Duncan, an interesting post, indeed. I haven't com...

2008-03-05T20:34:00.000Z

Duncan, an interesting post, indeed. I haven't commmented before on your posts but I thought I could help a bit since I was responsible for approving blogging for analysts at Forrester.

Dean has it correct for a couple of the reasons for blogging. Speed is certainly one of the major reasons. "Getting there first", as an influencer, is always important. And personalization is also a driver for many analysts.

I do believe that speed has another position as a major motivator. It is very easy to get a blog entry out. I even had one as the Chief Research Officer at one time. It is very complex to get a report published at some of the large firms, and that is a necessary process. So, you can get information/opinion out immediately by using a blog and it would take up to 5 weeks to get the same information out in a report. So, it is much better for the client to get your thoughts out quickly. We had thought that analysts would not write reports if they blogged, by that did not happen; most analysts kept on writing their planned reports, and blogged as well.

Back in the Giga Information Group days we had "IdeaBytes" that went out in one day. That was thanks to a publishing process that we used. Gideon also had a vision of what we called Knowledge Salons; a place where we could post opinions and clients could comment on it. This was in the mid 90"s, before the internet gave us all there is today. Knowledge Salons never got off the ground, but blogs give a research firm that same capability.

As such, it is important to comment on blogs. The analysts want you to, and ARs vendors, users, or whomever should take advantage of the capability. Agree with what is said, or disagree, but comment.

Analyst blogs are "top of mind" but not frivolous. Most firms have governance, albeit after the fact. But we never had to pull a post while I was at Forrester.

ARs should recognize that their continual relationship with analysts can help them steer analysts in a desired direction. Honesty is the thing that most analysts appreciate, and if you don't agree with an analysts position then say so, even in their blog. But also look at what they are saying, and learn from it. The GREAT majority of analysts are thoughtful people who have opinions (all at Forrester and Giga were). A blog is one way for ARs to monitor how their key analysts are thinking. So, use that.

Thanks for letting me comment :-)

Dan

DuncanThat's a very interesting & insightful post,...

2008-02-29T10:38:00.000Z

Duncan

That's a very interesting & insightful post, and is highly relevant. As a fairly prominent "analyst who blogs" the issue of perception of the blogging/analyst relationship is one I encounter frequently in my discussions with AR people and the wider technology community.

I'd like to expand on a few points.

You assert that blogs encourage "more reporting and less analysis". That certainly is not universally true. Certainly, I'll occasionally put out a quick post with some "first thoughts" when an interesting news item occurs. But I'd say that’s more akin to an equities analyst at an investment bank putting a quick comment in the morning email to clients, rather than a more journalistic style of writing.

More commonly, I’ll try and tie in news, thoughts from events, or sometimes briefings, into ongoing themes that the blog features. Regular readers see strands of analysis, usually based around “ideas” posts, supported by more real-time empirical observations and proof points. I don’t know how well AR professionals track regular themes, rather than individual posts, but as many of them may take a general stance against a particular technology, or a worldview contrary to or supporting a vendor’s message to the industry, I’d argue that their influence can be considerable.

I’d also assert that there’s a large difference between IT analysts and Telecoms analysts when it comes to influence and analysis generally, and the role of the blog specificially. Crudely, the IT part of the business has a much more clearly-defined line between Vendors and End Users, with a set of intermediaries like integrators and outsourcers that can largely be considered as a subset of the vendors. Conversely, Telecoms has a rather broader web of stakeholders, especially given the overwhelming importance of the operators and service providers as a third tier, plus the external relevance of issues such as user behaviour, regulation and radio spectrum (is the Government a ‘vendor’ of frequencies?).

The notion that “blogs are pretty much all vendor facing” is therefore too one-dimensional, in my opinion. Maybe it’s true of IT analyst blogs, but I’d certainly contend it’s largely inaccurate in the comms space. A mobile operator, for example, is an “end user” of 3G or IMS infrastructure equipment, but will also have its own vision and AR pitch.

Then there is a question of what the person blogging wants to achieve. I’ll freely admit that my blog is partly intended to drive my business – selling research reports, signing advisory clients, stimulating requests for consultancy. In the past, paradoxically, it has also been intended to demonstrate to the AR community that I am actually an analyst rather than a consultant. Unfortunately, as an independent analyst, the “reach” of my published reports is rather less than that of Gartner or Forrester, and so AR departments may not always be aware of what I am writing, especially as I cover such a broad spectrum of industry sectors.

Further, I also write the blog because I have more thoughts and views about the industry than I have time to write up in full reports, or communicate to advisory clients or talk about at conferences. Frankly, I’d rather write up a post on something and give it away for free, rather than have someone else spot the same issue 3 months later and claim it as their insight. “You heard it here first” wins me business – it’s a pragmatic commercial decision.

Lastly – I enjoy writing, and the blog is an avenue for trying out new ideas to see how they sound. I like the opportunity to write in a more informal style than I might in a client-facing document. I like the ability to use the word “I” and personalise the analysis. And I like the ability to get back comments. My writing style and tone may be occasionally abrasive and colloquial, and I’ll admit that sometimes I’ll have a bit of a rant. But it’s like sometimes-objectionable TV programmes: nobody forces people to read it, but I generally get positive feedback.

I hope that gives a couple of different perspectives on this. I’m quite happy to chat offline some time about how analysis and blogging can fit together symbiotically – and how the combination can result in influence on vendor/service provider strategies and more specific purchase decisions.

Dean Bubley
Disruptive Analysis / Disruptive Wireless

Comments on AnalystEquity.com Archive: Bloggers vs. Analysts: opening a discussion

Duncan, an interesting post, indeed. I haven't com...

DuncanThat's a very interesting & insightful post,...