Definitive Blog Book Gains Traction

Things are beginning to move with The Red Couch, the collaborative work on producing what could be the definitive business book ... ... on why companies should blog, by Shel Israel. This is no ordinary Yesterday, the book's Dan Gillmor, author of the blogosphere. So what's the book about, exactly? From the overview: "[The Red Couch] argues that blogging is not just another tactical communications distribution channel, but a new strategic medium that benefits both companies and customers, giving each an enhanced understanding of the other. The Red Couch explains why businesses of all sizes and in all places should blog. It then goes on to explain, in non-technical straightforward terms, how to get started blogging and how to become a master at it, using it to more effectively distribute and receive information vital to a company. [...] It predicts that companies that adopt blogging will prevail while those who do not may face the same fate as the village blacksmith who ignored the early automobile a century earlier." Other than its content, what's especially interesting about this book project is the participatory nature of its content development - the "intentional transparency" mentioned above. Anyone who has some value to add through their own insight and suggestions (the "contributing editors") can make them as comments in the project blog. The two authors may incorporate those suggestions or derivatives of them into the content in some way. The authors say they expect the book to be completed by mid-September, with it ready for sale during the first quarter 2006. They expect the book will be between 85,000 and 120,000 words in length, or between 250 and 325 pages. A truly collaborative work. Welcome to a future of publishing. Neville Hobson is the author of the popular Crayon. Visit Neville Hobson's blog: