Useful Tip: Two top execs review entries on Southwest's popular blog before they go live

A useful tidbit that came out of our well-attended session on Corporate & CEO blogging at BlogWorld Expo last week was this: one of two top execs at Southwest Airlines (in PR and communications) reviews each entry before it goes live on the popular Nuts About Southwest blog.

Inside the underbelly of corporate blogging

Southwest's Brian Lusk (Blog Boy) says they can get turnaround in a matter of hours if it's urgent. Otherwise, explained Paula Berg (Southwest's Blog Girl), they maintain an editorial calendar and try and have a bunch of posts lined up in advance - to give the execs more time for review. 

From my experience, this isn't an unusual system. Just goes to show there is plenty of protocol and process in the underbelly of corporate blogging.

Thanks to my fab panel for a really informative session. Thanks to Simon Chen, Nancy Arter, The Scratching Post and Fiat Lux for blogging it.

Who's in the photo?

First row left to right: Jenny Cisney of Kodak; Paula Berg of Southwest; Debbie Weil; John Earnhardt of Cisco. Back row: Pete Johnson of HP and Brian Lusk of Southwest.

Corporate blogging lessons from Google's blogging gaffe

Google's blogging gaffe happened over a week ago and there's still a flap about it in the blogosphere and in MSM (mainstream media).

A quick recap, Google employee Lauren Turner, a sales rep for Google ads, gave Michael Moore's new film, Sicko, a thumbs down in a sort-of-review on Google's new Health Advertising blog.

She then invited "health insurers, health providers, and pharmaceutical companies" (her words) - the targets of Moore's criticism of limited access to costly healthcare - to get their own version of the story across by placing ads on Google.

Oops, she crossed a line there.

Partisan politics are dicey on a corporate blog

It's not so much that this Google blogger said something politically incorrect: "Do No Evil" Google coming out against Michael Moore's film?? (That drove the blogosphere wild.) Nor that she blatantly promotes Google's advertising services. But that she crossed the line into partisan politics.

Think about it. Supposing she had come out with the opposing view, saying this was the greatest movie ever made, and suggesting that readers take out ads in praise of the film. Wouldn't that have the same feeling of "crossing a line" into a partisan statement, one that urges political action?

No one would deny that America's healthcare system is hugely flawed. Access to healthcare is one of the most highly charged issues in this country. But wading into a divisive and combustible issue on a corporate blog - and expressing a political point of view about it - strikes me as dicey.

Google's official corporate blog issued a retraction of sorts. I.e., it focuses on clarifying Google's political position on healthcare (Google "does share many of the concerns that Mr. Moore expresses about the cost and availability of health care in America"). It would have made more sense, IMHO, to parse exactly why Lauren Turner's original blog post was inappropriate.

3 (obvious) corporate blogging lessons

Here are three pointers for corporate blogging. They're not new, nor are they original. But they bear re-stating, in view of Google's blogging gaffe:

1. Be authentic

That means use an "authentic voice" and say what you're really thinking. Lauren Turner's Sicko post had the ring of a salesperson's spin. It sounded like she was using her "opinion" about Sicko as a way to promote Google's AdSense program. (Read Mike O'Sullivan's comment.)

2. Be transparent

If you're one of numerous authors on a corporate blog, be absolutely clear when you're expressing your own opinion vs. your company's.

3. Apologize if you make a mistake

Google got this one right. And even went further. As a Google spokesperson told the San Francisco Chronicle:

"We try to ensure that what is in them (Google's over 50 blogs) represents the company, but we also try to make them interesting and not too traditional and corporate," he said. "We hope to get even better at it over time, but we'll probably also make more mistakes."
- San Francisco Chronicle (July 5, 2007)

BONUS TIP: Steer clear of politics and religion unless there's a compelling strategic reason. For example, your company has decided to adopt a green (environmentally friendly) strategy on everything you do.

Useful Links

Google Faux Pas Retracted (TechCrunch, July 1, 2007)

Crossing the Corporate Line (San Francisco Chronicle, July 5, 2007)

Company Blogging 101 by Google spam engineer Matt Cutts

Google's Authentic Voice Problem (O'Reilly Radar)

Google official blog's M.O. (Three-year anniversary of Google's original corporate blog, June 15, 2007)

Take Melcrum's Social Media Survey

My friends over at Melcrum Publishing are running a Social Media Usage survey. Click here to take it (it's quick).

You get a nifty free download at the end: Melcrum's Quick Start Guide to Social Media for Internal Communicators (a 23-page PDF).

The survey is aimed at large corporations and asks about your use (or intended use) of blogs, wikis, podcasts, social bookmarking tools, RSS, Second Life, online video, etc.

