Forrester Research has come out with another interesting report regarding blogging. This report is 18 pages and is FREE (requires registration).

Here is their Executive Summary.
"Although Weblogs (blogs) are currently used by only a small number of online consumers, they've garnered a great deal of corporate attention because their readers and writers are highly influential. Forrester believes that blogging will grow in importance, and at a minimum, companies should monitor blogs to learn what is being said about their products and services. Companies that plan to create their own public blogs should already feel comfortable having a close, two-way relationship with users. In this document we recommend best practices, including a blogging code of ethics, and metrics that will show the impact of blogs on business goals."

This report is more directed at blogs in the business world, how companies can use their own public blogs to create relationship with users. Even though libraries, tend to run slightly differently than the corporate world, this report can be very illuminating. Libraries are constantly trying to create a "two-way relationship" with its patrons, and now days many more hospital libraries are asked to show the impact of their services in relation to their business (hospitals) goals.