Weblog Survey Catholic University Eichstaett

Corporate weblogs
- The impact of blogging on knowledge work -
Dr. Stephan Kaiser
Stefanie Kroth
Gordon Müller-Seitz
Eichstaett-Ingolstadt 2006
Corporate weblogs
-1-
Content
I.
Introduction – Weblogs as a new phenomenon
p. 3
II.
Blogging behavior – How bloggers blog
p. 9
III.
Motivation – Why blogging motivates
p. 15
IV.
Knowledge – The impact of blogging on the knowledge worker
p. 27
V.
Microsoft Longhorn – Illuminative insights from a case study
p. 45
VI.
Further information – Useful resources at a glance
p. 49
Corporate weblogs
-2-
Introduction to corporate weblogs
Central features of weblog-technology
The term “weblog” was coined by Jorn Barger on his Robot
Wisdom site in 1997. The name stems from the contraction of
the words “web” and “log” and epitomizes a technology that
belongs to the field of social software. Although there exists no
consensus concerning the definition of weblogs and various
subtypes have already emerged, some common features of the
weblog-phenomenon can be recognized]. First of all, weblogs
refer to a website where individual thoughts are publicly
displayed in the form of a log. The site’s content is freely
accessible via the Internet and no fees have to be disbursed. In
most of the cases, a single person renders the initial content of
the site. However, it is also possible that more than one person
contributes to the weblog. Moreover, a weblog is characterized
by the fact that the publications occur in a reverse
chronological order and periodically, although the frequency
varies profoundly.
Moreover, each post (also called entry), is time-stamped and
archived so that old content remains accessible. The single
entries are predominantly text based and usually possess a
title in the form of a large header, followed by text-fragments
that are amalgamated with pictures, and often with links
likewise. This is also the point, where the blogosphere
becomes relevant, alluding to the fact that the entire number of
weblogs in the Internet represents a distinct media ecosystem.
As a result of the interlinking, there exists a multiply
intertwined network of multitudinous weblogs, i.e. the
“blogosphere”.
Corporate weblogs
In addition, the probably most noteworthy feature of weblogs
concerns the possibility for readers to write accompanying
commentaries in the designated sections that often entail
vibrant discussions [Herring et al. 2005]. These conversations
are analogous to the discussions that can be observed in the
form of threads in the field of open-source software.
However, the most striking feature concerns the ability to
establish diverse virtual references to other weblogs by means
of various functions, namely blogrolls, permalinks and
trackbacks. Blogrolls constitute a list of links to those weblogs
the author recommends and reads frequently. These links are
usually located on one side of the respective weblog and
enable the reader to infer information about the preferences of
the author. In contrast, single static links, called permalinks,
refer to particular posts or even particular sections of a post in
other weblogs or websites and emanate from a particular
section within a post. Permalinks represent in this sense a
modification that is closely related to the blogroll feature or the
“bookmark” feature in common office software applications. In
a similar vein, in- and outbound trackbacks exemplify a third
form of virtual referencing, or rather, interacting. Trackbacks
allow webloggers to see who has referred to his or her original
post by writing a reply. This feature habitually appears below a
post and shows a summary of what has been voiced on the
target weblog in conjunction with the URL and name of the
weblog at stake.
-3-
Introduction to corporate weblogs
Differentiating weblogs from related technologies
Focussing upon corporate weblogs
Following the introduction of the distinctive characteristics, one
ought to separate weblogs from related Internet phenomena
for further clarification. First, in contrast to ordinary online
diaries, weblogs possess the ability to be augmented with
hyperlinks, permalinks or trackbacks, enabling the interlinking
via the blogosphere voluntarily. Though this is a distinctive
difference in many cases, the line is unfortunately quite blurred
in this respect. As opposed to personal web pages (“home
pages”), weblogs are ideally more often updated. Furthermore,
they are usually establishing a relationship between the
individual author and the person or community that reads the
content of the webpage due to recurrent posts and, vice versa,
visits from the readership’s point of view. Other comparable
phenomena are bulletin board systems, newsgroups and chats.
These are quite similar, but usually lack the ability to be
interlinked. Nevertheless, they differ consistently concerning
the authority to add original content. While in the other three
forms the content is created jointly (i.e. symmetrically), in the
case of weblogs, the content is solely creator defined (i.e.
asymmetrical). As a conclusion, we assume that weblogs are
not an entirely novel phenomenon. In fact, it is closely related
to traditional Internet genres, above all, online diaries and
bulleting board systems. However, weblogs can be asserted
their own position in the broader genre ecology of the Internet.
Regarding the evolution of this new phenomenon, it is worth
mentioning that weblogs initially mainly consisted of entries
that resembled personal online diaries. However, weblogs have
nowadays moved beyond self-reflective personal or journalistic
disclosures to multifaceted applications within organizational
settings. The following section is an endeavor to offer a
taxonomy of the various emerging manifestations of the
corporate weblog-phenomenon.
