Motivation for Weblogging

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


Introduction to corporate weblogs

Central features of weblog-technology In addition, the probably most noteworthy feature of weblogs
The term “weblog” was coined by Jorn Barger on his Robot concerns the possibility for readers to write accompanying
Wisdom site in 1997. The name stems from the contraction of commentaries in the designated sections that often entail
the words “web” and “log” and epitomizes a technology that vibrant discussions [Herring et al. 2005]. These conversations
belongs to the field of social software. Although there exists no are analogous to the discussions that can be observed in the
consensus concerning the definition of weblogs and various form of threads in the field of open-source software.
subtypes have already emerged, some common features of the However, the most striking feature concerns the ability to
weblog-phenomenon can be recognized]. First of all, weblogs establish diverse virtual references to other weblogs by means
refer to a website where individual thoughts are publicly of various functions, namely blogrolls, permalinks and
displayed in the form of a log. The site’s content is freely trackbacks. Blogrolls constitute a list of links to those weblogs
accessible via the Internet and no fees have to be disbursed. In the author recommends and reads frequently. These links are
most of the cases, a single person renders the initial content of usually located on one side of the respective weblog and
the site. However, it is also possible that more than one person enable the reader to infer information about the preferences of
contributes to the weblog. Moreover, a weblog is characterized the author. In contrast, single static links, called permalinks,
by the fact that the publications occur in a reverse refer to particular posts or even particular sections of a post in
chronological order and periodically, although the frequency other weblogs or websites and emanate from a particular
varies profoundly. section within a post. Permalinks represent in this sense a
Moreover, each post (also called entry), is time-stamped and modification that is closely related to the blogroll feature or the
archived so that old content remains accessible. The single “bookmark” feature in common office software applications. In
entries are predominantly text based and usually possess a a similar vein, in- and outbound trackbacks exemplify a third
title in the form of a large header, followed by text-fragments form of virtual referencing, or rather, interacting. Trackbacks
that are amalgamated with pictures, and often with links allow webloggers to see who has referred to his or her original
likewise. This is also the point, where the blogosphere post by writing a reply. This feature habitually appears below a
becomes relevant, alluding to the fact that the entire number of post and shows a summary of what has been voiced on the
weblogs in the Internet represents a distinct media ecosystem. target weblog in conjunction with the URL and name of the
As a result of the interlinking, there exists a multiply weblog at stake.
intertwined network of multitudinous weblogs, i.e. the
“blogosphere”.



Differentiating weblogs from related technologies Focussing upon corporate weblogs
Following the introduction of the distinctive characteristics, one Regarding the evolution of this new phenomenon, it is worth
ought to separate weblogs from related Internet phenomena mentioning that weblogs initially mainly consisted of entries
that resembled personal online diaries. However, weblogs have
for further clarification. First, in contrast to ordinary online
nowadays moved beyond self-reflective personal or journalistic
diaries, weblogs possess the ability to be augmented with
disclosures to multifaceted applications within organizational
hyperlinks, permalinks or trackbacks, enabling the interlinking settings. The following section is an endeavor to offer a
via the blogosphere voluntarily. Though this is a distinctive taxonomy of the various emerging manifestations of the
difference in many cases, the line is unfortunately quite blurred corporate weblog-phenomenon.
in this respect. As opposed to personal web pages (“home In order to conceive the forms of appearance accurately, we
pages”), weblogs are ideally more often updated. Furthermore, deploy several dimensions. As an initial point, we deem it
they are usually establishing a relationship between the appropriate to identify the dimension target group, which can
individual author and the person or community that reads the be subdivided into an internal as well as an external target
content of the webpage due to recurrent posts and, vice versa, group. Internal target group would then focus upon all
visits from the readership’s point of view. Other comparable employees, whereas external refers to stakeholders such as
phenomena are bulletin board systems, newsgroups and chats. customers. In contrast, the content of the weblog constitutes a
further dimension that can be subdivided into the aspects
These are quite similar, but usually lack the ability to be
specific and general.
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.



