Personality, business and opportunity

I'll go out on a limb and answer the question in my previous posting. The reason most AEC businesses don't have blogs is that blogs generally only happen when the person has the authority to produce a blog -- in other words, he or she is the CEO or the company is so decentralized in management, that a more junior person can feel free to speak his or her mind.

So, most construction and related professional companies are established by individuals talented in their trade or profession, coupled with some entrepreneurial instincts. They aren't writers, like me. As their businesses grow, they hire people to be responsible for business development and marketing -- but I sense most of these executives would not dare step out on a limb and publish a blog with their personal identity stamped all over the place. Therefore, blogging -- with all of its market and business-development potential -- remains the exception rather than the rule in the construction industry. (A rightful exception are consultants promoting their services to the industry -- here the individuality and expertise of the consultant, coupled with the practical advantages of blogging, result in worthy opportunities.) Look at Michael Stone's "Mark Up and Profit" blog, for example.