In order to conceive the forms of appearance accurately, we
deploy several dimensions. As an initial point, we deem it
appropriate to identify the dimension target group, which can
be subdivided into an internal as well as an external target
group. Internal target group would then focus upon all
employees, whereas external refers to stakeholders such as
customers. In contrast, the content of the weblog constitutes a
further dimension that can be subdivided into the aspects
specific and general.
Corporate weblogs
-4-
Introduction to corporate weblogs
Content
Specific
External
General
Collaborative
Branding
Knowledge
Culture
Target group
Internal
Taxonomy of company-relevant weblogs
Concerning the employees as the internal target group, culture
weblogs might proof useful to strengthen a company’s culture
and corporate identity. Thereby, the content is supposed to be
private and informal (i.e. general). Thus, culture weblogs would
incur the role of an information broker, leveraging the latest
rumours or conversations similar to a notice board. In contrast
to this, knowledge weblogs are concentrated upon the
employees as well, but their content is specific.
Corporate weblogs
These weblogs also address a designated group of participants
and facts prevail the content of the posts. Such quasi teamoriented knowledge weblogs might also be regarded as an
analogue to communities of practice.
With regard to external target groups, stakeholder such as
customers etc. can be addressed in order to strengthen the
profile and reputation of the company, whereby the employees
always have to expose themselves as part of the workforce of
the respective corporation. Hereby, it seems striking that
employees are increasingly notifying information about their
experiences and progress at work publicly or in a corporate
environment. This can be achieved via branding-weblogs whose
content is rather general. In this case, the individual posts of
employee might reveal insider reports about everyday
occurrences at work. Collaboration-weblogs would be an
alternative in so far, as their content is specific. For instance, in
a corporate context this affords the opportunity of continuous
one- or even many-to-many communication between employees
and/or employees and customers or other stakeholders about
specific tasks, services or products. When it comes to
application in reality, this is the prevalent form of weblogs in a
corporate context to date.
-5-
Method, sample and objectives of the survey
„ Method:
„ Online-based questionnaire
„ Design: 5-point Likert-scale
„ Hosted by adenquire.net
„ Evaluation: with SPSS, a software tool for quantitative research
„ Sample:
„ Target group: Bloggers of three big software companies (Sun Microsystems, Mircrosoft, and
Oracle)
„ Time period: one month, summer 2005
„ Response rate: 93 persons; a response rate cannot be calculated due to unknown size of
population
„ Objectives:
„ Analysis and interpretation of blogging behavior with reference to knowledge work
„ Detecting the motives behind blogging
„ Examine the impact of blogging on organizational knowledge
Corporate weblogs
-6-
Underlying structure of the survey
Blogging behavior
Motivation
(Intrinsic/Extrinsic)
Corporate weblogs
Knowledge
-7-
Content
I.
Introduction – Weblogs as a new phenomenon
p. 3
II.
Blogging behavior – How bloggers blog
p. 9
III.
Motivation – Why blogging motivates
p. 15
IV.
Knowledge – The impact of blogging on the knowledge worker
p. 27
V.
Microsoft Longhorn – Illuminative insights from a case study
p. 45
VI.
Further information – Useful resources at a glance
p. 49
Corporate weblogs
-8-
Underlying structure of the survey
Blogging behavior
Motivation
(Intrinsic/Extrinsic)
Corporate weblogs
Knowledge
-9-
When looking at the blogging behavior, the results indicate
differences in the respondents’ blogging intensity
Intensity
„ The overall blogging intensity ranges from a
very high level (7 % of all respondents) to a
low level one
„ In turn, only a small group of webloggers (i.e.
5 %) shows a low level of blogging intensity
35
30
25
in %
„ The biggest group of all respondents is either
characterized by a high or mid-range blogging
intensity
40
20
15
10
5
0
1
Corporate weblogs
2
3
4
5
- 10 -
Regarding the blogging period and the respondents‘ demographics
the survey reveals interesting results
My age is...
70
60
50
in %
„ Most of the participants (i.e. 61 %) are middle
aged between 30 and 39, whereas 22 % are
between 20 an 29 years old
„ Only a very small group of respondents (i.e. 5
%) belongs to the group aged 50+
40
30
20
10
0
0 - 19
Corporate weblogs
30 - 39
40 - 49
50 +
I have been blogging for...
35
30
25
in %
„ Looking at the blogging period since
beginning to blog, there are three or even four
main groups
„ Respectively almost one third (i.e. 30 %) of all
respondents has either been blogging for
seven to twelve months or even for one to two
years
„ Only a very small group has been blogging for
less than one month, whereas one fourth has
been blogging for one to six months
20 - 29
20
15
10
5
0
less than one
month
one to six
months
seven to
twelve
months
one to two
years
more than
two years
- 11 -
The blogging intensity is mirrored by the frequency of posting as
well as the length of the posts
„ Respectively one fourth (i.e. 24 %) posts
several times a week or once or twice a month
I post...
