Trufelman points out that most blogs concentrate on a specific topic or theme and act as an online destination or community for people interested in the same topic, meaning they attract a highly receptive audience. "Publicists have long sought means for reaching highly targeted audiences, including media reps, in order to drive buzz about their clients, and with the kind of traffic and targeting that blogs generate, topic-specific blogs can fit the bill," he says.

Businesses should bear in mind that news travels faster than ever. Trying to contain a news story today is akin to capturing lightning in a bottle - it just won't work, Trufelman says.

On the other hand, it is becoming apparent that giving people the opportunity to respond to news and information immediately in a community setting provides much better feedback than circulating surveys or polls. Forums, threaded discussions and Weblogs are emerging as the vehicle of choice for content-rich Web sites looking to spark interactive discussion. The key issue is how to bring Internet visitors into the conversation.

"Newer database-driven Web sites are making this easier all the time. What used to be difficult at best - finding appropriate information and a way to respond to it - is now becoming intuitive," Trufelman says.

He points out that companies that offer this type of forum receive many benefits. First, valuable market research and feedback crucial to strategy can be derived from posts by an organization's most valuable contributors - its clients. Second, active participation by media members can drive existing relationships to new levels, while forging entirely new relationships. Third, the opportunity to float ideas or concepts by the community without high expense and extracurricular staff can be a blessing in itself.

Slow Uptake

So far, however, Australian businesses have been reluctant to exploit such advantages.

"We've encountered few Australian enterprise blogs that are directed outwards to an organization's clients and other contacts," Arnold says. "Much of what we have seen comes from SMEs in the 'creative' sector - designers, photographers, advertising and specialist HR agencies and corporate witchdoctors."

Yet this reluctance might prove short-sighted. Kirsten Osolind, founder and principal of re:invention, inc., a marketing consultancy to women-led emerging businesses, predicts some Weblogs will even become revenue generators. She believes revenue generation in the world of blogs will take two forms: subscription revenues (pay per view) and advertising sales. To build subscription revenues, she predicts, blogs will begin using revenue-generating tools such as book club features, e-books, tip sheets, market research reports and exclusive digital content.

"New technologies like DeskTopAuthor 3 enable publishers to charge users for the delivery of content, such as e-books, hence enabling revenue generation," she says. To justify advertising sales, bloggers will need to build substantial audiences. Classified ads and text ads like Blogads, Adysystem and Linkadage Auctions are already finding their way into progressive blogs, according to Osolind.

There is also speculation that brand name media companies may begin to buy out name brand blogs.

Osolind notes US-based right-wing British blogger Andrew Sullivan (andrewsullivan.com), who purportedly makes $6000 a month on his site through donations, claims to have broken even this year. Marketingprofs.com just migrated its blog to a pay-for-subscription model. MarketingWonk and the Small Business Trends blogs also appear headed towards "uber-blog" status.

"Businesses not currently using blogs can learn a great deal about them by reading and monitoring blogs maintained by other organizations," Matsuura says. "Valuable lessons can be learned by tracking blogs that are run by other businesses, non-profit organizations, political groups and individuals."

A good first step for a business could involve development of a blog aimed at the company's employees, investors and business partners. Matsuura says experience with such a friendly audience can then be applied to blogs aimed at a wider universe of participants. Some businesses may find it helpful to encourage employees to establish blogs. Provided that the blogs are run by employees who are happy with the company, the blogs can give the company many of the benefits of blogs, while also preserving a bit of distance between the company and the blog content.