Social Media for Internal Communicators in London - March 22, 2007

I'm speaking at Melcrum's social media conference in London in a couple of weeks. Topic: What's Your Story? Getting the Tone and Content of Blogs Right. Attendees will get a copy of my Content Strategy Workbook -- one of the things that will be included in... (drum roll)... The Corporate Blogging Toolkit.

I'm developing it now. It's an extension of The Corporate Blogging Book, designed to be a practical blueprint and manual to launch a corporate or CEO blog.

Consider this a below-the-radar announcement. More TK.

WOMMA gets practical with ethics: Dell signs up to say, "We get it and we're gonna do it"

WOMMA CEO Andy Sernovitz is up to more of his tricks (jeesh, does this guy know how to create buzz) but this time* I think he's got it spot on.

"Smart companies like Dell know that ethics isn't optional - it's the first priority in the consumer-generated environment," said Andy Sernovitz.
- from a Dell press release (Nov. 9, 2006)

Andy has gotten two top execs at Dell to publicly announce that the company - a relatively new player in the Fortune 500 corner of the blogosphere - is incorporating WOMMA's Ethics Adoption Toolkit into its blog policy. The principal ingredients of the Ethics Toolkit are:

- transparency of origin

- accuracy

- ethical conduct

- protection of confidential information

- enforcement and discipline

The ethics guidelines apply to internal (employee) and external (customer) communications via blogs and other social media tools. As well as to third party vendors (i.e. PR firms and agencies that big companies are hiring).

The latter is an interesting reminder that ultimately a company is responsible for the actions of its vendors (think Wal-Mart and Edelman).

Download Dell's Blog Policy (dated Nov. 9, 2006)

Is WOMMA the right group to sanction Edelman for violation of a social media ethics code?

* It's another question whether WOMMA is the right entity to call Edelman on the carpet (WOMMA has announced that Edelman's membership has been suspended for 90 days) for the PR firm's mishandling of the fake Wal-Marting Across America blog. My first response to this was, er, this is preposterous. Why should Edelman care what WOMMA thinks or does?

Here's one of the corrective actions in WOMMA's announcement: "Provide a briefing to the WOMMA Executive Committee to fully explain the details of the incident."

Let's get real here - how likely is it that Edelman will comply with this request??

BTW, I've just done a Google search and (unless I've missed it) I can't find Edelman's reaction to being suspended from membership in WOMMA.

My second reaction is... well someone needs to step up to the plate and insist on a code of ethics surrounding corporate use of blogs and social media. WOMMA is trying hard. Maybe it's the right group.

Useful Links

20 questions toward ethical word of mouth (Jackie Huba)

WOMMA's Ethics Program

SEC says Go, Blog, Go to big companies

SEC Chairman Christopher Cox has spoken. While he doesn't explicitly use the word "blog," he suggests in his comment on Sun Microsystems' CEO Jonathan Schwartz's blog that corporate Web sites, or blogs, are a very good thing.

SEC chief makes blogging history

Cox created blogging history by leaping into the blogosphere and posting his letter as a comment to Jonathan's blog. The pair have been involved in a rather esoteric back-and-forth about something called RegFD (regulation fair disclosure).

Specifically, Jonathan has requested that corporate Web sites (i.e. blogs) be considered a proper channel for publicly (and broadly) disclosing material business information. Cox has yet to say 'yes' per se but looks like he's leaning that way. Here's what he wrote on Jonathan's blog:

"Jonathan,

I mailed the response to your letter yesterday, but since you're talking about transparency and efficiency in communications, I thought you might appreciate my taking advantage of the Internet’s speed and potential for broad dissemination by posting here as well.

Best,

Chris Cox

---
November 2, 2006

Mr. Jonathan Schwartz
Chief Executive Officer
Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Mailstop UMPK10-244
10 Network Circle
Menlo Park, CA 94025

Dear Mr. Schwartz:

Thank you for your September 25, 2006 letter. In your letter, you suggest that, in light of the evolution of the Internet, the Commission should state that certain types of corporate website postings, including electronic mail alerts, would satisfy the broad non-exclusionary dissemination conditions of Regulation FD.

...I believe strongly that the Internet is a powerful tool that can be used effectively by corporations and all market participants to provide information to the market and investors. The Internet can empower investors to obtain and evaluate information about companies, and its potential has not yet been fully exploited..."

- SEC Chairman Christopher Cox in a comment posted to Jonathan Schwartz's blog (Nov. 3, 2006)

Conjecture on why there's a debate about corporate blogs and RegFD

What's interesting about this little debate is that there's any debate at all. Of course corporate Web sites (and blogs - which are a kind of Web site) are a way to "broadly" disseminate information. If it's a public blog, an investor has instant access to the information whether he or she visits the site or gets the update via an RSS newsreader.

The current system is multi-step and seems rather indirect to me. Companies issue a press release, the business press pick it up, pull what they want from it and publish their story "reporting" on the company's earnings announcement.