50
45
40
35
in %
„ The strongest group with almost half of all
respondents (i.e. 43 %), posts once or twice a
week, whereas only 2 % belong to heavy
bloggers which post even several times a day
15
10
5
0
several times
a day
„ When posting respondents mostly write midlong posts: the average length of the posts of
more than half of all respondents (i.e. 56 %) is
half a page
„ Only a small group (i.e. 2 %) writes only a few
words or one to three lines (i.e. 8 %)
Corporate weblogs
25
20
„ The overall distribution follows a normal curve
several times once or twice once or twice
less than
a week
a week
a month
once a month
The average length of my posts is…
60
50
40
in %
„ However, 28 % post with an average length of
one page or even more than one page (6 %)
30
30
20
10
0
a few words
one to three
lines
half a page
one page
more than
two years
- 12 -
The blogging intensity is also reflected in the commenting and
reading of other weblogs
„ On the passive site, the result is somewhat
more homogenous: Most of all respondents
(i.e. 45 %) read weblogs several times a day,
whereas 28 % read weblogs several times a
week and others (20 %) once or twice a week.
„ Another group with 6 % of all respondents
stated that they read weblogs once or twice a
month, whereas nobody reads weblogs less
than once a month
Corporate weblogs
35
30
25
in %
„ The majority (one third of all respondents)
comments on other blogs once or twice a
week, whereas the same number comments
once or twice a month (i.e. 21 %) or even less
than once a month (i.e. 22 %)
I comment on other weblogs...
20
15
10
5
0
several times
a day
several times once or twice once or twice
less than
a week
a week
a month
once a month
I read weblogs...
50
45
40
35
in %
„ On the active site, some respondents
comment on other weblogs several times a
week (i.e. 21 %) or even several times a day
(i.e. 7 %)
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
several times a several times a once or twice
day
week
a week
once or twice
a month
less than once
a month
- 13 -
Content
I.
Introduction – Weblogs as a new phenomenon
p. 3
II.
Blogging behavior – How bloggers blog
p. 9
III.
Motivation – Why blogging motivates
p. 15
IV.
Knowledge – The impact of blogging on the knowledge worker
p. 27
V.
Microsoft Longhorn – Illuminative insights from a case study
p. 45
VI.
Further information – Useful resources at a glance
p. 49
Corporate weblogs
- 14 -
Relationship between the underlying questionnaire items
Blogging behavior
Motivation
(Intrinsic/Extrinsic)
Corporate weblogs
Knowledge
- 15 -
In an overall perspective, the blogging behavior of webloggers is
evoked by some motivational factors
„ More than half (i.e. 52 %) of all respondents
agree that they are motivated; 41 % of them
show some motivation as well
Motivation
„ In detail, respondents stated that they blog
because...
„ “…it's easy, it's fun, and it connects me to
others.”
„ “…of many reasons, mostly related to career
and reputation building.”
„ “…it is fun, it is a contribution to the overall
community of some expertise I have.”
50
40
in %
„ “…it helps me get feedback from customers,
about my work.”
60
30
20
10
0
1
2
3
4
5
„ “…I give something, I get something, DO UT
DES.”
Corporate weblogs
- 16 -
Content
I.
Introduction – Weblogs as a new phenomenon
p. 3
II.
Blogging behavior – How bloggers blog
p. 9
III.
Motivation – Why blogging motivates
p. 15
IV.1
Intrinsic motivation
p. 18
IV.2
Extrinsic motivation
p. 24
IV.
Knowledge – The impact of blogging on the knowledge worker
p. 27
V.
Microsoft Longhorn – Illuminative insights from a case study
p. 45
VI.
Further information – Useful resources at a glance
p. 49
Corporate weblogs
- 17 -
In detail, bloggers are mostly driven by intrinsic motivation
Intrinsic motivation
„ Almost 20 % even strongly agree, as well as
the same number of respondents neither
agree nor disagree that they were driven by an
intrisic form of motivation
Corporate weblogs
60
50
40
in %
„ Most of the respondents (i.e. 56 %) agree that
they are instrinsically motivated for blogging;
i.e. they blog because they just enjoy blogging
or have fun while blogging
30
20
10
0
1
2
3
4
5
- 18 -
Different survey items produce evidence for the intrinsic
motivation of bloggers
I enjoy blogging
„ The item about pleasure or enjoyment of
blogging shows a quite uniform picture
45
40
35
in %
„ Over 80 % agree or even strongly agree about
the fact that they enjoy blogging
50
30
25
20
„ Only a small group of all respondents (i.e. 5 %)
disagrees with this statement
15
10
5
0
strongly
agree
„ In fact, almost 20 % of all respondents are
dissatisfied with their blogging activities
disagree
strongly
disagree
40
35
30
in %
25
20
15
10
5
0
strongly
agree
Corporate weblogs
neither agree
nor disagree
I am satisfied with my blogging activities
„ Over one third of all respondents agree that
they were satisfied with their blogging
activities; 19 % even strongly agree
„ However, a quarter of all respondents neither
agree nor disagree
agree
agree
neither agree
nor disagree
disagree
strongly
disagree
- 19 -
Two more questionnaire items confirm bloggers‘ instrinsic
motivation
„ In contrast, 26 % neither agree nor disagree
with the discussed topic
It is important for me to do well at blogging
45
40
35
30
in %
„ The largest group of respondents (i.e. 38 %)
agree that it was important for them to do well
at blogging and even another group of 22 % of
all respondents strongly agree
25
20
15
10
5
0
strongly
agree
agree
neither agree
nor disagree
disagree
strongly
disagree
I am blogging because I want to
„ Only a very small group does not blog
voluntarily
60
50
40
in %
„ Most of all, respondents agree or even
strongly agree that they are blogging because
they want to
30
20
10
0
strongly
agree
Corporate weblogs
agree
neither agree
nor disagree
disagree
strongly
disagree
- 20 -
In addition, blogging can bring some value to bloggers and thus
could contribute to bloggers` instrinsic motivation
I believe blogging is of some value to me
„ Most of the bloggers agree (i.e. 48 %) or even
strongly agree (i.e. 37 %) with the statement
that blogging is of some value to them
50
40
in %
„ Few are undecided (i.e. 10 %) and only a very
small group disagrees or disagrees strongly
with the statement (each with 2 %)
60
30
20
10
0
strongly
agree
Corporate weblogs
agree
neither agree
nor disagree
disagree
strongly
disagree
- 21 -
Content
I.
