The Conversation Needs to Start INSIDE

HP blogger Eric Kintz asked several male senior marketing executives in big companies why blogging matters. Jeez, leaving out half the universe is a bit of a glaring ommission.

Pete Blackshaw nails it:

"The marketing department is typically divorced from consumer affairs and customer service; even worse, there are often competing reward and incentive structures around managing consumer attention. Most customer service departments are rewarded for minimizing consumer attention, while the pro blogging community (derived from marketing and PR and digital strategy circles) usually sings an enticing tune of attention cultivation and recruitment. This can create difficult disconnects, and not so insignificant spending inefficiencies."

Companies need to start listening to their own people before they even consider starting a conversation with their customers.