The president of Buzzmachine.com says the blogging adds passion and a sense of control to the media mix.Booksellers and small publishers took a crash course in the power and process of blogging at the recent Book Expo America conference.
Jeff Jarvis, president of Buzzmachine.com and former journalist with the Chicago Tribune, the San Francisco Examiner and TV Guide, described his experiences at blogging, which he began in response to the Sept. 11 attacks. "It retaught me what media is and ought to be," he said. "It's about conversation."
Jarvis discovered over time that "citizen's media," as he calls it, is totally different from the traditional media outlets where he cut his teeth as a journalist. "It's about passion. I had a long, wonderful exchange with Bill Keller of the New York Times on my blog. … At the end of it all, the difference between professional news media and blogs is that professional news media is institutional and dispassionate, while blogs are personal and passionate."
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Jarvis said the essence of blogging comes from a sense of control. "If people control the media, then they will use it," he said, adding that when people feel a sense of control over the content they read, they develop a stronger sense of connection to it and respond with more loyalty.
"The most important invention in the history of media is not the Gutenberg press, it's the remote control. It gave people control over the consumption of media … but now because of the Internet, we have control not only of the consumption of media but the creation of media."
Blogs not only democratize the world of media, they add a voice with a special degree of authority, Jarvis said. "The authority of your friend is more important oftentimes than that of a critic."
He also noted that the professional news media is even starting to view the blogosphere as an authoritative source. "Jeff Greenfield, the media critic and media correspondent for CNN, told me that he now starts every morning reading blogs, because people have found the good stuff for him."
Jarvis emphasized the value of creating a relationship with readers and writers of other blogs by reading, writing, commenting, linking to and even underwriting blogs, reasoning that blogs are a conversation rather than a lecture.
Most attendees at the session, while veterans of the book business, were relatively new to the notion of blogging. Many wanted to know how to find their "niche" in the blogging world and how to use blogging to advance their business.
Jarvis suggested that the best way for authors, editors and booksellers to find their place in the world of blogging is to start blogging—test the waters by using free services such as Blogger.com, then move up to richer tools when the opportunity presents itself.
Above all, Jarvis sees the blogging phenomenon as a crucial turning point at which "creation and consumption cross," creating a new world of media in which compelling content finds its own market by virtue of a passionate connection with its audience.
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