February 2009
Blogs are the most prevalent part of social media. Technorati, the top blog search engine, counts more than 130 million of them.
For years, companies have had policies governing the proper use of e-mail and the Internet. It’s time to seriously consider adding a corporate blogging/commenting policy.
In short, the policy should require all employees to disclose their company affiliation any time they blog or comment on a blog about issues of interest to the company. For example, an employee at an architecture firm building a new convention center would have to disclose his employer when commenting on a blog about the project’s viability.
The disclosure is important for two reasons. The first is liability. Cisco was recently sued for comments one of its researchers posted on a blog about patents. The company modified its policy in response to the suit.
The second is transparency. Many important debates are taking place in the blogosphere. Companies have every right to participate in those discussions as long as employees disclose their interest. If people discover a lack of transparency, they will be quick to condemn the company in a very public and permanent way.
October 2008
It seems everyone has a blog—your 13-year-old daughter, the gossip across the street, and the guy in accounting who tends to share a bit too much.
CEOs are getting in on the action too, ruminating on everything from the trends in their industries to the day-to-day workings of their companies to their views on the economy. The following are 10 popular CEO blogs that Blogs.com says are worth reading.
- Internet Media Commentary by Alan Meckler, CEO of Jupitermedia
- Blog Maverick by Mark Cuban, Dallas Mavericks owner
- Blog.Pmarca.com by Marc Andreessen, entrepreneur and co-founder of Netscape Communications Corporation
- Cnewmark by Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist
- Counter Intuitive by George F. Colony, founder and CEO of Forrester Research
- How to Change the World by Guy Kawasaki, founding partner at Garage Technology Ventures
- Jonathan’s Blog by Jonathan Schwartz, president and CEO of Sun Microsystems
- Only Once by Matt Blumberg, CEO of Return Path, Inc.
- Rex Blog by Rex Hammock, founder and CEO of Hammock Inc.
- Sifry’s Alerts by David Sifry, founder and CEO of Technorati
October 2008
http://www.tompeters.com/
Tom Peters rose to fame with 1982’s In Search of Excellence. His publishing and consulting career have placed him among the top business consultants in the world. Apparently, he is trying to add champion blogger to his list of accomplishments. Peters blogs almost daily regardless of where he is in the world about excellence, good and bad leadership examples, his consulting gigs, books of interest, and much more. The truly daring can download Tom’s 10-part master Excellence PowerPoint presentation.
June 2008
indexed.blogspot.com
Good things can come in small packages. Blogger Jessica Hagy offers a running commentary on life using hand-drawn charts and Ven diagrams on index cards. Her observations are equal parts pointed and poignant. The blog was a nominee for last year’s Webby Awards.
April 2006
http://blog.800ceoread.com/
The blog at 800ceoread.com covers the gamut of business books and authors. The March blog entries contained must-read recommendations, an interview with the author of The Fifth Discipline, a link to a book review, and a posting by the authors of Prepared Minds. The authors are quick to capture news about business books and link to other recommended reading lists.
February 2006
http://fastlane.gmblogs.com
GM’s FastLane blog has received a great deal of media attention as one of the original corporate blogs. FastLane allows GM executives to communicate directly with and hear from people who follow the company and its products. For example, a recent post asking about preferences for front-wheel versus rear-wheel drive received more than 300 responses. Now a year old, FastLane features sections for auto shows, business strategy, cars and trucks, design, and even podcasts.
