Monday, April 09, 2007

Kryptonite’s First Blog Post

So. We’re officially here. In the blogosphere. Finally.

I struggled with what would be the first official post. It should be prolific after all this time, right? Grand in nature. Broad in scope. So, I struggled. How would we start this company blog? I struggled some more. And then I realized it’s just like walking into a room full of people you’ve never met - we’ll introduce ourselves to you. It seems like the polite thing to do, right?

First the company. We are Kryptonite – the company that innovated the bicycle u-lock awhile back….way back. So far back that we actually created the bicycle security category and then, subsequently, the motorcycle security category.

That’s it. You get the gist of what the company does. Enough ‘corporate babble’. If you want to read more about the company our new website will be launching really soon – you’ll hear it here first. When I say ‘soon’, I mean within a week. That will tell you everything you need to know about the company, what we do, detail all our products and so on.

This space isn’t about that. This space is about people. People who have an unbreakable bond to something action sports related. People here in this office are passionate about cycling, motorcycling, triathlon, hockey, volleyball, skiing and don’t even get me started on the snowmobile trips I’ve heard about. We are a passionate group of people. You’ll learn more about us – not the company, the people behind it.

We’ll also talk about people we meet along the way who have some amazing bonds to advocacy issues, charities, their “rides” (bikes, motorcycles and the like). People who are doing good things in the industries we play in (and I do mean play!). People who are passionate about the same things we are passionate about. People we bond with every day – and some folks we just hear about but that we want to talk about. And, just to see if you are paying attention, every once in awhile we may toss in something from left field.
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There will be no shortage of passion in this blog. Sometimes you may agree with us, sometimes not. We want to hear from you. Anytime and all the time. We can’t wait for the conversations to start! What we do ask is that you respect the space. Shel Israel created his “Living Room Policy” when he and Robert Scoble were writing Naked Conversations a few years ago. It was great and we whole-heartedly agree. To paraphrase, he asked that people be respectful with their comments. Constructive criticism is welcome, slander is not. Profanity is not. Basically, please don’t say something here that you wouldn’t say in one of our living rooms. We would appreciate that.

So, there you have it. Our little introduction to the blogosphere. If you have questions or comments, please ask. We’re listening.

14 comments:

shelisrael said...

Donna,

Welcome to the blogosphere. It's about time Kryptonite got here. Thanks also for the link, but you might want to redirect it to the actual Living Room Policy post, which you can find here: http://redcouch.typepad.com/weblog/2005/08/revised_comment.html

Unknown said...

Yay! Better late -- very, very, very late -- than never. :>)

Welcome to the blogosphere. Rock on!

Geoff said...

Welcome to the blogosphere. I notice you are using blogger.

I would have thought for a corporate you would have been able to use the google juice, that blogs give, more effectively if you had said up a wordpress blog on your main website. They are very straight forward to set up and administer.
Good luck in your conversations.

Donna T. said...

Shel - thanks, I'll update link.

Whatsnext - thank you for your enthusiasm.

Geoff - there's nothing to say that we won't change in the future, but this is a good starting point for now. We are just happy to be here. Woo-hoo!

Anonymous said...

Hi Donna, welcome. I for one would love to hear more about the journey that brought you to this point. To those of us who blog, the oft-told "Kryptonite story" is proof of why organistions need to blog, but often when we tell this story to non-bloggers, what they hear is "scarry, stay away". Well, this blog is proof that Kryptonite has decided not to stay away, and I'd love to read about how you came to that decision.

Anonymous said...

Bravo Donna and Company. I think this is going to be a great blog and an often linked example of a company that learned.

Anonymous said...

Neato, we welcome you to the conversation.

I find the story about the people, and how personal transportation (because of your locks) is secured. In many ways, Kryptonite encourages biking, which of course is great for health and the planet.

Good times ahead

Anonymous said...

Very bold indeed! An unbreakable spirit!! Thanks for the inspiration.

Anonymous said...

Wonderful to see Kryptonite helping to lead the way Donna. Feed added. And thanks so much for the link. I'm chuffed!

Anonymous said...

Excellent beginning, Donna. Welcome to the blogosphere.

Since you're on Blogger, you don't need to make the change. You can FTP the blog to a direct link to the kryptonite website, something like kryptonite.com/blog, which means that Google sees your blog as part of your site, sharing the SEO benefits.

Your blogroll is excellent - it's clear who you're connecting to and how they affect your business. Too many companies start out "blogging" but fail to build a community by giving out links. I think you'll do fine.

Anonymous said...

Donna - It's great to see Kryptonite taking a more active part in the conversation. So now your story has come full circle ..

By the way, I've enjoyed your posts on Shut Up And Drink The Kool-Aid! http://bicyclemarketingwatch.blogspot.com/ and look forward to reading more here.

Donna T. said...

Steven - we hear you...and look for a post on this very topic soon.

Jim & Jeremiah - thank you for the warm welcome!

kenekaplan - you rock! Thanks!

My fellow Krew member - thank you.

Jim - thanks!!! Glad you like the blogroll, too. We aim to add to that. Got any good powersports blogs you like to read? Send 'em my way.

Toby, my fellow alumni, thanks for stopping by and lending your support! As for the Krew site, I am pitifully behind, but now that we are in season, you might find me there more often. I always have an opinion on something. :)

Ed W said...

Welcome!

I had one of the first Kryptonite U locks back in the 70's, but like fool, I gave it to a young lady for her bike. It was a good product, and I'm happy to see that Kryptonite has steadily improved on it since then.

Anonymous said...

(h*ll the weight/size of this lock): If I am not allowed to park My Bike, within My Visibilty -- yes, be it inside where I go --- I don't park My Bike there. Meaning that I go elsewhere for Bu$ine$$. Business that accept ME & MY BIKE.