Me thinks the real problem here is that if companies transmit their earnings releases via a blog post, that obviates the need for mainstream media to "announce" the news to investors.

Useful Links

Wall Street Journal's Law Blog (WSJnl blogger Peter Lattman is miffed - OK, tongue-in-cheek - because the SEC Chairman didn't leave a comment on his blog; yet another example of MSM wanting to be first on important stuff - dontcha think?)

SEC Chief Suggests Blogs For Disclosures (Washington Post, Nov. 7, 2006)

SEC chief posts to CEO blog (IR Magazine, Nov. 7, 2006)

"The concept of a company using its own web site to release important financial information is a controversial one. For one, hackers could post fake information to blogs. Others note that companies themselves could manipulate material after posting it. It also simply up-ends the established order. 'Can a company bypass the mainstream channels and be its own news service?' asks Debbie Weil, corporate and CEO blogging consultant. 'It seems scary and different.'"
- by Anna Snider in IR Magazine

Private letters turn into public conversations (Daniela Barbosa makes the point that the blog exchange between Schwartz and Cox demonstrates "the power of social media tools - enhancement of the creation, distribution and consumption of information.")

IBM's blogger-in-chief Christopher Barger on the 4 times he's had to "drop the hammer" on IBM bloggers

Here's an interesting nugget from SNCR's Inaugural Research Symposium in Boston today. It's a great look inside a Fortune 500 and how they're managing employee blogging.

Four reprimands to IBM bloggers in 18 months

IBM's Christopher Barger, known as Blogger-in-Chief, just told the audience he's only had to "drop the hammer" four times on IBM bloggers since Big Blue launched their blogging initiative 18 months ago.

Barger is on the New Media Communications Team at IBM, which is part of the Strategic Communications group (publishes the annual report, etc.). Formerly a speechwriter for IBM, he moved to his current position after his managers discovered an external personal blog he'd been writing for a year. Rather than disciplining him, they said "Hey, we gotta deal with this stuff and you're the guy to do it."

Three of the times he had to call IBM bloggers on the carpet were for internal blogs; once it was for an external blog posting by a developer.

One of the internal blogs was religiously-themed, Barger said, but "tasteful." However, publicly discussing religion is heavily discouraged by HR.

Another of the internal blogs was "slagging on [the blogger's] manager," Christopher said. The manager's name wasn't included but there were "very specific details."

The outside blog incident was an inadvertent posting by a developer. He posted something about a product he was working on that IBM was contractually forbidden from revealing. Christoper contacted the guy and he removed the post "within five minutes."

On the ROI of IBM's blogging initiative

Says Christopher:

1. Morale is up, as measured by HR, over the past 18 months.

2. Blogging is free; there's no cost.

3. Blogging adds to the "relationship selling" that IBM espouses. I.e. developing relationships with the community that IBM is part of - as well as selling to.

On why Mark Jen was fired from Google

"Off the record," Christoper says jokingly... "Are there any bloggers in the audience?" Mark's offending blog postings were frowned upon by Google's marketing and communications folks, Chris told us. They were unhappy with ceding control of the message.

In this case, it related to Mark's disclosure on his Google blog of - yet another - positive earnings report for the company.  Not exactly news BUT I have to take the side of the Marcomm team here. Generally, there should be agreement at a company as to who can say what... and when... about news such as product launches and financial results. Does that make sense? Anyway, that's what blogging guidelines are for.

Google doesn't have an official published blogging policy (unless I"ve missed it). But in IBM's Blogging Policy I think this particular issue (revealing information normally handled by another channel) is discouraged.

Useful Links

Blogging at Big Blue: an Interview (with Chrisopher Barger)

IBM's blogger in chief - The (UK) Times, May 26, 2006

Flogging, Wal-Marting and Edelman's non-response

Update: Richard Edelman responds here (90 96 comments) and then here. Steve Rubel here (over 50 comments).

I'm a huge fan of the folks at Edelman, particularly Steve Rubel and Phil Gomes and Guillaume du Gardier in Paris. So I have no idea what's up with Edelman's non-response to the outing of the Wal-Marting Across America blog as a paid-for publicity stunt.

Definition of flogging

Flogging refers to a new blog-ism: fake blogging - as coined used by MediaPost reporter Tom Siebert in his article: Pro-Wal-Mart Travel Blog Screeches to a Halt. Full disclosure: Tom interviewed me and quotes me in the article. He also quoted me in his follow-up article (see below).

[Correction: flog was coined by Matthew Oliphant.] 

I'm inclined to think that a lot of wires got crossed on this one.