Introduction – Weblogs as a new phenomenon
p. 3
II.
Blogging behavior – How bloggers blog
p. 9
III.
Motivation – Why blogging motivates
p. 15
IV.1
Intrinsic motivation
p. 18
IV.2
Extrinsic motivation
p. 23
IV.
Knowledge – The impact of blogging on the knowledge worker
p. 27
V.
Microsoft Longhorn – Illuminative insights from a case study
p. 45
VI.
Further information – Useful resources at a glance
p. 49
Corporate weblogs
- 22 -
In comparison to intrinsic motivation, one can observe that
webloggers are less extrinsically motivated
Extrinsic motivation
„ By looking at the aggregate variable, the
biggest group of respondents (i.e. 47 %) is
undecided if they were extrinsically motivated:
they do not agree nor disagree
„ 17 % of all respondents even disagree that
they were extrinsically motivated, which
stands for a more intrinsic kind of motivation
Corporate weblogs
45
40
35
in %
„ But 30 % agree that they were driven by an
extrinsic form of motivation
50
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
1
2
3
4
5
- 23 -
Weblogger try to enhance their renown by means of weblogging
Blogging enhances my reputation
50
45
40
35
in %
„ The majority of webloggers acknowledge the
beneficial impact of weblogging upon their
own reputation (i.e. 28 % strongly agree and
45 % agree)
„ In contrast, only 13 % disagree to diverse
extents (i.e. 11 % disagree, whereas only 2 %
strongly disagree)
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
strongly
agree
agree
neither agree
nor disagree
disagree
strongly
disagree
I can show my competence by blogging
Corporate weblogs
50
45
40
35
in %
„ More than two thirds of the webloggers
assume that weblogging helps to illustrate
their competence
„ Only a few people are undecided (i.e. 18 %
neither agree nor disagree)
„ Just a tiny fraction of 11 % of all the
respondents presumed that weblogging is not
relevant for revealing their competencies
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
strongly
agree
agree
neither agree
nor disagree
disagree
strongly
disagree
- 24 -
As expected, most of the webloggers do not expect to be
remunerated for their weblogging-activities
„ The overall majority is not motivated to blog
by financial profits
I am motivated to blog as I can earn money
with it
70
„ Only 4 % agree to blog in order to gain
financial benefits
50
in %
„ These results can be deemed to be in
accordance with the strong hints that
webloggers are intrinsically motivated
60
40
30
20
10
0
strongly
agree
Corporate weblogs
agree
neither agree
nor disagree
disagree
strongly
disagree
- 25 -
Content
I.
Introduction – Weblogs as a new phenomenon
p. 3
II.
Blogging behavior – How bloggers blog
p. 9
III.
Motivation – Why blogging motivates
p. 15
IV.
Knowledge – The impact of blogging on the knowledge worker
p. 27
V.
Microsoft Longhorn – Illuminative insights from a case study
p. 45
VI.
Further information – Useful resources at a glance
p. 49
Corporate weblogs
- 26 -
Relationship between the underlying questionnaire items
Blogging behavior
Motivation
(Intrinsic/Extrinsic)
Corporate weblogs
Knowledge
- 27 -
By means of weblogging, novel connections can be established
that enhance the previous access to knowledge
The overall results indicate that webloggers assume
that blogging enlarges their access to knowledge
„
For example, respondents stated, that weblogs help
them to…
„
„…understand how others think“
„
„...show my knowledge, skills and interests to the
community and potential customers“
„
“…get personal insights into other people's
activities. That means that blogs allow me to learn
how to configure my computer through to
learning what it's like to be a policeman in
Manchester.
