One of the underlying themes of Forum One's seminar on blogging next week is the diversity of blogging models. Blogs are still new enough that we all still hold a lot of preconceived notions about a blog's format, purpose, and content. We hope the session will stimulate creative thinking about how your organizations can extend and redefine the blog model into new ways to connect and communicate.

Michael Edson of the Smithsonian American Art Museum will be talking about EyeLevel, which definitely breaks the mold.

When setting up what was to be the Smithsonian's very first blog, Michael had to field a lot of questions from skeptics. They asked, why in the world would an art museum -- particuarly one that was shuttered for renovations at the time -- invest in blog-style communications? The justification of the opportunity is at the center of Michael's story.

Recently, EyeLevel proved its value by providing a channel for responding and framing an unflattering report on the Smithsonian and several of its museums including SAAM. Today, one of Michael's primary messages to doubters is: "By the time you need a blog, it's too late."

To hear the rest of the exciting story, you'll just have to come hear it for yourself. I hope you'll consider joining us.

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