Why Buy A Segway For Your Blog

Back in August, I used an advertising supplement to the Indianapolis Star named “Why 2 Buy Now” to illustrate the point that blogs are not advertisements, but more akin to “advertorials” (see “Why To Buy A Piano” Is Good Advice For Blogs).  I had cut out and saved another page from that Star supplement, this one about Segways.  These lawnmower-looking, two-wheeled, self-balancing personal transportation devices seem to be the all-the-rage way for getting around Indianapolis these days.

The article about Segways begins “Getting around more efficiently seems to be on everyone’s mind these days,” and concludes by pointing out that  “A Segway is more than a travel alternative.  It’s a new way of thinking.”

The same kind of innovative technology that produced the Segway has also revolutionized the way in which businesses market themselves.  And, just as with Segways, whose “early adopters” you can see touring White River State Park on wheels or speeding through the mall, early adopters of business blogging are each staking out their own little corners on the Web, helping customers navigate with ease to their blogs and on to their company websites.

The Segway/Blog parallel is less labored than might at first appear.  A Segway takes one rider at a time, taking her exactly where she wants to go. In Won’t You Please Come Into My Blog? I likened the Internet to a big trade show.  (Now, imagine each person at the show is not walking around, but driving around on a Segway!)  These potential customers are navigating around the Web, looking for information, a product, or a service.  If you have a “booth” at the show (your blog), customers stop their Segways there. It’s not by accident they’ve found your blog, but precisely because they are seeking information about something you know about, a product you sell, or a service you provide! As Yentl said in Fiddler on the Roof, “It’s a perfect match!”

Segways are still a novelty in the Circle City, and, although more and more people are catching on to the Segway advantage every day, the jury is still out on whether they will turn out to have been a passing fad.  Blogging, on the other hand, is no fad.  Bloggers post millions of items per day, a dozen every second.  Business owners that can “hop on board”, providing relevant, recent, and frequently updated blog content, will be positioned to “win search”, and, even more important, win business!