I can’t find the specific report, but I recently read that the number of B-to-B corporate blogs started by companies fell by nearly 50% from 2006 to 2007. The reasons given were that many B-t0-B blogs were promo fluff and slightly changed press releases. Basically absolute nonsensical feel good crap that no one wants to read. Marketing diarrhea.

For about a week, I worked on one. What a waste of time.

The company, which I won’t name, was in the promotional products industry. The VP of Marketing was a pompous ass. The type of guy that announces that he’s very hands on and that he’s knowledgeable about blogging. Basically a clueless dipshit with an ego.

Yes, it feels good to write this.

To him, a blog entry was an opportunity to blatantly market his company’s product lines an special deals. Push, push, push. People aren’t interested in reading digital sales pitches. They want to learn and to share and while they may accept some promotional aspects, they are there to be hit on.

He had no or very little respect for his customers. He seemed to think they were simpletons who could barely run their own businesses. That doesn’t surprise me because he figured that they’d be interested in reading “Hey folks, have you considered company branded placemats?”

I lasted a week doing it. Every single one of his subsequent posts were a violation of the spirit of corporate blogging. He brought in someone else, a guy who started out writing crisp, insightful posts. After a few months, he was writing crap. Then he left.

The blog lasted a total of four months. Now it just sits there.

That’s why B-to-B blogs are stalling. Pompous asses at the wheel of social media.