Blog Consulting Companies

If you are considering starting up or have already started up a blog orientated consulting company, take a look at InsideBlogging’s post on what they, as a blog consulting company, do.  I have started developing a business along these lines.  I do wonder if this is not just a fad that will fade into the background much like the many ‘Internet Companies’ during the DotCom boom evaporated when the bubble burst.

After the bubble popped and DotCom became DotBomb, it became clear that there are no (or very few) real ‘Internet Companies, just companies that use the Net as they would use other channels and media to run or promote their businesses.  Sure, the Web changed the way business works quite radically in many instances but technology businesses just for technology are really unlikely to survive.  There must be an underlying business.  Think about the shift from a pure Web-based model that was so popular in the late 90s to a Clicks and Mortar model.

Here is the sales pitch from InsideBlogging:

The brochure site is dead. Weblogs are a corporate communications tool that
  can provide immediate and lasting benefits to your organization:

• Communicate directly with your customers. Move beyond the marketing-speak
      of the brochure site and the stilted language of the press release.
• Establish your company as a voice of authority within your industry.
• Dramatically improve your search engine results.
• Enhance internal communications and knowledge capture
• Increase website traffic through repeat, more-frequent visits.
• Create a new media relations channel–communicate with journalists more
      effectively.

To your customers, your company’s website is your company. Instead of delivering
  marketing messages like a Sermon from the Mount, your site should enable a dialogue
  between your customers and your organization.

Perhaps blogging will become an industry in and of itself.  I suspect the hype will die down and blogs will become a valuable element that can do wonders when added to corporate websites in most instances and really the means to an end.