I’ll start by acknowledging that there are many people that don’t use social media like blogs (I’ll comment on this further in a minute).

But, blogs are just one aspect of social media. If you look at the category and realize it is also things like reviews on Google Local then the practical side of social media becomes more obvious. The three part video series I just concluded (see episodes 9a, 9b, 9c) is all about these kinds of practical applications of social media.

Not that I’d hesitate to recommend blog marketing for small business. I’m all over it and for good reason. Small business people (until now) had to pay big bucks to media companies to gain access to new customers. Those days are over. Sure, you have to work at it, but there’s a big pay day for your time spent and no out of pocket.

I think your comment speaks directly to the backlash that all the over-hype about social media has caused.

Getting back to those blog numbers. Bloggers and mainstream media alike quote the studies about how few people read blogs that you mention in your comment. The problem with that is these numbers don’t include blog readership on traditional media sites like the New York Times or on other popular sites like Engadget which is viewed as a Tech site rather than a blog. I think this is a great example of how the two mediums are merging, just as you’re suggesting needs to happen.

Finally, for a look at how social media types are leveraging the connection between social and traditional media to the benefit of both watch episode 9c. This session discusses how two PR experts use online social networks like Facebook to gain exposure for their projects and clients on mainstream or traditional media.

Hope to talk with you soon! Don’t take my counterpoints as argumentative. One of the problems with blogs is that it’s hard at times to understand what people mean in their comments. Thank goodness we still get to interact on the phone and face-to-face – now that’s a social media.