The World According to Mitch Fanning

While we’re at it, lets also hang up “web log,” “blogger,” “blogosphere,” and any other derivative of the word.

Why?

They’re outdated and, at times, associated with the stereotypical image of the rogue “Internet marketing guru” who plots world domination from their basement and uses excessive hype to bait naïve prospects with empty promises.

Perhaps it’s just the way these words sound to the average “non-techie” business owner or CEO.  To those who don’t eat, sleep, and breathe the Internet and social media it might sound more like a rubber chew toy a two year old puts in their mouth.

Let me assure you this post is not a rant.  On the contrary, it’s a tribute…a manifesto…a declaration.

Give me 48 seconds to explain…

According to the gospel of Saint Wikipedia, the term “web log” was coined in 1997 by Jorn Barger when he used it on his weblog, Robot Wisdom.

Barger used the term to describe the process of “logging the web” as he surfed.  The short form, “blog,” was then used by Peter Merholz, who jokingly broke the word weblog into the phrase we blog on his blog Peterme.com in 1999.

Shortly after, a few others started using “blog” as both a noun and verb (“to blog,” meaning “to edit one’s weblog or to post to one’s weblog”) and devised the term “blogger”.

Here ends the history lesson.

Blogging is Serious Business

Over the past ten years there’s been a new generation of people starting blogs.  They’re building audiences, creating influence, and generating profits.

They’re not just “logging the web,” they’re creating businesses.

Take the Huffington Post, a popular news site (ranked #1 in Technorati), which began as a politics blog by Arianna Huffington.  According to their Google Analytics numbers, the site blasted past 40 million monthly unique visitors in February 2010.

Companies like 37signals, Union Square Ventures, and the Wine Library have successfully used their blogs to build a massive audience, which over time have translated into millions of dollars in revenue and business opportunities.

Darren Rowse of Problogger is an independent blogger who makes a comfortable living from blogs like Digital Photography School and TwiTip.  It didn’t happen in a week, but he’s now built a stable business platform that allows him to leverage new growth opportunities.

These individuals and organizations aren’t just bloggers and blogs. They’re serious media properties, thought-leaders, and online publishers with real business models.

So let’s replace the funny-sounding word with something that gives the medium a bit more respect it’s so rightfully has earned.  Let’s come up with a better term than “blog” to describe the new generation of online publishers who are out there creating real relationships and businesses.

Any suggestions?

About the Author:

Mitch Fanning is an online marketing and social media practitioner. He’s spent 10+ years (and put in his 10,000 hours) working with businesses of all sizes, from global brand (NBC.com, Nestle) to Canada’s fastest growing Internet companies ranked in the PROFIT 100, creating, selling, implementing both traditional and digital marketing opt-in strategies.

Inspired by the post The Word Entrepreneur and its baggage on the Signal Vs Noise, a weblog by 37signals.