These weblogs also address a designated group of participants
Content and facts prevail the content of the posts. Such quasi team-
Specific General oriented knowledge weblogs might also be regarded as an
analogue to communities of practice.
With regard to external target groups, stakeholder such as
External Collaborative Branding 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
Target group
the respective corporation. Hereby, it seems striking that
employees are increasingly notifying information about their
Internal Knowledge Culture 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
Taxonomy of company-relevant weblogs
a corporate context this affords the opportunity of continuous
one- or even many-to-many communication between employees
Concerning the employees as the internal target group, culture
and/or employees and customers or other stakeholders about
weblogs might proof useful to strengthen a company’s culture
specific tasks, services or products. When it comes to
and corporate identity. Thereby, the content is supposed to be
application in reality, this is the prevalent form of weblogs in a
private and informal (i.e. general). Thus, culture weblogs would
corporate context to date.
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.


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


Underlying structure of the survey

Blogging behavior

Motivation
Knowledge
(Intrinsic/Extrinsic)


Content








Underlying structure of the survey

Blogging behavior

Motivation
Knowledge


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 40

35
low level one
30
The biggest group of all respondents is either 25
characterized by a high or mid-range blogging

in %
20
intensity 15

In turn, only a small group of webloggers (i.e. 10

5 %) shows a low level of blogging intensity 5

0
1 2 3 4 5

Corporate weblogs - 10 -

Regarding the blogging period and the respondents‘ demographics
the survey reveals interesting results

My age is...
Most of the participants (i.e. 61 %) are middle
aged between 30 and 39, whereas 22 % are 70

between 20 an 29 years old 60

50
Only a very small group of respondents (i.e. 5
40
%) belongs to the group aged 50+

in %
30

20

10

0
0 - 19 20 - 29 30 - 39 40 - 49 50 +

Looking at the blogging period since
beginning to blog, there are three or even four I have been blogging for...
main groups 35

Respectively almost one third (i.e. 30 %) of all 30

25
respondents has either been blogging for 20

in %
seven to twelve months or even for one to two 15

years 10

Only a very small group has been blogging for 5

0
less than one month, whereas one fourth has less than one one to six seven to one to two more than
month months twelve years two years
been blogging for one to six months months


The blogging intensity is mirrored by the frequency of posting as
well as the length of the posts

I post...
The strongest group with almost half of all 50
respondents (i.e. 43 %), posts once or twice a 45
40
week, whereas only 2 % belong to heavy 35

bloggers which post even several times a day 30

in %
25

Respectively one fourth (i.e. 24 %) posts
20
15

several times a week or once or twice a month 10
5

The overall distribution follows a normal curve 0
several times several times once or twice once or twice less than
a day a week a week a month once a month

When posting respondents mostly write mid- The average length of my posts is…
long posts: the average length of the posts of 60

more than half of all respondents (i.e. 56 %) is 50

half a page 40

in %
However, 28 % post with an average length of
30

20
one page or even more than one page (6 %)
10
Only a small group (i.e. 2 %) writes only a few 0
words or one to three lines (i.e. 8 %) a few words one to three
lines
half a page one page more than
two years


The blogging intensity is also reflected in the commenting and
reading of other weblogs

I comment on other weblogs...
On the active site, some respondents 35
comment on other weblogs several times a 30

week (i.e. 21 %) or even several times a day 25

(i.e. 7 %) 20

in %
15
The majority (one third of all respondents) 10

comments on other blogs once or twice a 5

week, whereas the same number comments 0
several times several times once or twice once or twice less than
once or twice a month (i.e. 21 %) or even less a day a week a week a month once a month

than once a month (i.e. 22 %)

On the passive site, the result is somewhat
I read weblogs...
more homogenous: Most of all respondents
(i.e. 45 %) read weblogs several times a day, 50
45

whereas 28 % read weblogs several times a 40
35

week and others (20 %) once or twice a week. 30

in %
25

Another group with 6 % of all respondents 20
15

stated that they read weblogs once or twice a 10
5
month, whereas nobody reads weblogs less 0
several times a several times a once or twice once or twice less than once
than once a month day week a week a month a month


