I’ve been pestering Gerry McGovern — one of the foremost experts on website content and author of the books Content Critical, The Caring Economy and the upcoming book Creating Killer Content — for a while now on why he doesn’t start blogging. I recently pinned him down on this question. I also asked him whether he thinks this whole blogging thing really has something to it, or if it’s all a bunch of hot air. And does he encourage any of his clients to blog. Here’s what Gerry had to say in my email interview of him…

You’d never know I might start one yet! In fact, because of your constant prodding, I’m talking with a group of my partners about starting a joint blog. I think blogging is amazing, and such a positive reflection of an open, inquisitive, questioning culture. There will always be a role for the book but the blog is the conversation where the next book might just be born.

Everything in its place. Let’s not get carried away. Blogging is a new form of conversation; a rough and ready way to share knowledge. It’s a form of research, a way of getting down and dirty and digging into the roots of an idea. To watch a brilliant thinker and writer blog is very illuminating. But I find that quality blogs–that I can go back to time and time again–are pretty hard to find.

I have so far not encouraged any of my clients to blog. Most of my clients–and they include some very large organizations–are still mastering the basics of how to manage content professionally. Blogging may seem simple, but it’s quite a sophisticated strategy, and it requires a very open, sharing culture.

I was surprised to learn that Gerry doesn’t encourage any of his clients to blog, even though he thinks blogging is amazing. I agree with Gerry that business blogging is a sophisticated strategy and it’s not for everyone, particularly when so many companies can’t even cope with managing their traditional web content. But I don’t think it’s all that hard to pull off. If Gerry starts blogging, I bet he’ll start recommending blog strategies to his clients! 😉

You can read my full interview with Gerry here.