least the 50s, but the reality today looks a lot different than the single massive databases of then. Incomprehensible interconnectivity wasn't predicted, nor was the elevation of individual voices to par with mass-media corporations. The future is still very much an unknowable country.

Thanks to Peg, my co-panelist. (her comments here.) She was about to start vacation, so she was bubbly and having a great time. She spoke very openly about blogging from a corporate viewpoint, the pitfalls and dangers, but in a positive way. We made a grand pair.

So, thanks to Mark and BusinessWire for the invite. I hope they ask me again. Memphis really lags in taking advantage of the possibilities of the Internet, especially politically, and I'd like to help change that. If you have the chance next time, you should come! Especially if you're a blogger, but also if you work at a corporation and want to learn more about the potential of blogging to help your company.