Content








Relationship between the underlying questionnaire items

Blogging behavior

Motivation
Knowledge


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 60

because... 50

“…it helps me get feedback from customers, 40
about my work.”

in %
30
“…it's easy, it's fun, and it connects me to
20
others.”
10
“…of many reasons, mostly related to career
and reputation building.” 0
1 2 3 4 5
“…it is fun, it is a contribution to the overall
community of some expertise I have.”
“…I give something, I get something, DO UT
DES.”


Content




IV.1 Intrinsic motivation p. 18

IV.2 Extrinsic motivation p. 24





In detail, bloggers are mostly driven by intrinsic motivation

Intrinsic motivation

60
Most of the respondents (i.e. 56 %) agree that
they are instrinsically motivated for blogging; 50

i.e. they blog because they just enjoy blogging 40

or have fun while blogging

in %
30
Almost 20 % even strongly agree, as well as 20
the same number of respondents neither
10
agree nor disagree that they were driven by an
intrisic form of motivation 0
1 2 3 4 5


Different survey items produce evidence for the intrinsic
motivation of bloggers

I enjoy blogging
The item about pleasure or enjoyment of 50
blogging shows a quite uniform picture 45
40

Over 80 % agree or even strongly agree about 35
30
the fact that they enjoy blogging

in %
25
20
Only a small group of all respondents (i.e. 5 %) 15
10
disagrees with this statement 5
0
strongly agree neither agree disagree strongly
agree nor disagree disagree

Over one third of all respondents agree that I am satisfied with my blogging activities
they were satisfied with their blogging 40

35
activities; 19 % even strongly agree 30

However, a quarter of all respondents neither 25

in %
20
agree nor disagree 15

In fact, almost 20 % of all respondents are 10

5
dissatisfied with their blogging activities 0


Two more questionnaire items confirm bloggers‘ instrinsic
motivation

It is important for me to do well at blogging
The largest group of respondents (i.e. 38 %) 45
agree that it was important for them to do well 40

at blogging and even another group of 22 % of 35
30

all respondents strongly agree 25

in %
20
In contrast, 26 % neither agree nor disagree 15

with the discussed topic 10
5
0

I am blogging because I want to
Most of all, respondents agree or even 60

strongly agree that they are blogging because 50

they want to 40

in %
30
Only a very small group does not blog
20
voluntarily
10

0


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 60
strongly agree (i.e. 37 %) with the statement 50

that blogging is of some value to them 40

Few are undecided (i.e. 10 %) and only a very

in %
30

small group disagrees or disagrees strongly 20

with the statement (each with 2 %) 10

0


Content




IV.1 Intrinsic motivation p. 18

IV.2 Extrinsic motivation p. 23





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 50
45
undecided if they were extrinsically motivated: 40
they do not agree nor disagree 35
30
But 30 % agree that they were driven by an

in %
25
extrinsic form of motivation 20
15
17 % of all respondents even disagree that 10
they were extrinsically motivated, which 5

stands for a more intrinsic kind of motivation 0
1 2 3 4 5


Weblogger try to enhance their renown by means of weblogging

Blogging enhances my reputation
The majority of webloggers acknowledge the
beneficial impact of weblogging upon their
50
45

own reputation (i.e. 28 % strongly agree and 40
35
45 % agree) 30

in %
25
In contrast, only 13 % disagree to diverse 20

extents (i.e. 11 % disagree, whereas only 2 % 15
10
strongly disagree) 5
0

I can show my competence by blogging
More than two thirds of the webloggers 50

assume that weblogging helps to illustrate 45
40
their competence 35
30
Only a few people are undecided (i.e. 18 %

in %
25

neither agree nor disagree) 20
15

Just a tiny fraction of 11 % of all the 10
5
respondents presumed that weblogging is not 0
relevant for revealing their competencies agree nor disagree disagree


