And she has a good point.

For businesses that are short on time, perhaps focusing on conversations on Twitter is more valuable than developing readership on a company blog.

But of course, there is a downside.

Twitter is about the moment, the “right now.” In three months, Twitter posts have lost their power and relevance. And Twitter posts don’t help significantly with search engine optimization.

So take a step forward. Rather than Twitter replacing the blog, let Twitter inspire the blog.

If you are short on words for your blog, here is something to try:

1. Go to http://search.twitter.com/ and search for your Twitter ID or keyword.
2. Browse through the list and click some of the “Show Conversation” links.
3. If you are inspired, pick the key Twitter post, take a screen capture, and post to your blog.

Do you already do this? Share some comments and links. And thanks to @coreyfreeman, @DanteExplorer and @darkolives for the conversation.

I agree, it is too much. Why has is gotten so loud? The answer is simple: Web 2.0 enables conversations and the more people and businesses that come to the party, the louder it will get.

So how do you deal with all of the noise? Listen for the echoes from the crowds.

I think that you have to start trusting the noise rather than trying to sift through it. The genuinely great ideas, articles, events, products, companies, people, etc. will naturally receive the votes of the crowd and create a “virtual echo” that is powerful enough to hear beyond the first post.

So consider your experience. If you subscribe to RSS feeds, don’t try to read everything. Skim the lists and then search for interesting posts across all of your feeds. Don’t try to catch up if you get behind. The good stuff will stick around thanks to the wisdom of the crowd.

There are literally hundreds (well according to Technorati as of this post about 113 million) blogs out there. So How do you claw your way out of the Long Tail of blogging?

From a recent Q&A…
“I’ve had my blog on business and innovation for 9 months now. It hasn’t been doing badly, but it hasn’t gone viral yet…Are there any smart strategies for clawing out of the long-tail faster than the 1-yard-at-a-time I am able to maintain now? Or is it just a long slog of just keeping at it?”

The simple answer is patience. Start by writing good content – that is the key. Also, link to others with related content and use the trackback links. If you can get a “guest post” with more popular blogs, that will also help.

Many bloggers are not writers, so the content issue usually becomes more challenging over time, typically when you start getting some results with Technorati and Google.

That said, I’ve seen some companies “team blog” (as we are doing here) with several people contributing on a regular basis. This way no single person is burdened with the entire task.

Some additional tips:

1. Personalize your blog – If your blog looks like every other blog out there, some people will assume that you aren’t completely serious about your content. It is definitely worth it to hire a professional to create a custom blog interface. The default templates are overused and stale.
2. Answer every email – Blogs are all about conversation. If someone takes the time to comment on your blog, make sure to continue the conversation and thank the person for the comment.
3. Check Google Analytics for trends – If particular posts on your blog are gaining popularity, continue posting new content about these topics.
4. Be social with your blog – There are a number of plug-ins to help facilitate posts to other sites such as DIGG, Reddit, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, etc. Make sure to go where your community is going.
5. Don’t get tired - I see blogs that start with fire and then fizzle into the night. I think that after 100 posts, you start to develop a habit. If it is too much work, you may not be cut out to blog. At the very least, pick a schedule and be consistent.
6. Schedule posts – I also schedule posts usually at least 5-10 days ahead of time. This way if I have a couple of busy days with no time to post, I still have things going through the air waves to keep the momentum going. Then when I get a chance to catch up, I don’t feel like my readers (all 2 of them) have gotten bored.