Interesting,
useful
and
fun
information is easily available”
„
„
“I'm an extreme extrovert - I learn and gain
knowledge by talking things through”
Overall change in topics considering
organizational and individual knowledge
60
50
40
in %
„
30
20
10
0
1
2
3
4
5
“…discern what i currently know about my field of
expertise in an organized way, as well as gain
more insight on particulars such as tips, tricks and
mechanisms of my field of expertise when reading
up on other reliable knowledge weblogs”
Corporate weblogs
- 28 -
Content
I.
Introduction – Weblogs as a new phenomenon
p. 3
II.
Blogging behavior – How bloggers blog
p. 9
III.
Motivation – Why blogging motivates
p. 15
IV.
Knowledge – The impact of blogging on the knowledge worker
p. 27
VI.1
Knowledge quality
p. 30
VI.2
Knowledge access
p. 35
V.
Microsoft Longhorn – Illuminative insights from a case study
p. 45
VI.
Further information – Useful resources at a glance
p. 49
Corporate weblogs
- 29 -
The knowledge gained by blogging is deemed valuable – not only
for the individual weblogger, but also for the organization
Quality of knowledge
„ Nearly two thirds of all respondents agreed
that weblogging is useful since the knowledge
derived from it is of high quality
60
50
„ However, 27 % are undecided
in %
40
„ 13 % even disagree, i.e. they assume that the
quality of knowledge conveyed by weblogs is
not valuable
30
20
10
0
1
„ A relative high proportion of respondents is
neither against this claim nor in favor of it
„ Only roughly a tenth of the webloggers think
that weblogging does not culminate in
enhanced organizational knowledge quality
Corporate weblogs
3
4
5
By blogging the quality of organizational
knowledge gets better
50
45
40
35
in %
„ Nearly two thirds of all participants (i.e. 60 %)
agree that the organizational knowledge
improves by means of weblogging
2
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
strongly
agree
agree
neither agree
nor disagree
disagree
strongly
disagree
- 30 -
Blogging in a knowledge community evokes an identification with
fellow webloggers
„ Two thirds (i.e. 69 % ) of the webloggers feel
attached to their weblogging community
35
30
25
in %
„ Only 11 % are reluctant to that idea, whereas a
relatively high amount of participants (i.e. 19
%) indicated that they neither agree nor
disagree
40
By blogging I feel that I belong to a
knowledge community
20
15
10
5
0
strongly
agree
Corporate weblogs
agree
neither agree
nor disagree
disagree
strongly
disagree
- 31 -
Webloggers assume that blogging results in enhanced knowledge quality –
either by introspection or by deriving benefits from fellow webloggers
My weblog helps me to reflect about my
own knowledge
45
„ 76% of all webloggers favor the idea that they
blogging urges them to reflect upon their
knowledge
35
30
in %
„ Only few people disagree (i.e. 11 %), whereas
14 % of the webloggers were indecisive
40
25
20
15
10
5
0
strongly
agree
„ However, nearly a third remains neutral and
does not deem the discussion to be vibrant
„ Only 8 % argue that the weblog-community
they observe or participate in is not vibrant
disagree
strongly
disagree
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
strongly
agree
Corporate weblogs
neither agree
nor disagree
Discussions within the weblog-community
are vibrant
40
in %
„ Two thirds of the webloggers are enticed to
observe or participate in the weblogcommunity due to vibrant discussions
agree
agree
neither agree
nor disagree
disagree
strongly
disagree
- 32 -
Further knowledge-related benefits from blogging concern the
attribution of knowledge to responsible persons, as well as the
presupposed confidentiality of the sources
„ Nevertheless, nearly a third (i.e. 29 %) opposes
this idea
Weblogs help me to understand who knows
what in the organization
40
35
30
25
in %
„ Nearly half of the respondents presume that
knowledge conveyed with the help of weblogs
makes it easier, to find the person that is
responsible for that knowledge
15
10
5
„ 25 % of the webloggers aired that they are
undecided
0
strongly
agree
„ In contrast to expectations, less than half of
the respondents argued that they trust the
various weblog sources/authors
„ 16 % indicated that the information displayed
in weblogs is untrustworthy
agree
neither agree
nor disagree
disagree
strongly
disagree
The information displayed in weblogs is
trustworthy
40
35
30
25
in %
„ A high amount of the webloggers is indecisive
while neither agreeing nor disagreeing
20
20
15
10
5
0
strongly
agree
Corporate weblogs
agree
neither agree
nor disagree
disagree
strongly
disagree
- 33 -
Content
I.
Introduction – Weblogs as a new phenomenon
p. 3
II.
Blogging behavior – How bloggers blog
p. 9
III.
Motivation – Why blogging motivates
p. 15
IV.
Knowledge – The impact of blogging on the knowledge worker
p. 27
VI.1
Knowledge quality
p. 30
VI.2
Knowledge access
p. 35
V.
Microsoft Longhorn – Illuminative insights from a case study
p. 45
VI.