As expected, most of the webloggers do not expect to be
remunerated for their weblogging-activities

The overall majority is not motivated to blog I am motivated to blog as I can earn money
by financial profits with it
70

Only 4 % agree to blog in order to gain 60

financial benefits 50

40

in %
These results can be deemed to be in 30

accordance with the strong hints that 20

webloggers are intrinsically motivated 10

0


Content








Relationship between the underlying questionnaire items

Blogging behavior

Motivation
Knowledge


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… Overall change in topics considering
„…understand how others think“ organizational and individual knowledge
„...show my knowledge, skills and interests to the 60

community and potential customers“ 50
“…get personal insights into other people's
40
activities. That means that blogs allow me to learn

in %
how to configure my computer through to 30
learning what it's like to be a policeman in
20
Manchester. Interesting, useful and fun
information is easily available” 10

“I'm an extreme extrovert - I learn and gain 0
knowledge by talking things through” 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”


Content





VI.1 Knowledge quality p. 30

VI.2 Knowledge access p. 35




The knowledge gained by blogging is deemed valuable – not only
for the individual weblogger, but also for the organization

Nearly two thirds of all respondents agreed Quality of knowledge
that weblogging is useful since the knowledge
derived from it is of high quality 60

50

However, 27 % are undecided 40

in %
13 % even disagree, i.e. they assume that the 30

quality of knowledge conveyed by weblogs is
20

10
not valuable 0
1 2 3 4 5

Nearly two thirds of all participants (i.e. 60 %) By blogging the quality of organizational
agree that the organizational knowledge 50
knowledge gets better
improves by means of weblogging 45
40
A relative high proportion of respondents is 35
30
neither against this claim nor in favor of it

in %
25
20
Only roughly a tenth of the webloggers think 15
10
that weblogging does not culminate in 5

enhanced organizational knowledge quality 0


Blogging in a knowledge community evokes an identification with
fellow webloggers

By blogging I feel that I belong to a
Two thirds (i.e. 69 % ) of the webloggers feel 40
knowledge community
attached to their weblogging community 35

30
Only 11 % are reluctant to that idea, whereas a 25

relatively high amount of participants (i.e. 19

in %
20

%) indicated that they neither agree nor 15

10
disagree 5

0


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
76% of all webloggers favor the idea that they own knowledge
45
blogging urges them to reflect upon their 40

knowledge 35
30

Only few people disagree (i.e. 11 %), whereas 25

in %
20
14 % of the webloggers were indecisive 15
10
5
0

Two thirds of the webloggers are enticed to Discussions within the weblog-community
are vibrant
observe or participate in the weblog- 40

community due to vibrant discussions
35

30

However, nearly a third remains neutral and 25

in %
20
does not deem the discussion to be vibrant 15

Only 8 % argue that the weblog-community 10

5
they observe or participate in is not vibrant 0


Further knowledge-related benefits from blogging concern the
attribution of knowledge to responsible persons, as well as the
presupposed confidentiality of the sources

Weblogs help me to understand who knows
Nearly half of the respondents presume that what in the organization
40
knowledge conveyed with the help of weblogs 35

makes it easier, to find the person that is 30

25
responsible for that knowledge

in %
20

Nevertheless, nearly a third (i.e. 29 %) opposes 15

10
this idea 5

25 % of the webloggers aired that they are 0

undecided agree nor disagree disagree

In contrast to expectations, less than half of The information displayed in weblogs is
the respondents argued that they trust the 40
trustworthy
various weblog sources/authors 35

30
A high amount of the webloggers is indecisive 25

while neither agreeing nor disagreeing

in %
20

15
16 % indicated that the information displayed 10

in weblogs is untrustworthy 5

0


Content





VI.1 Knowledge quality p. 30

VI.2 Knowledge access p. 35




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 70

enhancing knowledge access 60

50
27 % of the respondents were indecisive
40
Just 3 % disagreed with that notion, which

in %
30
leads to the conclusion that access is likely to
20
be improved by weblogging
10

