Are you afraid to blog? You might have good reason to be afraid

Michael Gartenberg | October 19, 2004, 03:42 AM

Robert makes some good points but also offers a lot of risky corporate advice. I just just spent a lot of time talking about corp blogs with a number of clients and working with them to establish the proper policies and guidelines for blogging. There are real issues when employees blog. Some companies have very specific legal regulations what they can say or what they can't say. Like it or not we live in a litigious society and words as we know can come back to haunt us. Don't believe me? Ask some Microsoft execs how the hyperbole they used in e-mail to convey emotion came back to them and sounded very differently in a court of law. The Kryptonite example isn't a good example either, there were issues discovered and the company chose to be silent. A weblog wouldn't have changed that and they could have reacted without one. Some organizations have the right culture that can allow for blogging to take place with minimal disruption and actually enhance conversations. Robert Scoble is fortunate to be working for one of them. Other organizations need to deal with three separate issues and they are not all the same and they can each be dealt with over time.

1. What's being said about companies on weblogs. This is a no-brainer. If you're not using a tool like PubSub or Feedster to see what's being said and monitoring your company and brands, you're behind the times. It's a simple and easy way for anyone to get a rough gauge of what's being said in the marketplace. If the kryptonite folks had done this, they would have picked up on what was going on early and been able to get ahead of the story even without a weblog.

2. Official corporate blogs. That's another story. Do I want to see more companies blog? Sure. But they need to have guidelines. They need to often be careful of language used that can have ramifications down the road. It's not just as simple as getting a copy of MT and putting out your message to the world. Establishing policy and knowing who is saying what is critical. There are worse things in the world than not having a weblog and corps are right to tread lightly and to carefully establish policies and rules before they jump in. There's a reason that Steve Ballmer doesn't (yet) have a weblog but it's important to note that Robert Scoble does :) Likewise, Mark Cuban can be as outrageous on his weblog given what his position is and the industries he works in. That's not a luxury you might have.

3. Employees personally blogging but identifying themselves with the company they work for. This is even trickier. If you're an employee, and you identify yourself as such on your weblog, you better know what the ramifications will be at work. Frustration is always the result of expectation and unless everyone is one the same page, employees SHOULD have some trepidation. In many industries, employees may not know there are regulatory issues that cannot just be spoken of casually. This is not a new thing either. Most companies forbid employs to speak with journalists or media about their firms without media training or PR folks present. There's a reason for that. To that end though, it's important for every business to have a policy in place regarding personal weblogs and what can be said and what can't be said. The same way there are phone policies and e-mail policies, there need to be weblog policies. It's not that hard. Give us a call and we can help you get started.

Robert makes some good points and i suggest you read the whole post  but unless you're working at Microsoft (or JupiterMedia for that matter) or any other progressive firm, take it slow. This is a case of where asking forgiveness instead of permission can get you fired.

I meet a lot of people around the industry. Almost every time I meet someone, I ask them "do you have a weblog?" That's my way of saying "I like you and want to hear more of your ideas." Even deeper: I want a permanent relationship with you (and not of the sexual kind, either). 've asked this question of people at Apple. Google. IBM. eBay. Real Networks. Cisco. Intel. HP. Amazon. And, yes, here at Microsoft. Too often the answer is "I couldn't do that." "Why not?" I ask. "Because I might get fired," is often the answer. I hate that answer. It's an example of corporate fear. An artifact of a management system that doesn't empower its employees to act on behalf of customers.

[Scobleizer: Microsoft Geek Blogger]