Communication Overtones Comments
Kami,
LOVE the fact that you are now being realistic about corporate blogging. That said however, your assignments of possible risk are ridiculous. Makes you sound like a white girl living on the north side whose corporate experience is the sum total of the chit chat she's overheard playing bridge at the country club.
But again, it is encouraging that you're at least now looking in the right direction.
Regards,
- Amanda
Amanda; Thanks for the compliment. Frankly, I have actually always been realistic about blogging and any other tool. Now for the challenge, how would you see the numbers? Love to hear your take.
Risk analysis is an actual business discipline. Rather than pulling numbers out of one's butt, I recommend that you speak with a few risk managers. Also, a few corporate general counsels and an SEC attorney would be good.
Generally speaking, I equate all of it to kids playing on highway. "Might I get cracked by a speeding 18-wheeler?," is not the correct question. The question is simply "when?"
- Amanda
I actually plan too, seeing as I am married to one of the best in the risk analysis engineers in the country. :-P In fact, risk management is a nightly topic at our household. Go figure, no cards though.
He recommended that the risk numbers be put into ranges, and I have asked him to work with me to come up with some. However, he has been traveling, so we will collaborate on this when we get a moment. By the way, the percentages aren't real risk numbers, just probabilities.
And Amanda, you really should know what you are talking about before you stick your foot in it with your arrogance. A simple, "How do you get your numbers?" might have sufficed. Still, I appreciate your concern for accuracy.
I think your assessments for legal risk, such as 7, 8 and 10 are low. They can reach this post a risk assessment and mitigation plans but are higher if you 'just let someone blog' for the company. I've done these risk assessments for corporate blogs and they get to these levels only after you have put in guidelines.
Risks or opportunities? Some of your language perpetuates the myths of blogging in a corporate atmosphere.
While I agree that many corporations don't have the secure and strong environment that allows them transparency, the fact is that most clients and prospects appreciate working with a 'human' company. One that makes mistakes, communicates effectively, and is honest and open.
There are countless stories of companies that have failed the mark on corporate blogging.
I suppose it's a lot like a boxing match. If you stay hiding in the corner, you're surely going to fail. But if you come out fighting... even if you lose... you'll gain fans.
No company is perfect - we all know that. Also, companies do not own their brand... their customers do. Perception is the brand... not the logo or the television commercial. It's time that companies figured this out and begin communicating with those that their livelihood depends on.
I would much rather stick with a company that calls me up and apologizes than one that tries to keep things quiet. That's what corporate blogging is all about.
It's not the risk... it's the opportunity! Fear is never a strategy for success.
Very good point you are making, I think Charlene talked to companies that already had done just that. Would love your input.
Doug; I appreciate your viewpoint, and actually agree with it. But, I am working through a process here and part of that is a realistic assessment of the risks. You have to take those and make a reasonable comparison to the opportunities. My goal here is to put together a series of arguments and insights that make a convincing case - in language that corporate executives can understand. I appreciate a companies fear and hesitancy, and these things need to be adequately addressed.
I also think there is a risk to not maintaining some sort of open channel of communication, and the blogosphere is littered with examples of that as well. Stay tuned, there will be more.
Kami,
Anything less than this http://tinyurl.com/yqsele is silly PR crap. Note the author's creds: Alysa N. Zeltzer and John E. Villafranco are attorneys with Kelley Drye Collier Shannon in Washington, D.C. Zeltzer specializes in advertising, privacy, and data security litigation and counseling. Villafranco provides litigation and counseling services to corporations involved in privacy and information security, advertising and marketing.
- Amanda
PS Doug, you're fired.
Also... publicly traded companies have a possible risk exposure.
Kami,
nice post. I'm not quite resting my case, but I'm getting close.
How about:
11. Getting sloppy. Blogging is a more informal medium than official press releases, which is one reason that many customers/readers respond well to it; but if you confuse 'informal' with 'slap-dash', you can end up with a blog full of typos or even factual errors. An error-prone blog looks sloppy and unprofessional, which brings into question the reliability of your company.
For example, this is the first time I've come across your blog, and I found 10 typos/grammatical errors in this post alone, which gives a poor first impression. Being careless with your language is a subtle but sure-fire way to undermine your credibility (or that of your company).
TheDame; I appreciate your eagle eye. Most blogs do indeed suffer from the lack of an external editor, but unless you can add an editor while still remaining fresh and relevant, I would still opt for a few errors. Certainly, since I produce this blog where I can fit it in amongst my client work, I often have a few errors - I am okay with that. my readers know that I am speaking from experience and passion, versus spewing polished brochure-speak nonsense.
Furthermore, some people are more bothered by imperfect copy than others. A great book about that very subject is "Eats, Shoots and Leaves." I recommend it.
I have gone through the post and corrected a few things just for you. There was only one major typo, the rest were minor comma placements (upon which some of us disagree), word choice issues and a few sentence fragments - which some writers use from time to time for emphasis.
We have recently discussed the potential pitfalls of blogging. This list is valuable to all of us. Sometimes I think that people get caught up in the excitement of this new media tool, and in efforts to "keep up with the pack" they don't prepare for the worst."Let's start a blog," so often becomes the remedy to any public relations problem, when a blog should probably only be set up if you already have a good relationship with your public. If you put yourself out there when you're not prepared, the outcome could be detrimental to your company and your career. Companies need to make sure that they are ready for the responsibility and criticism a blog could bring, and this list covers a lot of potential problems. Thanks for starting the conversation.
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