As part of the True Voice seminar series Stowe, Greg and I have posed 20 questions that we would like anyone interested in blogging to chew over and answer. So far we have had some great responses from people such as Robert Scoble and Marc Canter, but we are eager for more!

So, what are we asking? Here’s a sample:

4. Blogging has been characterized as a ’social medium’: what makes blogging social?
9. How can businesses and employees who blog unofficially learn to peacefully co-exist?
12. In what ways do we need to support staff bloggers in order to ensure that they can blog effectively?
16. What are the basic technical concepts necessary to understand about how blogs work?

If our 20 questions whet your appetite, then reserve your place at the first True Voice seminar, in New York on 26 Jan 05.

Stowe Boyd, Greg Narain and I have been putting together the True Voice series of seminars which will launch in the New Year, but now we’re widening our net, as Stowe explains on Get Real:

I am going to ask a few dozen colleagues to get involved in a short project over the next few weeks: 20 Questions related to the Business of Blogging. I invite anyone who would like to offer a question to do — but no answers yet. I will be launching a new blog with the 20 questions later this week, and then will be soliciting answers from our extended network of talented bloggers.

The second thing that we are doing with the seminars is community-oriented: as soon as you register you will become part of a community of other attendees. We will be outfitting every registrant with access to the ongoing discussion about the seminar content, as well as access to the 20 questions project. This membership will extend through the end of 2005.

Read more on Get Real.

I’m really looking forward to getting my teeth into the True Voice seminars - see you there!

I’m delighted to announce Corante’s new seminar series True Voice: The Business of Blogging, which will start in New York on 26 January 2005, and then move on to San Francisco, Boston, Los Angeles and London. I’m working on the content for the seminars with Stowe Boyd and Greg Narain and we’ll soon be starting a True Voice blog using sponsor SilkRoad’s blog software.

This one-day Corante event will examine the business, political and societal implications of social media and the impact of this burgeoning communication medium on the future media and business landscape. In particular, we will present practical and pragmatic advice on the nuts and bolts of blogging, balanced with the science and theory of social media. An innovative union of face-to-face interaction with knowledgeable and experienced bloggers, video interviews, and case studies, this seminar is a highly interactive and engaging experience.

If you would like to be pinged when registration details are available, email Stowe (stowe AT corante.com). I’ll update you with more info in due course, but in the meantime, take a look at the press release.