I've noticed that people who have opinions about blogs and bloggers see them in one of two ways: either as fish or rats.
Fish are:
- Beautiful
- Admired
- Valuable
- Prized
Rats are:
- Disruptive
- Sneaky
- Hated
- Pests
The reason I bring this up is because some of us who happen to think blogs and bloggers are fish work with, for, or around people who see them as rats. It's a huge divide when you think about it. If someone thinks they're rats how can you convince them otherwise? You could talk about blog growth and hope they're convinced that 100 million bloggers worldwide can't all be wrong. You could give anecdotes of stories where bloggers have made and changed news stories or rallied around causes to help people. You could tell them that generating content is the new promotional strategy (and I would insert personal stories here) but that may not be enough either.
If I know I'm talking to someone who sees blogs and bloggers as rats rather than fish I generally try to find out how they arrived at their conclusion. Many times this idea developed from an experience (either one they had or something they heard about) where a blog was used in a negative way. Perhaps it was an attack blog or some kind or the perceived lack of control with a blog that made them uncomfortable. Whatever the case I haven't yet discovered a sure-fire method of changing someone's mind and I don't think there is one but the best thing to do is to deal with the issues that led to the conclusion they now hold before dealing with their perspective of blogs and bloggers. Forget that they think blogs are rats. Deal with the reasons they think that. Take the time necessary to reconcile those issues. Only then will you have a chance to turn that rat into a fish.