Further information – Useful resources at a glance
p. 49
Corporate weblogs
- 34 -
Webloggers presume to derive benefits from weblogging while
gaining access to knowledge
Knowledge access
„ Over two thirds of the webloggers consent to
the idea that blogging is beneficial in terms of
enhancing knowledge access
70
„ 27 % of the respondents were indecisive
50
„ Just 3 % disagreed with that notion, which
leads to the conclusion that access is likely to
be improved by weblogging
40
in %
60
30
20
10
0
1
Corporate weblogs
2
3
4
5
- 35 -
In particular, access to external knowledge is improved
by blogging
External access
„ The majority of webloggers (i.e. 81 %) approve
the idea that they gain superior access to
external sources
50
40
in %
„ Only 4 % disagree and assume that external
access has not improved
60
30
20
10
0
1
Corporate weblogs
2
3
4
5
- 36 -
Most respondents agree that blogging has changed
their access to new knowledge
With weblogs I gained access to new
knowledge
50
45
35
in %
„ 90 % of respondents agree that weblogs offer
access to new knowledge
40
30
25
20
„ Only 1 % does not agree with that statement
15
10
„ The access to new knowledge is triggered by
the possibility to make new contacts outside
the organization
5
0
strongly
agree
agree
neither agree
nor disagree
disagree
strongly
disagree
„ 84 % of respondents stated, the they made
such contacts outside the organization
„ In conclusion, weblogs can be interpreted as a
technology that facilitates the exploration of
new knowledge for the organization
By means of weblogs I made new contacts
outside the organization
45
40
35
in %
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
strongly
agree
Corporate weblogs
agree
neither agree
nor disagree
disagree
strongly
disagree
- 37 -
However, the measure for access of internal knowledge
is positive as well
Internal access
„ 48 % of respondents agree that weblogging
provides access to internal organizational
knowledge
50
„ Only 16 % do not agree with that statement
35
40
in %
„ However, there are 36 % of respondents who
are undetermined about this issue
45
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
1
Corporate weblogs
2
3
4
5
- 38 -
In conclusion, weblogs have changed access to organizational
knowledge
By blogging my access to knowledge has
changed
60
50
in %
40
30
20
„ 73 % of bloggers agree that the access to
knowledge has changed through weblogging;
only 10 % do not agree with that statement
10
0
strongly agree
agree
„ Weblogs help to access more people than
before. Thus, weblogging is a tool for
establishing social networks
„ 83 % of respondents agree that they have
access to more people than before
neither agree
nor disagree
disagree
strongly
disagree
With weblogs I can access more people
than before
60
50
in %
40
30
20
10
0
strongly
agree
Corporate weblogs
agree
neither agree
nor disagree
disagree
strongly
disagree
- 39 -
It is not just the access to knowledge: another advantage of
weblogging is the velocity of access
Velocity of access
„ Over 55 % aggree that weblogging means a
fast access to internal and external knowledge
50
45
„ Only 13 % of respondents do not agree with
this statement
35
in %
„ In consequence, access to internal and
external knowledge is fast, or as one of the
respondents stated: blogging “is a powerful
knowledge tool”.
40
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
1
Corporate weblogs
2
3
4
5
- 40 -
In particular the fast access to external knowledge is a crucial
aspect
By means of weblogs corporate knowledge
can be accessed quickly
35
30
in %
25
„ Half of the respondents agree that weblogs
help to quickly access internal knowledge
„ Only 12 % do not see a fast access of external
knowledge
15
10
5
0
„ More significant is the statement that by
means of weblogs knowledge outside the
organization can be accessed quickly
„ 76 % of bloggers agreed with this statement.
20
strongly
agree
agree
neither agree
nor disagree
disagree
strongly
disagree
By means of weblogs knowledge outside
the organization can be accessed quickly
60
50
in %
40
30
20
10
0
strongly
agree
Corporate weblogs
agree
neither agree
nor disagree
disagree
strongly
disagree
- 41 -
Beyond the aspects of access to knowledge, blogging might change
personal impact on organizational knowlegde and the intensity of
knowledge flows
By blogging my personal impact on organizational knowledge creation increased
40
35
30
„ Over all, 55 % of webloggers feel that their
personal impact on organizational knowldge
creation has increased
in %
25
20
15
10
5
0
„ Only 16 % do not agree to that statement
strongly
agree
„ On an organizational level, this can result in a
more intensive flow of organizational
knowledge
„ However, 20 % can not agree to the same
issue
neither agree
nor disagree
disagree
strongly
disagree
By blogging the intensity of organizational
knowledge flows increased
40
35
30
25
in %
„ More than half of the respondents agree on
the statement that blogging has increased the
intensity of knowledge flows
agree
20
15
10
5
0
strongly
agree
Corporate weblogs
agree
neither agree
nor disagree
disagree
strongly
disagree
- 42 -
Of course, most respondents do use other corporate knowledge
bases, but weblogging is special . . .
