First blogs, followed by vlogs, and m’logs.  Now we have splogs (spam blogs) and clogs (corporate blogs.)  What will they call annual blogs?  Analogs?  That would be funny.  Actually, annual blogs have been around for a while, but they are gaining traction and there are a lot more of them of late.  Basically, an annual blog pops up to cover an annual event, starting in advance to cover preparations and ramp-up, and stopping shortly after the event concludes. 

AdWeek has launched an annual blog for the International Advertising Festival at Cannes.  They are just getting started, but already have some impressive industry insiders as guest contributors.  BloggingSundance.com covered, you guessed it, the Sundance Film Festival.  And BloggingMilken.com covered the Milken Institute’s Global Conference and included a wide variety of topics. 

What is the opportunity for companies?  With the proper time commitment and elbow grease, I think they should consider blogging tradeshows and conferences, especially where they have significant new product or service announcements.  Annual meetings are another prime opportunity to create conversations with stakeholders about a company’s future.  From an internal perspective, blogging leadership summits or annual planning meetings would likely be interesting to the rank and file.  And, companies in trouble could certainly use a blog to tell their side of the story, provided they are completely truthful and transparent in their blogging efforts.  Lastly, within different industries there are set times of the year that provide opportunities - Fashion Week, tax season, and back to school, for example.  Any other examples pop into mind?

The reality is that more companies should be using blogs, even v1.0, to create dialogue with their target audience groups.  Maybe annual blogging can provide a way to experiment to encourage more frequent communications and let companies ease into the blogosphere?  What do you think?