It may have been one of the first technology business events of 2006; but it felt like 1995 again -- that golden year in which the Internet first started attracting the attention of the masses. The room was filled with savvy business people, yet they didn't act savvy. They were acting like students trying to comprehend the subject and its implications.

The subject was blogging and podcasting -- or at least that's how it was billed. When the evening got under way, though, it became all blogging.

John Soat, editor of the "News Show," the offbeat daily video newscast from CMP Media (Web cast at www.techweb.com), deftly managed the expert panel and questions from the audience. And that audience was active, soaking up every bit of information it could get.

The Pittsburgh Technology Council, TEQ Magazine and The IndUS Entrepreneurs brought together an expert panel including Rob Scoble from Microsoft's Redmond, Wash., headquarters, John Moran from Schwartz Communications in Boston, attorney Jim Singer from Pepper Hamilton and the council's own Mike Woycheck, who also is founder of the Pittsburgh Bloggers Forum (www.pghbloggers.org). Between them, they have more business blogging experience than you can probably find in most midsize cities.

Listening to the audience, you could hear the enthusiasm and feel the skepticism. They were enthusiastic about what blogging could be -- yet skeptical about whether blogs could truly make the jump from an alternative forum for individuals and media-wannabes to a solid tool for businesses. Very few business people have made the jump to blogging because blogging is less controllable than traditional media, Web publishing and corporate e-mail blasts.

In these two hours, though, Mr. Soat and his panel shared examples illustrating how that uncontrollability is good. They described how allowing others to control the conversation makes your message more credible. And they explained how blogging could attract more listeners to your message by attracting links from other bloggers.

While they only scratched the surface in this session, they made a number of key points, including:

Blogging is an informal medium, usually made up of informal phrases. If you blog, don't use corporate-speak.

Don't try to get one over on the audience. This might go without saying, but is worth saying anyway because it is particularly important in the blogosphere, which tends to penalize marketing spin.

It's important to monitor blogs, even if you don't participate in discussions. They'll give you feedback about your product or service. You'll also learn about your competitors and how their customers view them.

The kid in Australia with five readers could be just as important as the larger blogs, because the media scours blogs to learn about subjects when researching articles and broadcast pieces. I can vouch for that.

Even if you don't publish a blog, have a blog policy. If you don't blog officially, somebody in your organization probably will do it informally.

The audience also got to hear about Mr. Scoble's battles with Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO, on doing an official blog for Microsoft. According to Mr. Scoble, his blog has helped Microsoft combat its image as an evil empire, because he has been uncensored, giving both positive and negative opinions about the company.

The Tech Council plans to offer the session as a podcast at www.pghtech.org, and present a follow up event on March 30.