Comments on: This is not a newspaper: Why ghostblogging doesn't work

By: Bookmarks for March 9th through March 16th | The Author-izer

Bookmarks for March 9th through March 16th | The Author-izer — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 12:08:27 +0000

[...] This is not a newspaper: Why ghostblogging doesn’t work « Shannon Paul’s Very Offi… – Posted in Delicious Bookmarks, Worth Reading | Tags: blogging, gho, Ghostwriting, newspapers, printing, Publishing, RSS, SNCR, socialmedia [...]

By: Copyblogging SUCKS! | Coffee Filter To Do List

Copyblogging SUCKS! | Coffee Filter To Do List — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 18:49:31 +0000

[...] Paul’s post on Ghostblogging found it’s way into my in box last week. As a person who has done an itty bitty [...]

By: Boo! Ghostblogging is scary | Digital Pivot

Boo! Ghostblogging is scary | Digital Pivot — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 11:11:29 +0000

[...] Paul did a great blog post recently about ghostwriting and the comments from her readers are well thought-out. As usual, Shannon does a good job of turning even her blog [...]

By: Todd Smith

Todd Smith — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 22:06:51 +0000

I agree, Shannon. A blog is much more akin to being there (like being at a conference) than it is to being a message from the company. A blog has a personality because of a real person who runs the blog. Like you said, better to have a subordinate run the blog and openly be the center of it, than to have him or her ghostwrite it. Not only does the personality of the blogger give rise to the blog’s personality, but as relationships develop through blogging, the person behind the blog becomes the very identity of the blog. How can a ghostwriter effectively comment on another blog? How can a ghostwriter effectively build relationships? The ghostwriter has no identity. And without an identity, you can’t have a relationship! If the ghostwriter does build relationships, what happens when the supposed blog writer (the CEO) starts meeting the people that his/her ghostwriter has built relationships with? It would be nightmare.

By: Heidi

Heidi — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 15:34:26 +0000

Excellent article, Shannon! I have to agree with you; it is incredibly important to have interaction with a real, consistent person be the draw for people in your social media and blog interactions. Personally, I find it difficult to be consistent when I’m ‘being someone else’; I hope to improve at ghostwriting, but not in the blog venue.

By: laurieslade

laurieslade — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 14:15:52 +0000

Clearly, it’s all about the conversation. You cannot be present in the conversation if someone else is speaking on your behalf. The extension of this theory is, what is the point of a blog without comments? If you don’t allow comments, it’s a monolog, not a conversation. If you can’t be present in the conversation, save your money. Don’t hire a ghost writer.

By: Shannon Paul

Shannon Paul — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 02:57:48 +0000

Heather,
Thanks so much. I know you and profess to have different feelings about this matter, but I hope by taking this approach we can start to see where one another is coming from in order to keep things moving forward. I know it’s a slow process for a lot of clients, and that’s okay. At the end of the day, the decision will fall in the hands of the client/upper management. We can only show them both sides of several choices and work with them to find the best solution.

Mind the fact that I still think there are a vast rainbow of other solutions — it’s not an either or proposition… either *we* blog, or hire a ghostblogger. There are very active Flickr photo streams, vlogs, podcasts and social media newsrooms where companies can make press materials that are optimized for search and deliciously shareable. Participation in the social web doesn’t always have to spell B-L-O-G.

By: Tim Jackson

Tim Jackson — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 01:22:44 +0000

“Our clients and companies we serve need to understand that the actual blog post is only the BEGINNING of the conversation… not game over.”

BINGO!!

This is why I have turned down offers to ghostblog (and have advised against it to other companies). A ghostblogger can only meaningfully move the discussion so far- you need the *real person* for that… in my opinion, that is.

By: Heather Whaling

Heather Whaling — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 00:53:35 +0000

Shannon,

This is an excellent post about a hard-to-nail-down issue. Having participated in other discussions about this topic, I very much appreciate your approach. I don’t agree with the “absolutely no ghostwriting” position … nor do I think a post should ever be written by a ghostwriter/freelancer/etc. in a vacuum without significant direction and participation from the company. But, I 100% agree with you when you say that the discussion ought to center on defining a good *strategy* from a marketing/PR perspective (as you wrote in one of your responses). I work at an agency, and, as our clients dip their toes in the social media space, they want to understand how engaging in conversation will help them from a strategic standpoint. And, not just what someone says is ethically right or wrong. Being able to make the “business case” (for lack of a better phrase) is exactly what clients need to understand — and, frankly, what they expect from their communication team. When it comes to this issue, they need to grasp both sides — pros and cons — and then make the best decision. For some, that will mean staying out of blogging or finding a more appropriate internal person to be the online “voice.” For others, I suspect that may include having someone assist with copy development.

Thanks for writing such a logical post about this … and for participating in the discussion as people have left comments. I’ve enjoyed watching the conversation develop and learning from what you and others write.

Heather (@prtini)

By: Shannon Paul

Shannon Paul — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 00:51:32 +0000

Bill,
Thanks again… I’m mostly reasonable. :) Mostly.