My first column today on research topics at iMedia Connection. Not surprisingly, I kick things off with a blog theme. Includes original research about the characteristics of blog readers from Quris.

iMedia: Blogging Is Booming

20 solid pieces of advice about business blogging from Microsoft’s A-List in-house blogger, Robert Scoble. Here’s a taste of the top five:

1. Tell the truth
2. Post fast on good news or bad
3. Use a human voice
4. Make sure you support the latest software/web/human standards.
5. Have a thick skin

Scobleizer: Corporate Weblog Manifesto

Terrific article on the trend of business blogging, with comments on blog initiatives by the likes of Microsoft, Verizon, DaimlerChrysler, American Airlines, Hartford Financial Services, IBM, Dr. Pepper and Macromedia.

The story notes that “to meet corporate demand, both UserLand and Six Apart, makers of popular blog software programs, are coming out with enterprise-level products later this year.” It also contains this great insight:

Corporate America is jumping onto the blogwagon for many of the same reasons all those journalists, brooding teenagers, and presidential campaigners are already on board. Unlike email and instant messaging, blogs let employees post comments that can be seen by many and mined for information at a later date, and internal blogs aren’t overwhelmed by spam. And unlike most corporate intranets, they’re a bottoms-up approach to communication.

Fast Company: It’s A Blog World After All