About ten months ago Wal-Mart retained Edelman to work on blogger relations with them to counter the stream of negative press the company is getting. One of the things Edelman did was suggest that Wal-Mart create Working Families for Wal-Mart (WFFWM). Hard to believe that the Edelman team would then give Wal-Mart such bad advice, as in:

Here's how to behave in the corporate blogosphere: fake it

I.e. get WFFWM to pay a photographer (Jim) and a freelance writer (Laura) to pretend they just happen to be driving across America in an RV. Oh and they just happen to park each night in the RV-friendly Wal-Mart parking lots. Oh and they just happen to photograph and interview lots of happy Wal-Mart employees. Oh and then they post this happy chronicle to the Wal-Marting Across America blog.

(All the entries have now been removed except the final semi-explanatory one by Laura.)

Oops - that didn't work

Turns out "Jim" is Washington Post photographer James Thresher (who's now in deep sushi with Wash Post executive editor Len Downie). His girlfriend "Laura" is Laura St. Claire (whose brother happens to be an Edelman employee).

Steve Rubel, are you listening?

So far there's no comment on this corporate blogging snafu (don't know if I'd go so far as to call it a fiasco) on Richard Edelman's CEO blog, nor on Steve Rubel's Micro Persuasion.

Another way Edelman could have handled this

As I told the MediaPost's Tom Siebert:

"What would they lose to have said, 'we're sending two people around the country to talk to people at Wal-Mart,'" says corporate blogging consultant Debbie Weil, author of "The Corporate Blogging Book." "It could have even been funny--they could have made it self-deprecating, really loosened up and it would have been so much more effective as a PR strategy. Instead, they went with that whole Madison Avenue lie that everything is perfect, which people can't stand."

- MediaPost (Oct. 13, 2006)

Useful Links

Wal-Mart's Jim and Laura: The Real Story (Business Week - Oct. 8, 2006)

WashPost Photog's Wal-Mart Trip Violates Paper's Policy (Editor & Publisher - Oct. 11, 2006)

WaPo Photog To Repay Wal-Mart Group for Blog Expenses (MediaPost - Oct. 13, 2006)

Blogs, splogs & flogs: edelman and the wal-mart fiasco (bizhack - Oct. 12, 2006)

PR bloggers respond to Wal-Mart / Edelman controversy (from Wal-Mart Watch)

Defending and Defining the Blog Culture (Toby Bloomberg - Oct. 13, 2006)

Wal-Mart: On the Importance of Being Ernest (Kami Huyse - Oct. 13, 2006)

Edelman is wading - happily - into the new field of blogger relations with its Wal-Mart blogger campaign

There's a must-read article in today's NYTimes on the issue of blogger relations: Wal-Mart Enlists Bloggers in PR Campaign. The article talks about Edelman PR's efforts to feed tidbits to a group of bloggers to generate positive coverage for the corporation (which is being criticized by pro-union activists for paying low wages and not offering health benefits).

Lee Odden posted to Business Blog Consulting with an entry titled: Wal-Mart Blog PR Backfires. I don't think that's quite accurate. In fact, the blogger campaign seems to be working quite nicely. And I'm not sure there's anything wrong with it. I responded with this comment (my words are in italics):

The NYTimes brings up lots of issues to ponder:

[snip]

- Are some citizen journalists - aka bloggers - unaware of journalistic conventions like quoting, attributing sources, checking facts, etc.? Seems likely to me. (Although I don’t know enough about this particular case to make that judgment.) [Read Jeff Jarvis's helpful blog entry, in reponse to the Times story, with advice for bloggers. Read Dan Gillmor on Bloggers and Disclosure.]

- Should Edelman be engaging in this kind of blogger relations? Hmmm… why not. [Read Richard Edelman's blog entry commenting on the Times piece and explaining more about Edelman's blogger relations practice.] The bloggers who are being approached need to be super savvy about the information they’re being fed. In other words, they need to act more like mainstream journalists and ask lots more questions themselves.

Fascinating to read is the email exchange between Edelman account exec Marshall Manson (who clearly identifies himself as being with Edelman, including his phone number) and blogger Rob Port of SayAnythingBlog. You can download it as a PDF here. Pay close attention. You'll see that "flattery will get you everywhere" is a great technique.

Writes Edelman's Manson in the email exchange: "Just wanted you [Rob Port] to know that your post taking notice of "Why Wal-Mart Works" was noticed here and at the corporate headquarters in Bentonville." He then proceeds to invite Port to Wal-Mart's 2nd Annual Media Conference on April 18-19.

In fact, the back story to this NYTimes story is more interesting than the article. Read Bob Crazy Politico's Rantings Beller's account of his interview here and here with the Times - "a paper I basically loathe," he writes. 

Why you should play nice in the blogosphere

SixApart co-founder and president Mena Trott made some interesting comments about blogging and civility at LesBlogs this week in Paris (Dec. 5-6, 2005). Then, while she was still on stage, she and an audience member exchanged some contentious words. Stick to your guns, Mena. You're a good thinker and a good writer and I happen to agree with your perspective on civility.