0
1 2 3 4 5


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 60

external sources 50

Only 4 % disagree and assume that external 40

access has not improved

in %
30

20

10

0
1 2 3 4 5


Most respondents agree that blogging has changed
their access to new knowledge

With weblogs I gained access to new
knowledge
50
45
40

90 % of respondents agree that weblogs offer 35
30
access to new knowledge

in %
25
20
Only 1 % does not agree with that statement 15
10

The access to new knowledge is triggered by 5
0
the possibility to make new contacts outside strongly
agree
agree neither agree
nor disagree
disagree strongly
disagree
the organization
84 % of respondents stated, the they made
such contacts outside the organization
In conclusion, weblogs can be interpreted as a By means of weblogs I made new contacts
outside the organization
technology that facilitates the exploration of 45

new knowledge for the organization 40
35
30
25

in %
20
15
10
5
0


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 50
45
knowledge 40

Only 16 % do not agree with that statement 35
30
However, there are 36 % of respondents who

in %
25
are undetermined about this issue 20
15
10
5
0
1 2 3 4 5


In conclusion, weblogs have changed access to organizational
knowledge

By blogging my access to knowledge has
60
changed
50

40

in %
30

20
73 % of bloggers agree that the access to
10
knowledge has changed through weblogging;
0
only 10 % do not agree with that statement strongly agree agree neither agree disagree strongly
nor disagree disagree

Weblogs help to access more people than
before. Thus, weblogging is a tool for
establishing social networks
83 % of respondents agree that they have With weblogs I can access more people
access to more people than before 60
than before
50

40

in %
30

20

10

0


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 40

this statement 35
30
In consequence, access to internal and

in %
25
external knowledge is fast, or as one of the 20
15
respondents stated: blogging “is a powerful 10
knowledge tool”. 5
0
1 2 3 4 5


In particular the fast access to external knowledge is a crucial
aspect

By means of weblogs corporate knowledge
can be accessed quickly
35

30

25

20

in %
15

Half of the respondents agree that weblogs 10

help to quickly access internal knowledge
5

0

More significant is the statement that by strongly
agree
agree neither agree
nor disagree
disagree strongly
disagree

means of weblogs knowledge outside the
organization can be accessed quickly
76 % of bloggers agreed with this statement.
By means of weblogs knowledge outside
Only 12 % do not see a fast access of external the organization can be accessed quickly
knowledge 60

50

40

in %
30

20

10

0


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 organi-
zational knowledge creation increased
40

35

30

25

in %
Over all, 55 % of webloggers feel that their 20

15
personal impact on organizational knowldge 10

creation has increased 5

0
Only 16 % do not agree to that statement strongly
agree
agree neither agree
nor disagree
disagree strongly
disagree

On an organizational level, this can result in a
more intensive flow of organizational
knowledge
More than half of the respondents agree on By blogging the intensity of organizational
knowledge flows increased
the statement that blogging has increased the 40

intensity of knowledge flows 35

30

However, 20 % can not agree to the same 25

in %
issue 20

15

10

5

0


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

Nevertheless, they think blogging is special, Apart from weblogs, I use other corporate
because… knowledge bases
60
“…it is a revolution regarding social
50
interactions that will improve the quality of my 40
Customer Relations and the reach of new

in %
30

people” 20

“…it is relatively unstructured. It's easy to re- 10

find information. It's relatively informal” 0

“…it combines reflection, publishing and agree nor disagree disagree

networking”
“…it is a powerful knowledge tool”
“…it has opened up communication across
boundaries.”


