It’s hurricane season here in Houston, and the weather weenie in me recently made a fascinating Web discovery. Then the marketing wonk in me started wondering… what could this cool find teach me (and maybe you) about creating a blog that “the locals” buzz about loud enough to draw readers from a surprisingly widespread population?
Our major newspaper The Houston Chronicle has had blogger Eric Berger as the SciGuy on its website for about three years. He blogs about all kinds of geeky stuff, like nanotechnology, space shuttle missions, climate change, and avian influenza. But it seems he has captured the most attention with his no-nonsense thoughts on hurricanes.
After a couple of short weeks following the SciGuy blog, here’s what I’ve observed:
- It’s worth talking about. A friend told me about this blog, and comments other readers have left lead me to believe that word-of-mouth/mouse has brought most folks here the same way. I’ve already recommended it to four or five people, and lookie here! I’m telling YOU about it, too.
- It’s an insider’s take on a somewhat mysterious subject. Turn on the TV and you’ll hear meteorologists and newscasters sensationalizing the most horrific storm scenarios, practically salivating to get themselves into that beachside camera shot wearing a Land’s End windbreaker. Eric, on the other hand, writes rational opinions on what is likely to happen, explains his thought process, and cites many different sources of data. He even takes the time to tell us which predictive models can be more trusted than others. Love that.
- It’s updated frequently. During the week-long speculation of where Gustav (and now, Ike) would make landfall, Eric posted his interpretation of data from the National Hurricane Center and other experts as soon as it was available. We’re talking every four to six hours, y’all, day and night. Does this guy sleep? Not when his readers are awake, trying to decide whether to evacuate.
- It’s a true conversation. Not only does Eric regularly respond to comments on the SciGuy blog, he also schedules a daily live chat session when a Gulf Coast hurricane looks imminent. He handled it remarkably well as over 1,900 questions rained down in one hour during Monday’s chat. It’s not just Q&A, either — the chat sessions are sprinkled with clever polls throughout the hour. And the transcripts stay on the blog for casual review.
- It’s a serious topic, but alive with humor. Eric somehow manages to handle even the dumbest questions in a way that makes me laugh, without belittling the asker. Case in point: “When will we know the exact path of Ike?” His answer: “After landfall.”
Am I grasping at the wind, or do you agree that there are some take-aways here for marketers?
Good stuff Shelley. As someone with family in the Gulf Coast area I’ll pass on this blog to them (if they don’t already know about it). As a marketer you’re right on, Eric’s subject (hurricanes) is inherently topical and frequently changing so he has an advantage on the updates, but clearly he resonates with people, and those people share his blog with others to build an audience – it’s a winning combination.
He definitely resonates with people, Larissa! I hope your family finds Eric’s blog as useful as I have.
One additional observation my colleague Penny made, by the way: It’s very likely that the SciGuy blog is having an extremely positive impact on the Chronicle’s overall brand. Neither of us have felt particularly impressed with that newspaper for years, and now suddenly it’s a hip and useful internet destination.
I’m speaking for Penny here because right now she’s on her way to Galveston to prep the beach house for Ike…
This is an excellent example of “bonafide” social media having a play-by-play, interactive following. The reason I use the word, “bonafide” is because the SciGuy has more credibility under the banner of The Houston Chronicle than if it had been an unknown blogger.
With all the misinformation floating around the Blogosphere about the election, as an example, I believe this level of credibility is crucial when dealing with extreme weather that can affect people’s lives. The fact that the blog has all that you’ve listed above, Shelley, is icing on the marketing cake.
Good point, Elaine!
BTW, the SciGuy is not a “bonafide” meteorologist, but I say he’s demonstrated his talent at moving away from traditional stilted journalism into an engaging style of writing and reporting. Maybe that makes him a media-rologist instead?
Great link, Shelley. I live in Austin and it looks like we’ll be in Ike’s path in a few days. I’ve just subscribed to Eric’s blog in Google Reader, and I’ll be following it with great interest.
Bryan, this is a pretty cool site, too: http://www.stormpulse.com
(Found it on Eric’s blog, of course!)
This is certainly the quintessential blog. I will certainly pass it around to those I know who live in the area.
I just learned that in today’s live chat with the SciGuy, there were 8,000 participants submitting almost 5,000 questions in that hour. Talk about getting engaged!