„ 80 % of webloggers agree that there are
relevant other knowledge bases
„ “…it is a revolution regarding social
interactions that will improve the quality of my
Customer Relations and the reach of new
people”
„ “…it is relatively unstructured. It's easy to refind information. It's relatively informal”
„ “…it combines reflection, publishing and
networking”
Apart from weblogs, I use other corporate
knowledge bases
60
50
40
in %
„ Nevertheless, they think blogging is special,
because…
30
20
10
0
strongly
agree
agree
neither agree
nor disagree
disagree
strongly
disagree
„ “…it is a powerful knowledge tool”
„ “…it has opened up communication across
boundaries.”
Corporate weblogs
- 43 -
Content
I.
Introduction – Weblogs as a new phenomenon
p. 3
II.
Blogging behavior – How bloggers blog
p. 9
III.
Motivation – Why blogging motivates
p. 15
IV.
Knowledge – The impact of blogging on the knowledge worker
p. 27
V.
Microsoft Longhorn – Illuminative insights from a case study
p. 45
VI.
Further information – Useful resources at a glance
p. 49
Corporate weblogs
- 44 -
The Microsoft-Longhorn Blogosphere – Illuminative insights
from a case study
A very prominent example of a corporate weblog is the
development documentation of Microsoft’s new software
“Microsoft-Longhorn”, recently launched as “Vista”. The
Microsoft-Longhorn Blogosphere (MLB) is interesting for two
reasons: Firstly, in contrast to other blogospheres within the
corporate realm, the weblog-entries of the MLB are publicly
accessible (www.longhornblogs.com). Secondly, the MLB
focuses on knowledge management-related activities as
webloggers are noting information about their experiences and
progress at developing and using specific software. The MLB
can be depicted along two dimensions, organizational aspects,
and participants.
Organizational Aspects
Regarding the websites that seriously and purposely deal with
Microsoft-related contents, one can distinguish between
websites that are either administered by Microsoft and those
that are not. The MLB belongs to those that are not officially
administered by Microsoft. However, Microsoft encourages its
employees to engage themselves in the diverse companyrelated communities that have either an informative or a
software-related scope. The information exchanged is
restricted to the Longhorn-software. A prior test version was
assigned to the MLB-members in September 2003 in the run-up
to the Professional Developers Conference (PDC) in Los
Angeles.
Corporate weblogs
The final version of Microsoft-Longhorn is expected to be
launched by the beginning of 2007. With regard to the PDC,
the MLB was mainly active between September and October
2003. The intention was to provide potential customers,
voluntary contributors, and developers with a platform to air
their views of the upcoming software. The weblogs are
concertedly
operated
at
the
respective
website
www.longhornblogs.com. The various members communicate
via this platform but they are also partially interlinked via their
private weblogs.
Participants of the MLB
The MLB consists of Microsoft employees (labeled as
“experts”), as well as non-Microsoft members, so called Most
Valuable Professionals (MVP). According to the Microsoft’s
homepage, the MVP Program recognizes and thanks
outstanding members of technical communities for their
community participation and willingness to help others. The
program celebrates the most active community members from
around the world who provide invaluable online and offline
expertise that enriches the community experience and makes a
difference in technical communities featuring Microsoft
products” [Microsoft 2005]. The MLB consisted of 60 registered
members, 43 of them MVPs and 17 Microsoft employees. In
turn, 36 of them were active weblogger (25 MVPs and 11
Microsoft experts). For our purpose, we labeled those MLBmembers as “active webloggers” who contributed at least once
to the MLB via a permalink, post or comment.
- 45 -
The Microsoft-Longhorn Blogosphere – Illuminative insights
from a case study
To analyze these data in depth, a social network analysis by
means of the statistical software UCINET helps to illuminate the
activities further. We analyzed the websites’ various modes of
communication (posts, comments etc. within a period from
September 2003 to March 2005) by collecting in an Excel-sheet
by means of diverse matrices, whereby each of the 36
weblogger was assigned one column, as well as one row. The
relational intensity was reduced to a binary scale (one vs. zero)
- i.e. the existence or non-existence of a link (sometimes also
referred to as tie) between two persons was measured. As a
result, the figure below just represents the various linkages
among the MLB-members and one cannot make a distinction
between the types of communication anymore.
Corporate weblogs
Looking at the various weblogger, one can assert that Blogger
1, Blogger 28 as well as Blogger 29 were the most active
participants within the MLB. In this connexion it seems worth
mentioning that those weblogger that contributed oftentimes
were also contacted more frequently (i.e. there existed a high
correlation of 0,67 between posts and comments and the score
for posts and trackbacks was 0,79). To put it differently, one
can assert a high degree of reciprocity here. Thus, it seems as
if webloggers that have a strong attachment to the
blogosphere will be more likely to help others when they
experience problems or have questions. In turn, they also
received considerably more feedback in comparison to less
active MLB-members. Nevertheless, the reciprocity can be
depicted as a generalized reciprocity. For instance, Blogger 28
got 115 posts and 548 comments, whereby he will not expect
to receive help or information from the MLB-member he helped
last week, but from another network member.