Content








The Microsoft-Longhorn Blogosphere – Illuminative insights
from a case study
A very prominent example of a corporate weblog is the The final version of Microsoft-Longhorn is expected to be
development documentation of Microsoft’s new software launched by the beginning of 2007. With regard to the PDC,
“Microsoft-Longhorn”, recently launched as “Vista”. The the MLB was mainly active between September and October
Microsoft-Longhorn Blogosphere (MLB) is interesting for two 2003. The intention was to provide potential customers,
reasons: Firstly, in contrast to other blogospheres within the voluntary contributors, and developers with a platform to air
corporate realm, the weblog-entries of the MLB are publicly their views of the upcoming software. The weblogs are
accessible (www.longhornblogs.com). Secondly, the MLB concertedly operated at the respective website
focuses on knowledge management-related activities as www.longhornblogs.com. The various members communicate
webloggers are noting information about their experiences and via this platform but they are also partially interlinked via their
progress at developing and using specific software. The MLB private weblogs.
can be depicted along two dimensions, organizational aspects, Participants of the MLB
and participants.
The MLB consists of Microsoft employees (labeled as
Organizational Aspects “experts”), as well as non-Microsoft members, so called Most
Regarding the websites that seriously and purposely deal with Valuable Professionals (MVP). According to the Microsoft’s
Microsoft-related contents, one can distinguish between homepage, the MVP Program recognizes and thanks
websites that are either administered by Microsoft and those outstanding members of technical communities for their
that are not. The MLB belongs to those that are not officially community participation and willingness to help others. The
administered by Microsoft. However, Microsoft encourages its program celebrates the most active community members from
employees to engage themselves in the diverse company- around the world who provide invaluable online and offline
related communities that have either an informative or a expertise that enriches the community experience and makes a
software-related scope. The information exchanged is difference in technical communities featuring Microsoft
restricted to the Longhorn-software. A prior test version was products” [Microsoft 2005]. The MLB consisted of 60 registered
assigned to the MLB-members in September 2003 in the run-up members, 43 of them MVPs and 17 Microsoft employees. In
to the Professional Developers Conference (PDC) in Los turn, 36 of them were active weblogger (25 MVPs and 11
Angeles. Microsoft experts). For our purpose, we labeled those MLB-
members as “active webloggers” who contributed at least once
to the MLB via a permalink, post or comment.


The Microsoft-Longhorn Blogosphere – Illuminative insights
from a case study
To analyze these data in depth, a social network analysis by Looking at the various weblogger, one can assert that Blogger
means of the statistical software UCINET helps to illuminate the 1, Blogger 28 as well as Blogger 29 were the most active
activities further. We analyzed the websites’ various modes of participants within the MLB. In this connexion it seems worth
communication (posts, comments etc. within a period from mentioning that those weblogger that contributed oftentimes
September 2003 to March 2005) by collecting in an Excel-sheet were also contacted more frequently (i.e. there existed a high
by means of diverse matrices, whereby each of the 36 correlation of 0,67 between posts and comments and the score
weblogger was assigned one column, as well as one row. The for posts and trackbacks was 0,79). To put it differently, one
relational intensity was reduced to a binary scale (one vs. zero) can assert a high degree of reciprocity here. Thus, it seems as
- i.e. the existence or non-existence of a link (sometimes also if webloggers that have a strong attachment to the
referred to as tie) between two persons was measured. As a blogosphere will be more likely to help others when they
result, the figure below just represents the various linkages experience problems or have questions. In turn, they also
among the MLB-members and one cannot make a distinction received considerably more feedback in comparison to less
between the types of communication anymore. 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.


Loghornblogs.com – an example for corporate knowledge blogs

Blogger
33

Lead User (MVP)
Microsoft Employee


Content








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)


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)


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


Notes
Dr. Stephan Kaiser studied Gordon Müller-Seitz studied business
business administration at the administration at the University of
Universities of Regensburg and Eichstätt-Ingolstadt and the European
Wales (EMBS Swansea). In 2001, he Business School, London. Since 2004,
earned his PhD at the Catholic he works for the Chair of
University of Eichstaett-Ingolstadt. Organizational Theory and Human
Since that time he is assistant Resources Management at the
professor at the same university. Ingolstadt School of Management. His
His main research interests are main research interests are positive
social software, professional service emotions and social software, in
firms, knowledge and human particular weblogs. In addition, he is
resources, and organisational interested in professional service
theory. 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 Eichstaett-
Ingolstadt. 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


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