It’s about the communication, not the technology

Today marks the beginning of a new venture that brings together four European-based communication professionals to offer organizations something a little different in the field of communication consulting and communication technology.

Elizabeth Albrycht, Christophe Ducamp, Guillaume du Gardier and myself have formed Blogging Planet, a new consultancy designed to help companies in Europe and the USA deploy communication tools like blogs, wikis and RSS as integral elements of their strategic business and communication planning.

We formed this alliance because we believe that, by pooling our individual skills and experience, we can show organizations what networked, distributed communication – what some people call participatory communication – can really do for them.

We’re excited and optimistic about what we’ll be doing together in the coming months: helping organizations cut through the hype and jargon about these tools and focus on what really matters – how to use them for measurable business advantage.

It’s about the communication, not the technology.

Details are in the press release that went out this morning (appended below and PDF version here) and of course in our new blog – www.bloggingplanet.com.

Don’t hesitate to ask us how we can help you and your business.

Blogging Planet to Provide Counsel and Training on Adopting New Communication Tools, including Blogs, Wikis, RSS

New Consultancy Brings International Perspectives to Task of Building Communications Networks for Corporate Communications, Marketing, Employee Communications, and More

Paris, France, and Amsterdam, The Netherlands, March 1, 2005:  A new consultancy dedicated to training organizations how to build new organizational communication networks launched today. Blogging Planet (www.bloggingplanet.com), an alliance of internationally-recognized practitioners in participatory communications, will provide counsel and training to organizations in Europe and the United States on how to effectively adopt new communications tools such as business blogging, wikis, RSS feeds, podcasts, and more for a wide variety of corporate functions, including corporate communications, marketing, public relations, employee communications and investor relations.

“Determining the business benefit of blogs, wikis, RSS and other new communication channels requires a unique awareness of the strategic communication needs of an organization to connect with its diverse audiences, plus a clear understanding of the nature and value of links and connections between people and information. The more you can facilitate links among your audience and then connect from that audience to your organization, the more effective your relationship-building will be, and the more value your organization will accrue from this web of connections,” said Guillaume du Gardier, alliance partner, Blogging Planet.

Blogging Planet’s four partners have broad skill sets in both the strategic and technical use of these new communications tools. The partners are:

• Elizabeth Albrycht – 15-year veteran of high technology public relations practice and co-founder and co-producer of the New Communications Forum, a conference series designed to bring journalists and marketing and PR professionals together to learn how to use participatory communications tools. She has authored articles on blogging for PRSA’s Tactics magazine, the IABC’s CW Bulletin, and the Future of Work eNewsletter. She blogs daily at CorporatePR.
• Christophe Ducamp – Founder of Elanceur, provider of ideas and technological skills to increase the efficiency of marketing communication, the productivity of people and employees, and the value of knowledge assets in the enterprise. He co-founded Fromages.com in 1998, one of the first ebusinesses in France. Previously, Ducamp served more than 15 years as business development director in different advertising and direct marketing agencies, including Leo Burnett, Eurocom & TBWA. He is currently focused on wikis, cooperation, e-talking, e-writing, tribal marketing, e-influence and online communities. Co-author of the book, Les Blogs, he is also the co-founder of the CraoWiki, one of the most influential French wikicommunities. He blogs at Elanceur.
• Guillaume du Gardier – Co-founder and co-producer of the New Communications Forum and founder of the CEO Bloggers Club, an online club made up of more than 60 members who are both CEOs and bloggers. He has wide experience in business-to-business communications, with strong IT experience, having been a director of one of the top ten French IT PR agencies for seven years. He blogs daily at PR Thoughts.
• Neville Hobson, ABC – An accredited communication practitioner with 25 years hands-on and leadership experience in public and media relations, marketing communication, employee, compensation and benefits communication as well as investor and financial relations. He helps organizations use current, new and emerging technology tools and channels to build dynamic relationships with customers, employees, shareholders and other key audiences and influencers. Hobson was a speaker at the New Communications Forum. He co-presents a bi-weekly podcast show on business communication and technology and blogs daily at NevOn.

“In today’s networked world, the scope and scale of your connections are a valuable asset to your business. We help you learn how to discover, invest in, or build the connections, links and pathways between and among your key audiences,” du Gardier continued. “In short time, your organization will begin to become well positioned to use these networks to persuade people to action, to respond to a crisis, to leverage current market conversations and to improve your business overall.”

For more information, please visit www.bloggingplanet.com.

About Blogging Planet

Blogging Planet, an alliance of internationally recognized practitioners in participatory communications based in Paris, France and Amsterdam, The Netherlands, provides counsel and training to organizations in Europe and the United States on how to effectively adopt new communications tools, such as blogging, wikis, RSS feeds, podcasts, and more for a wide variety of corporate functions, including corporate communications, marketing, public relations, employee communications and investor relations.

For more information, please visit www.bloggingplanet.com or call +33 (0) 1 41 31 78 90.