Brogan and Boches: Head to head and side by side

These two men, Chris Brogan and Edward Boches, are what many consider to be the faces of social media. That is, of course, if social media has a face, and a blog, and could ever be represented by any two people. Thought-leaders in the social space, Brogan and Boches offer their insights, day after day through their competing blogs. Competing for their readers' time, maybe, but these two blogs are written, and present their thoughts in very different manners. Both offer insightful opinions on social media and marketing as a whole, but you would never be wasting your time to read both. The experience for each is entirely different. They teach lessons the Facebook page for my social media class, “Why Social Media Matters,” can learn from to better our experience.

Brogan's blog entries seem to serve as general educational topics. Entries usually aren't laden with examples to back himself up. He is offering his very professional and respected opinion to help his readers understand and utilize social media. He's treating the blog as part social media, as it is, and not just a bulletin board, by constantly asking for feedback from his readers. The blog's goal is to “educate people on the use of social business communication” according to Brogan, whom I asked through his Twitter handle, @chrisbrogan. While there aren't always sources, his position and extensive knowledge seats him in a chair of credibility. Outside of the entry itself, comments are extremely important, and interaction is rampant between the readers. He gives the opportunity to, in a very succinct reading experience, digest his thoughts, and offer your own back to the community, whether you agree or not.

Boche's blog is a whole other beast. When I say beast, I mean that there is a lot of meat in an Edward Boches entry. Utilized in almost every entry are examples backing his arguments and opinion, as well as sources that offer what he is presenting another layer of credibility. When I look at Boches blog, I see what you would email that stubborn CMO that doesn't believe in social media. Fattened up by examples, numbers, and credible sources, Boches writes brief, essay-like entries. His “type A” personality shines through, with as many hyperlinked keywords and sources as he can, before the screen turns completely red (from hyperlinks, nothing sinister). While a bit heavier than Brogan's entries, his ideas and opinions are concrete.

As I said before, Boches' blog you could send to a non-believer of social media to show what is being done, and also get examples from a strong source concerning trends for yourself. Brogan is there to help you help yourself to help the community; education is the key. If one had to be doing a better job than another, and it's tough for me to say as they operate with separate styles and goals, Boches entries and constant responses to his readers do a great job of interacting with his community while supplying them with the means to act as a social media practitioner and advocate. For anyone operating in social media, or considering it, both are goldmines of insight and advice.