This is a review of the eBay Developers Blog.

One of the things that set blogs apart from news listings is the ability to interact with the readers, and their ability to interact back. Even a corporate blog should have the capability for readers to post comments to posts. Not only does this give the reader a sense of working with company, but it is free customer information. This is a lesson which the eBay Developers Program blog failed to receive. Customers of eBay who visit the blog will find that there is no way to comment, making the blog nothing more than a news feed.

Stepping aside from that, examination of the visual qualities of the blog leaves one quite unimpressed. Visuals are limited to text, text, a screen shot or two, text, a clip art image, and text. While many blogs get away with just text, the text is typographically pleasing, not the browsers default by any measure. Examination of the site also fails to readily explain what exactly the site is trying to do.

Over all, the blog is of poor quality, especially given the resources eBay could have put behind the blog. There are many things specifically which merit review, so here is a breakdown of how the site rates in different fields.

Availability, 8 out of 10 –

Typing the blog into a Google search yields the page as the very first link, which is very good. A search for “eBay blog” will yield the blog several pages in, but this is due mainly to interference with their blog service for customers.

Posting Frequency, 6 out of 10 –

The eBay Developers Program blog posts in high numbers but there may be long pauses in between posts, leaving readers with a empty newsreader some days.

Relevance, 4 out of 10 –

It is very difficult to identify exactly whom the blog is trying to reach. The posts remain focused on technical developments of the eBay system, but because of the many voices behind the site, it is hard to figure out why the readers should care. Reading the blog makes it seem more for corporate propaganda than a blog where the company can give news to customers and get feedback in return.

Accuracy, 9 out of 10 –

It is difficult to verify, but so far the blog has remained technically accurate. A point is lost in the inability to verify everything, or comment for further information.

User Interaction, 0 out of 10 –

For the users and readers of the blog, there is no way to directly interact with the blogs writers. The posts lack any comment system, not even a digg button. And aside from author names, the blog offers no means to contact the authors aside from googling their names and hoping a result appears.

Overall, the eBay Developers Program Blog received 27 out of 50, or a whopping 54%. Given this failing grade, one would hope their act gets together and with the times.

Originally posted 2009-02-10 05:57:07. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Once you have made the decision to write a corporate blog, then you are definitely on the right path. However, one of the most important considerations that you need to make when planning for your corporate blog is this: Who are you blogging for? There are two different facets to the answer to this question. The first facet is specifically who you are intending to target, and the second is who is actually reading.

Who are you targeting?

The first thing that you need to figure out when putting together a corporate blog is who you intend on reaching out to. Are you trying to reach new potential customers, or trying to elicit feedback from your readers on the products or services that you offer? Is your main target audience people in the same industry as you, people who operate within your company, or people who are looking to learn more about what you offer?

Who you are intending to write your blog for will determine what you write and how you write it. You need to have a good idea of who your target audiences are when you put together a blog, because a lot of your effort is going to go to writing to reach out to these target readers. If you do not already have a clear cut idea of who you intend to reach out to with your blog, then you have some things that you need to figure out before you start writing.

Who is actually reading?

Something to consider is that the people are reading your blog may or may not be the people who you are actually intending to target. Just because you want to attract new customers doesn’t mean that is who is going to find and want to read your blog. Just because you are attempting to attract people with a certain interest does not mean that is who will find your blog.

You need to be able to determine who is actually reading your blog in order to improve your capability of reaching out to additional readers. Are you attracting people from certain niches? Are you attracting readers but no potential customers? Are you reaching out to the right people, or are you having trouble getting the attention of those who really matter to you? Once you know who you want to target, and once you know who you are actually targeting, that is when you can improve the capabilities of your blog and work on reaching out to new audiences.

One of the biggest questions that you can ask yourself when you start putting together a concept for a corporate blog is this: Who you are blogging for? Once you know who your target audience is, that is when you can truly become effective as a corporate blogger because it will allow you to target your blog entries, website content and other details of your blog specifically to suit your target audience for the greatest effectiveness.

Photo Credit: 1

Originally posted 2008-10-16 05:18:24. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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