Business Blog Advice

CEO & Corporate Blogs in Focus - 11/28/06

A good story about boot-strapping your way to Internet success, from Bob Parsons of GoDaddy.
>> Go there

Dallas Maverick’s owner Mark Cuban blogs about the limitations of HDTV systems, just in time for Christmas.
>> Go there

Richard Edelman of Edelman PR muses about Chicago, the city of his birth, in this informative blog post.
>> Go there

Irvin Wladawsky-Berget, IBM’s VP of Technical Strategy and Innovation, defines the soul of a business.
>> Go there

The growth of Google as chronicled by Microsoft’s Robert Scoble.
>> Go there

Chris Mercer of Mercer Capital makes a point about serial reinvintion as business model.
>> Go there

Book publisher Joe Wikert discusses the media impact of the popular website YouTube.
>> Go there

Zane Safrit, CEO of Conference Calls Unlimited, has some thoughts to share on the state of our health care system.
>> Go there

Want to save thousands on your next web development project? Paul Allen can help.
>> Go there

Who better to comment on the effects of celebrity meltdowns than the head of a PR firm?

Steve Cody, co-founder of public relations firm Peppercom, recently wrote this interesting post on the subject.

Steve’s blog is full of insightful tidbits on marketing, PR and communications in this modern world we live in.

Also worth a read — Steve’s thoughts on blog as marketing tool.

Blog URL: http://www.repmanblog.com/repman/

Christopher Cox, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, said he was intrigued by the idea of letting companies use Weblogs to disseminate important corporate information.

It seems he even has a favorite blogger. The chairman has invited Sun Microsystems chief Jonathan Schwartz to speak to the SEC about making company disclosures through blogs. Schwartz blogs regularly at http://blogs.sun.com/jonathan/

Message to government: If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.

-Brandon

Related story: http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/061107/sec_ceo_blogs.html?.v=2

Alan Meckler, CEO of JupiterMedia, got some coverage recently for using his blog to openly discuss down trends in the company’s stock.

Regardless of where you sit on the blogging fence, you have to admire the man’s honesty. Just look at the frank, anti-sugar-coating manner in which he opens the blog post:

“Seeing your stock price get walloped is not fun when you are CEO and also the largest stockholder. Even worse are the numerous phone calls and emails directed my way to further explain the results.”

Being open about your company’s downs won’t magically turn them into ups. But it will surely change the way people perceive your company … for the better.

-Brandon

JupiterMedia blog post: http://weblogs.jupitermedia.com/meckler/archives/017187.html

Extreme holiday photo cards? You bet. And who better to deliver them than Kodak?

Tom Koehn, Kodak’s Director of Marketing and Customer Experience, posted the timely tips to Kodak’s company blog. Just in time for the holidays.

Blog URL: http://1000words.kodak.com/

If corporate blogs were a popularity contest, I’d vote for The Bovine Bugle. The Bugle is written by “Farmer Jonathan” at Stonyfield Farms, a Vermont-based provider of organic dairy products.

In my opinion, a corporate blog should strive to tear down walls (real or perceived) between company and customer. But so many corporate blogs miss this point, choosing instead to shovel press releases and brochure copy onto their blogs. For shame!

But Jonathan Gates really gets it. His blog is a pleasure to read for its freshness (no pun intended), candor and subject matter. When I see the Stonyfield logo in the store from now on, I’ll instantly remember this story of a mysteriously broken window in the youngstock barn. And magically, the company becomes more than “just a company” in my mind.

CEO Bloggers, take note. If you want to use your blog to make people feel like their part of your company, you would do well to spend a little time with Farmer Jonathan.

Comments welcome!