My First Blog Post from 13 Years Ago: Web 2.0 — A Jungle for Franchise Development — How relevant is it today?

Have you ever looked back at content you had developed in the past and thought about its relevance then, and today? If you have, I’m sure it has raised a lot of questions as it does for me ranging from what the heck was I thinking to wow, I was really onto something or that’s as relevant today as it was back then?”

This morning I decided to go back, way back to my first blog post. The date was February 5, 2009 — almost 13 years ago! Blogging was relatively new. The only blogger I was aware of in the franchise space at the time was Joel Libava As proficient as Joel was at the time it was clear he had been at it for quite awhile, even at that early date. There may have been others, but Joel was not only The Franchise King, he was also in my mind, The Franchise Blog King!

As many will recall, 2008 and into early 2009 was the beginning of a very rough spell for the economy and of course, for franchising. Interesting, here we are again as we’re facing similar circumstances. As such, I believe my first blog post under my initial platform, franchisEssentials — WEB 2.0: A Jungle for Franchise Development is relevant today. Albeit it may need some minor edits, or does it?

To that end, today I’m sharing the post exactly how it was published back then and asking you to share your comments and suggestions on what should be changed for the here and now. I certainly look forward to your insight and perspective. (Although, please be kind and refrain from critiquing my poor writing skills — thank you!)

Web 2.0 — A Jungle for Franchise Development

Franchise Development is no stranger to change. The industry adapted well to the internet when it integrated its then traditional marketing at tradeshows with development of elaborate websites. Next, the industry adapted again as it integrated its marketing efforts and web presence with franchise consultants and brokers through a multitude of franchise portals.

Well, as Bob Dylan once wrote, “…the times they are a-changing.” Much has been written and spoken about weeding through the many tire-kickers experienced on the internet, shuffling from one portal to the next with the same non-objective to “see what’s out there.” The franchise industry has literally seen thousands of these leads with no purpose, no chance of ever presenting a franchise opportunity.

Instead of trying to catch fish in a wide open ocean, why not direct your attention to the fish in a lake, pond or even, a barrel? That’s correct, a barrel! In searching for qualified franchise candidates, we, as an industry, need to locate the barrels of candidates that exist in the market today. How do we accomplish this seemingly insurmountable task? We need to embrace new technology and integrate the same with traditional efforts. Specifically, Web 2.0 (and Social Media) technology, and all it has to offer.

Unfortunately, Web 2.0 technology is so extraordinary, consisting of many different aspects. Including such familiar buzzwords as social media, social networking, wikis, webinars, video sharing, blogs, podcasts, just to name a few, the thought of stepping foot into the Web 2.0 jungle is daunting, and therefore, often delayed. So, as the old adage of how one could eat an entire elephant (of course, one bite at a time), we need to take small bites out of the Web 2.0 elephant and step through the jungle carefully, one step at a time.

Have a great day. Make it happen. Make it count!