Read the text of Mena's LesBlogs speech here on her blog.

Follow the blogging trail about the LesBlogs incident here on Technorati. Or watch the video of the incident. Unnerving if only as a reminder that nothing, absolutely nothing, is immune from being captured online.

But back to Mena's thoughts on blogging and civility. Her point, really, was that what you say on a blog is permanent and that you're accountable for creating that record.  Why stir up a controversy or create a negative record (which will show up in Google search results) when perhaps... it would be better not to. In other words, just because you can (publish anything instantly and effortlessly via a blog) doesn't mean you should.

As she puts it in her follow-up post:

I think accountability and responsibility is about holding off seemingly anonymous attacks, giving people the benefit of the doubt and understanding that what you say online not only affects others but is part of a permanent record -- a record that, right now, is scary to some watching from afar.

Lawsuits against bloggers are starting to pop up... you may want to add a "Comments Disclaimer" to your blog

You knew it was only a matter of time before lawyers got into the act, right? And I don't mean the many lawyers writing blawgs (as they're called). So far there is very little case law relating specifically to blogs and bloggers. That's changing. A case against a 19-year-old Harvard student who writes a Mac lovers blog called ThinkSecret is (last I heard) pending in California's Supreme Court. Apple contends he leaked proprietary information about the new iMac before the product was officially released.

More recently, blogger Aaron Wall was sued because of allegedly defamatory comments posted on his blog. (8/31/2005 Wall Street Journal: Blogger Faces Lawsuit Over Comments Posted By Readers.) Yes, you read that right. He's being sued because of comments other folks wrote and posted to his blog. The suit alleges that the comments reveal trade secrets about search engine optimization company Traffic-Power. I won't go into detail about the case. Instead I'll send you to...

Heading to the Blog Business Summit in San Francisco

I'm heading to San Francisco early tomorrow to hang out and speak at the Blog Business Summit. I'm moderating a panel on corporate blogging featuring Michael Wiley, Director of New Media for GM and Paul Rosenfeld, General Manager of Intuit's QuickBooks Online (Friday Aug. 19: 3:15 - 4:15 PM). I'll also be doing a bunch of interviews for my blogging book, including one with Technorati's Dave Sifry. Dying to know what the scoop is on whether he's selling the company.

BTW, I am SO sorry I couldn't attend BlogHer held two weeks ago in Santa Clara. It sounds like it was phenomenal. I couldn't swing two trips to the West Coast so close together. Here's a great write up by Forrester's Charlene Li (whom I'm hoping to meet in San Francisco). And more here and here by Halley Suitt. They were on a panel together discussing how important it is (or isn't) that so few women appear on the Top 100 Technorati list.

Hey guys... let's continue this discussion at the BBS. It's really a much broader question. I predict that counting the total number of blogs will soon become a quaint, old-fashioned metric. Who's gonna care... By the same token, ranking blogs solely on quantity of inbound links (the current algorithm) will look simplistic and outdated. Mary Hodder is working on a community algorithm based on over 20 metrics.

Intel's corporate blogging guidelines are trickling up

Yes up... not down. Several Intel employees are posting their suggestions here and here for what the company's blogging guidelines should be:

1. Follow the existing corporate public communication rules on privacy, confidentiality, etc.
2. Respect other people
3. Be passionate and interesting - write on what you're excited about...

As you may recall, Intel CEO Paul Otellini has an internal blog whose contents were leaked to the San Jose Mercury News in February 2005. Intel's leaked blog (16-page PDF)

Note how careful the employees are to say that these are suggestions only. Jack (last name?) adds:

[Update: I was reminded that I'm required to add this: The content of this message is my personal opinion only and although I am an employee of Intel, the statements I make here in no way represent Intel’s position on the issue, nor am I authorized to speak on behalf of Intel on this matter. ...etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.]

I'm trying to find out a lot more about Intel's internal blog for my book. Anyone have a contact they can direct me to? My email and contact info are in the right-hand column if you don't want to leave a comment. Thanks hugely.

Business casual is the appropriate style for blogging

Great side-bar in the August 2005 issue of Fast Company gives a run-down of proper blogging etiquette, comparing it to hosting a successful cocktail party:

1. Make introductions (i.e. link to other useful and relevant blogs)

2. Be authentic (i.e. if you're not normally scintillating, no worries; just be useful by linking to other resources)

3. Dress business casual: "Stay away from topics you wouldn't share with your mother -- or without a nondisclosure agreement."

4. Don't scrimp (i.e. blogs are low-cost to launch but be sure to spend enough time to keep yours fresh and updated)

5. Have a contingency plan (i.e. if you're criticized or an issue blows up in your face, be prepared to respond honestly and openly).