- 46 -
Loghornblogs.com – an example for corporate knowledge blogs
Blogger
33
Lead User (MVP)
Microsoft Employee
Corporate weblogs
- 47 -
Content
I.
Introduction – Weblogs as a new phenomenon
p. 3
II.
Blogging behavior – How bloggers blog
p. 9
III.
Motivation – Why blogging motivates
p. 15
IV.
Knowledge – The impact of blogging on the knowledge worker
p. 27
V.
Microsoft Longhorn – Illuminative insights from a case study
p. 45
VI.
Further information – Useful resources at a glance
p. 49
Corporate weblogs
- 48 -
Famous corporate weblogs
„ http://fastlane.gmblogs.com/
all you (might) want to know about GM
„ http://blogs.msdn.com/
Microsoft‘s weblogging community
„ http://www.longhornblogs.com/
Microsofts particular Longhorn-community
„ http://www.orablogs.com/orablogs/
Oracle‘s blogs
„ http://blogs.sun.com/roller/main.do
Sun blogs as well and attracts a thriving community
„ http://blogs.sun.com/roller/main.do
Sun Microsystems also utilizes weblogs
„ http://www.knallgrau.at/company/weblog
one of the leading German-speaking companies that offer weblog-services
„ http://www.lawblog.de/
a weblog maintained by lawyers that deals exclusively with weblog-related issues
„ http://www.bensaunders.com/
Nike-related business blog (in collaboration with professional athletes)
Corporate weblogs
- 49 -
Weblog search engines
„
http://technorati.com/
(analyses the popularity of the respective weblogs; maybe the most renowned search engine)
„
http://www.blogarama.com/ and http://www.search4blogs.com/bloggers/index.php
(convey a similar structure as Yahoo)
„ http://www.blogdigger.com/
(similar to Google)
„
http://www.blogpulse.com/
(cf. blogdigger)
„
http://blogstats.de/
(cf. blogdigger)
Corporate weblogs
- 50 -
Literature overview
„ [Efimova 2004] Efimova, L.: “Discovering the iceberg of knowledge work: A weblog case”, paper
submitted to OKLC 2004, retrieved from the internet (22.11.04) at:
http://www.ofenhandwerk.com/oklc/pdf_files/I-2_efimova.pdf
„ [Herring et al. 2005a] Herring, S.C., Kouper, I., Paolillo, J.C., Scheidt, L.A., Tyworth, M., Welsch, P.,
Wright, E., Yu, N. (2005a), “Conversations in the Blogosphere: An Analysis “From the Bottom Up””,
paper presented at Proceedings of the Thirty-Eighth Hawaii International Conference on System
Sciences (HICSS-38), Los Alamitos 2005
„ [Herring et al. 2005b] Herring, S. C., Scheidt, L. A., Bonus, S., Wright, E. (in press): “Weblogs as a
bridging genre”, in: Information, Technology & People, 18 (2005)
„ [Hourihan 2002] Hourihan, M.: “What we're doing when we blog”, retrieved from the internet
(11.09.04) at: http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/javascript/2002/06/13/megnut.html
„ [Schuster 2004] Schuster, M.; “Applying Social Network Analysis to a small Weblog
„ Community: Hubs, Power Laws, the Ego Effect and the Evolution of Social Networks”, presentation at
the Blogtalk 2.0 conference, Vienna 2004
„ [Sullivan 2002] Sullivan, A.: “A Blogger Manifesto. Why online weblogs are one future for journalism”,
retrieved from the internet (04.10.04) at:
http://www.andrewsullivan.com/main_article.php?artnum=20020224
Corporate weblogs
- 51 -
Notes
Dr.
Stephan
Kaiser
studied
business administration at the
Universities of Regensburg and
Wales (EMBS Swansea). In 2001, he
earned his PhD at the Catholic
University of Eichstaett-Ingolstadt.
Since that time he is assistant
professor at the same university.
His main research interests are
social software, professional service
firms,
knowledge
and
human
resources,
and
organisational
theory.
Gordon Müller-Seitz studied business
administration at the University of
Eichstätt-Ingolstadt and the European
Business School, London. Since 2004,
he
works
for
the
Chair
of
Organizational Theory and Human
Resources
Management
at
the
Ingolstadt School of Management. His
main research interests are positive
emotions and social software, in
particular weblogs. In addition, he is
interested in professional service
firms.
Stefanie Kroth studied business
administration at the Universities of
Eichstätt-Ingolstadt and Antwerp.
Since 2006, she works for the Chair
of
Organizational
Theory
and
Human Resources Management at
the Catholic University of EichstaettIngolstadt. Her main research
interest is HRM and social software.
Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt
Ingolstadt School of Management
Auf der Schanz 49 - 85049 Ingolstadt, Germany
www.wfi.edu/lsr - +49 - 0841 - 937 1936
Stephan.Kaiser [at] kuei.de
Corporate weblogs
- 52 -