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Finding Candor in the Blogosphere in an Unlikely Place

by Andy

A recent New York Times article cuts straight to the chase about what makes blogs valuable and popular -- the access to frank and unvarnished insight and perspective. The article focuses on a new blog that Wal-Mart buyers are now posting to that provides unfiltered and candid assessment of the products the retail behemoth peddles.

What is of particular note is that Wal-Mart is world-famous in the retail world for a tight-lipped highly regulated corporate culture. But Wal-Mart is also known for is using technology in effective and cutting-edge ways. As such they have realized no one wants to read a blog propagated by a PR engine. It is not the ability to post information quickly that is the heart and soul of blogging technology; it is who posts the information and the nature of the content that truly adds value. Customers, whether they are in the market for the latest video game or emerging market ETF, want no-nonsense information from those closest to the products, not orchestrated PR campaigns.

The article discusses how Wal-Mart's previous endeavors into the blogosphere were quickly seen as a PR gambit. The realization and adoption of this more authentic online discourse is an illustration that this medium, while registering only about 1,000 hits a day, is one that cannot be ignored. Furthermore, if blogs are to be used successfully, by definition their content must meet these expectations.

This of course presents a challenge for the financial services industry given its highly regulated nature and commoditized product set. Yet, if the retail commodities that Wal-Mart sells in the context of a highly regimented corporate culture have not prevented them from making a legitimate contribution to the blogosphere, it is a clear sign that the financial services industry can also rise to the challenge.