Sun Microsystem's Jonathan Schwartz can't play practical jokes on his blog

Intriguing interview in ZDNet Australia with Sun Microsystem's CIO Bill Vass. Says that Sun's chief blogger Jonathan Schwartz has been advised he can't play practical jokes on his blog. For example, suggesting on April Fool's day that Sun is planning to buy Novell. Aaah, the sobering realities of abiding by SEC rules governing Fortune 500 companies. Note: Jonathan must be on vacation because he hasn't posted since June 16th.

From the article:

"(Vass) said Sun president Jonathan Schwartz -- who keeps a public blog -- was frustrated when April Fool's day came around, because he couldn't use his blog to play a practical joke.

"A few times, he's said things like 'maybe we should acquire Novell', and it changed the stock price," Vass said of Schwartz's blog. "You have to be careful ... if ever he's writing anything controversial he has to get the lawyers to look at it."

Sun faced fewer issues with blogs written by non-Section 10 employees said Vass, but the company's legal team still read all the postings. Vass said he suspected the blogs were "making some of the lawyers pull their hair out"."

P.S. I confess. I don't know what a Section 10 employee is (although I can guess). Can anyone enlighten me with a link? Thanks.

More on mixing politics with business blogging

It's treacherous territory but I'm reconsidering my earlier posts here and here. I initially said Go Daddy CEO Bob Parsons made a huge goof in posting an essay about interrogation techniques at Guantanamo Bay to his blog. Yes, it was offensive to many. But, according to Parsons, many others responded positively in private emails. Parsons clearly has a big following on his blog. (His blog is the 23rd most popular blog site, according to a Go Daddy press release. Hmmm, the computation based on combining his Alexa ranking with the Technorati Top 100 seems a bit garbled. No matter, his blog gets a lot of traffic.)

As I opined in my second post, maybe stirring up a bit of controversy was worth the increased exposure, even though much of it was negative. But there's still the nagging question... if you're a CEO, can you really have a blog that is separate from your company, i.e. that doesn't represent your company in some way? I think not.

Sensible advice on corporate blogging policies

More on corporate blogging guidelines by David Pollard. He points out that there are 3 kinds of "corporate" blogs:

• personal, employee blogs
• official corporate blogs
• internal blogs on a corporate intranet

And a 4th category: reading (and commenting on) other blogs as part of business research. I like the way he calls his advice for corporate blogging policies "cautious and perhaps controversial." Notable points:

• Develop a knowledge-sharing policy that covers all communications, not just blogs In other words, be aware that the line between personal and business communication is blurring. He writes: "Casual extra-corporate communications may inadvertently divulge confidential information, contravene the law, or embarrass the company." So draw the line clearly on what is - or is not - appropriate, no matter what channel it's being communicated through.
• Respect employees' rights  At the same time, he writes: "Any behaviour that is inappropriate for an employee to do in any other circumstance or environment (e.g. betraying confidentiality, or holding the employer up to ridicule) is equally inappropriate on a blog."
• Don't have a policy on whether or not employees should or can have personal blogs (It's paternalistic, Pollard says.)
• With rare exceptions, don't have an 'official' company blog  Now there's a controversial statement, given the growing number of blogs run by companies large and small. Dave's take on corporate blogs: "Most people are skeptical of anything they read on official company sites, and that will usually negate any value they might have in making your company appear more personable and responsive to customers."

While many of his comments are sensible, this one is not. Yes, a credible corporate blog may be more difficult to carry off. But to suggest that company-sponsored blogs just don't work is short-sighted. It depends how the blog is written, who writes it, who reads it... and how the company computes the ROI of the blog.

When you don't know what to write on your blog

This is hilarious... well, funny. It's a master list of Top 10 wise comments you can "paste in" to your blog to sound like you're plugged in and part of the blogging cognoscenti. Most of the blognoscenti are opining the same thing... about the importance - or non-importance - of blogging as a phenomenon. About whether blogs replace traditional PR, etc. So pick from the list and you'll sound just fine.

The list is written for PR practitioners. But I guarantee you'll find it useful. A sampling:

1) Stop saying PR is dead. My CEO might cut my budget again.

2) Any company that hasn't implemented a blog by December 31, 2005 at midnight will suddenly lose all ability to function. They should hire blog consultants to avoid this catastrophe. (For background material, see archival information on the Y2K crisis.)

3) Don't believe that blogs will solve all problems.

4) I'm sorry I made the comment in my previous post. The person mentioned never did what I said they did, and has every right to beat me senseless.

Etc.

Hat tip to Doc Searls for the link. And to Eric Eggertson for being clever. (Of course, add "hat tip" to your blogging lexicon.)

Oh, and the master list continues here. It's on a Wiki so anyone can add to it.

