Business blogging tips and news for professional bloggers

Stephen Baker at Blogspotting (a BusinessWeek blog) makes an interesting point: just because you have a blog doesn't mean you have to call yourself a "blogger."

Saith Stephen:


Exactly.  What's in a name?  Perception, meaning, inference, depth, feeling - in short, names are important.  And if you call your corporate blog a corporate blog and only think of it in that way, you might miss opportunities to strengthen your online presence.

So instead of naming your company blog "The Official Acme Widget Factory Corporate Blog," you might name it "Acme Widget Happenings" or "The Acme Widget Journal" or "Inside Acme Widgets."  It's up to you - there's not necessarily anything wrong with calling it a blog.

Let's say it again: A blog is (you've heard this a thousand times, but please bear with me) merely a publishing tool.  A car is a driving vehicle.  An airplane is just a flying ... you get the point.  And what would you rather call your official corporate jet?  The Acme Official Jet?  Or something a bit snazzier and spicier, like the Acme Zoomer or the Widget Hawk?

Same goes for calling yourself a blogger.  You're a publisher, a writer, a talker, a listener, a mentor, a networker, an explorer, a researcher, and many other things - so it's okay to choose another title.

In a nutshell, what I'm saying is, never confuse identity with image.  What you are (a blogger?) and what you do (you blog?) are separate questions from what you tell the world you are (a writer, guru, expert, publisher, etc.) and what you do (you evangelize your business, you work online, you build the Web by producing quality content and forging beneficial relationships).

So what do you call your blog?  And what do you call yourself?  Do you like the labels "blog" and "blogger"?