Managing the 'noise' in cyberspace

Reading Justin's blog about peer to peer emails, one thought struck me - great idea, but how on earth do you know who is saying what to whom?

When a company implements a contact management strategy, the main aim is to make sure they know who they spoke to, when and what was said. That way, the customer should always have a consistent message coming from the company about sales, marketing or customer service.

But if peer to peer networks take off, and everyone is creating mini email networks, can I be sure that these networks are staying on message, are not contradicting what the main campaign is trying to say and are not overwhelming our supporters with a flood of messages?

How do I ensure all these smaller networks are working with my campaign to deliver the strategies and messages I believe to be key to winning? Finding the balance between giving decentralized networks freedom, and coordinating them effectively is going to be the next big challenge for the internet-savvy campaign.

A guest blogger's view....

I'm currently a student at GSPM, though not in the Politics and New Media class, and am one of the guest bloggers for "British Boy in DC"...

On that note, after reading many of the blogs and comments, it became obvious that a central issue concerning blogs is their influence, and future, over politics, news, journalism, etc. But, according to this CNN article, blogs have taken on an exciting new territory that I have never really thought, nor read, about them covering: tourism. I think this can be a boost for the general public's reading, familiarity, and hopefully favorability of blogs and blogging--especially for all of you that have found that many people are not very aware of, or receptive to, the concept.

The internet has become a strong influence for many people in planning their vacations, trips or even events in their local area. I myself don't know what I would do without the Washington Post's Entertainment Section. It also has become very useful for checking the ratings people give a certain location, event or even product.

What the state of Pennsylvania has done was to have 6 people blog for the summer about their activities and excursions around the state. Mountain biking, history tours, battlefield visits, thrills nightlife, shopping, etc. This way, one is provided with an even more in-depth and first-hand review of possible destinations and activities. Even more importantly, it gets many internet users more accustomed to seeing and reading blogs.

I think this could be a benefit, not just for Pennsylvania's tourism sector, but for the blogging community as well. As more states feel the ripple effect and, hopefully, follow this example, it could provide a strong base for a whole new depth and ability to educate and influence people across the nation about issues of all new varieties through blogs. While this type of blog isn't of a political nature, it can spur growth, popularity, trust and confidence of blogs in general--even political ones!

So, while this does not answer the question on the future of blogs, it may provide a confidence boost that blogs may not see the same fate as other technology superstars. Because of new untapped facets (like tourism), blogs may not be just another bubble waiting to pop. For instance, perhaps in the future GW / GSPM will feature a student blogger on their website, who would discuss student issues aimed at prospective students...