Sun Microsystems' Jonathan Schwartz on what's cool

This is what you get on a blog that you won't get on a static page of a corporate Web site. Writes Jonathan Schwartz, COO of Sun Microsystems:

One of the big upsides of my job is hobnobbing. I clearly didn't check with our corporate communications team before saying that, but let's be honest - it's cool to sit with a head of state, or a head of a corporation, or a CIO with an IT department bigger than Sun's entire employee base.

Go Daddy CEO Bob Parsons opens mouth and inserts foot on his blog

Did Go Daddy CEO Bob Parsons miss the memo on corporate blogging guidelines when they sent it around the office? #1 Rule: be smart. Come to think of it, this particular faux pas is not spelled out in any guidelines I've read.

Here's what you should NOT do on a CEO blog: wax eloquent about sensitive political issues. Just... don't go there. In a recent lengthy post, Go Daddy CEO Bob Parsons segued from re-living the horror of 9-11 to endorsing abusive interrogation techniques at Guantanamo Bay. Oops... He got hammered by comments from readers. Amended his post. Retracted. Got slammed as a right-wing nut. He responded, etc. Parsons wrote:

"I also have been accused of mixing business with politics because I put a link to my blog on the Go Daddy home page. I will say that the opinions here are mine personally. This is, after all, my personal blog. Go Daddy, the company, has no political leanings of any kind. That said, I am proud to say that Go Daddy is an American company."

Oops again. An American company?? Welcome to corporate blogging, Bob. If you're a CEO your blog is never just "personal." You represent the company you run, whether you intend to or not. Why risk alienating a significant chunk of your customer base (presumably, those registering domain names are of every stripe, color, gender and nationality, including non-Americans) by talking about hot-button political issues? It doesn't matter who's right or who's wrong on the Gitmo base issue. What matters is that you've stuck your foot in your mouth. You've managed to backpedal rather nicely. But the damage is done.

Oh, and a blog post never really dies. You can delete it but it lives on, somewhere, in the blogosphere. (I know this contradicts what I tell clients: that you can delete posts anytime. It's a technicality. You can delete them. But the orphan link to the original post lives on.)

I think this is the first truly inappropriate use of a blog by a CEO that I've seen. Anyone have other examples of CEO blogging missteps? Click over to my book blog and let me know if you have an anecdote or case study about corporate blogging you'd like to pass on. Thanks!

 

More companies are publishing Corporate Blogging Guidelines

Article in yesterday's San Francisco Chronicle talks about the evolving phenomenon of corporate blogging guidelines. As always, the key is to "be smart." Yahoo has just published its blogging guidelines, available for download here (3-page PDF). The #1 rule:

"Any confidential, proprietary, or trade secret information is obviously off-limits  for your blog per the Proprietary Information Agreement you have signed with  Yahoo!.  To obtain a copy of your agreement, please contact your HR manager..." 

Also noted:  "If a member of the media contacts  you about a Yahoo!-related blog posting or requests Yahoo! information of any  kind, contact PR."

Thanks to Fredrik Wackå for the link to the SF Chronicle article (in which he's quoted). Take a look at his useful comparison of corporate blogging guidelines.  He reviews common points in the guidelines published thus far by IBM, Yahoo, Hill & Knowlton, Plaxo, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Feedster, Groove (dated 2002; the oldest) and Sun. Interestingly, only two companies (Plaxo and Thomas Nelson) specifically address the question of whether it's OK to blog on company time - they say yes.

Useful Link

My post on IBM's Employee Blogging Guidelines

A legal guide for bloggers

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has published a Legal Guide for Bloggers that looks to be a useful resource. The EFF calls it a "basic roadmap to legal issues you may confront as a blogger." (And reminds us that the guide is not a substitute for legal advice.) The FAQ on bloggers and intellectual property rights is particularly helpful. It covers fair use and copyright:  i.e. including short quotations in your blog from another blogger is fine. As is including thumbnail GIFs like the cover above. There are sections on privacy and on bloggers as journalists. "Coming soon" is a section on labor law or blogging in the workplace. Thanks to Italian blog Blogs4Biz.info for the link.

How GM's Fastlane blog was born

From an interview I did today with GM's Gary Grates, VP Communications for North America, for the book:

"Bob Lutz, our 73-year-old vice chairman, was on a plane coming back from Europe when he started writing a response to some posts about GM he'd read on other blogs. He said, 'What do I do with this?'"

Grates told GM's communications techies to drop what Lutz had written about the new Saturn design into the Movable Type template being readied. And Fastlane was born (on Jan. 5, 2005)...

(GM's Web techies had been pushing for a blog and the compay had already hired a PR agency, Haas MS & L, to design it.)

Apocryphal? I think not. Speaking with Grates today I was struck by his comfort level with the extemporaneous, reactive and in-the-moment nature of blogging -- scary stuff for most big companies intent on controlling the message.

