Why Boeing's Blog Is a Journal

I'm listening to a session on blog design at the Blog Business Summit in San Francisco and bringing this to you live... Here's a great tidbit from Boeing Web designer Chris Brownrigg on why Boeing's much talked about blog is called Randy's Journal: "Because they (management) were uncomfortable with the term blog." Chris wisely got around that decision by giving the blog the following page title: "Boeing Blog: Randy's Journal." Better for search results when you type in "Boeing blog." Take a look when you click through.

The (dreaded... or anticipated) blogging phone call

Chris was given 48 hours to design and launch the blog for Boeing VP Randy Baseler after getting "the blogging phone call." Audience members nodded at this. Seems both managers and techies are getting "the call" from top management to "get into this blog thing." Uninitiated into the ways of the blogosphere, he dove into the project by looking at the code behind lots of other blogs. He settled on Movable Type as the software platform. Posted a mock-up of the proposed blog here. Comments and other blog features were subsequently added after readers protested.

I love this inside glimpse of how a corporate blog gets launched... shows how it's very much a joint effort between management and the Web techies.

Technorati tags: BBS05, blogbusinesssummit

Comments

[Josh Hallett]

If I remember correctly the blog/journal launched one day before Airbus held their roll-out for the A380. Coincidence?

[J.D. Iles]

Gerber Scientific is a great example of a publicly traded coming that is just getting into blogging (yes, and we all just start calling it "weblogging" already?)

[J.D. Iles]

OH, and I'm an idiot

here is the link

http://gerberscientificproducts.blogspot.com/

[Froggy]

Would really be interesting to see what the Boeing mock Blog looks like .. unfortunately .. they have taken it down .. *sigh*