He used phrases like: "The worst thing we (GM) can do is make (blogging) a process or a program that needs to be serviced or funded." Currently about 3 techies and 3 or 4 communications managers work on the blog but it's not an official part of anyone's job description.

Grates and several direct reports review the hundreds of comments posted to Fastlane before they go live. They usually get the comments up within 24 hours. (They delete very few of them, he told me.) Grates loves the long comments from passionate customers and thinks they're getting ever more "constructive" even if many are critical.

And yes, Lutz writes all his own posts and then emails them to the tech staff who drop them into the blog."I'd love to say that communications is helping him," said Grates.  "But they're not."

As for what Lutz chooses to write about, "He juxtaposes his response to reader comments with what he wants to write about next," Grates said. "There's no science to it."

This makes GM sound like a poster child for corporate blogging, doesn't it?! Maybe I'm an easy sell but I believe it. Click Comments below and tell me to jump in a lake if you disagree.

I've got more good stuff from the interview but I'll save it for the book... Gotta hold something back, right?!

 

I'm writing a book about Corporate Blogging for Penguin

It's official! I've just closed a deal with Penguin Portfolio to write a book about corporate blogging. Pub date is 2006. Penguin is the publisher of Seth Godin's books, including Purple Cow and his new All Marketers Are Liars. As well as some other nifty business books. Of course, there will be a "book blog" to accompany the creation (and, er, promotion) of the book. I can't promise that I'll post every chapter as I write it, as Robert Scoble and Shel Israel are doing over at The Red Couch. But I'll be asking for input and hope you'll speak your mind. Stay tuned...

Should you hire a "Chief Blogger"?

If you're restless in your cubicle or your corner office, start dreaming about a new career as a... Chief Blogger. Or maybe you'd like to hire one for your company.  The Wall Street Journal profiles Stonyfield Farms' Chief Blogger Christine Halvorson in an article titled "Blogging becomes a corporate job" (May 31, 2005; subscription required). Halvorson, who says she earns a mid-$40,000s salary, writes four different blogs for the organically-minded yogurt maker. Another possibility: New Jersey-based marketing agency Digital Grit has an opening for a summer blogging intern.

Useful Link

Diva Marketing's profile of Stonyfield Farms' blogs

 

IBM's Employee Blogging Guidelines

Spelled out here in an article by Neville Hobson in today's Web Pro News. Which points to IBMer James Snell's blog where he has posted the IBM guidelines. He notes that IBM today posted on its intranet an exhortation to its 320,000+ employees to consider blogging. Courtesy of James, you can download the guidelines as a 6-page PDF. Download IBM's Blogging Policy & Guidelines as a PDF. Notable highlights:

• "IBMers are personally responsible for their posts. Be mindful that what you write will be public for a long time -- protect your privacy."
• "Identify yourself -- name and, when relevant, role at IBM -- when you blog about IBM or IBM-related matters. And write in the first person. You must make it clear that you are speaking for yourself and not on behalf of IBM."
• "Don't cite or reference clients, partners or suppliers without their approval."
• "If you publish a blog or post to a blog and it has something to do with work you do or subjects associated with IBM, use a disclaimer such as this: 'The postings on this site are my own and don’t necessarily represent IBM’s positions, strategies or opinions.'"

Makes a ton of sense to me. I've been advising clients exactly the same thing. An employee who has a blog independent of the company Web site should still identify himself or herself as an employee of XYZ corporation. Oh, and blogs are never "private." Don't kid yourself. They are always public Web pages (unless password protected or behind a firewall).

Useful Links

Article about IBM's blogging initiative in the Silicon Valley Watcher

Sun Microsystems Policy on Public Discourse

Microsoft's Employee Blogging Guidelines

Groove Networks' Weblog Guidelines

Forrester's Charlene Li on Corporate Blogging Policy

Thomas Nelson Publishers Corporate Blogging Guidelines (Draft #2)

Why corporate blogging works, according to Hugh Macleod's Gaping Void

Hugh nails it... and with a cool cartoon to boot. (© Hugh Macleod). He divides your marketing into two parts, using an inner and outer circle.

1. The "internal conversation" your company is having with itself (circle A).

2. The "external conversation" your company should be having with, er, customers (circle B).

The membrane between these two areas should be porous enough that they are "aligned." I.e. you're listening to your customers and talking back to them about stuff they care about. In other words, you (your company) and your customers are talking about the same thing.

And... corporate blogs can enable this conversation. Tony Dowler makes a good point, however. Blogs are not the only conversations you should be having with customers. You can still use "press releases, white papers, training courses and presentations."

Did you know you can order Hugh's sketches for the front of your business card? I'm a huge fan of his blog cards as he calls them.