Business Blog Advice

A recent post from the blog of Greg Verdino reminds us that blogging can (and should) be enjoyable. Greg is the Vice President / Director of Emerging Channels at Digitas.

Coincidentally, I was reading his blog and thinking, “What an interesting business blog … here’s a guy who seems to really enjoy blogging.” And then I stumble across the blog post that answers, “Yes, I do enjoy blogging, and here’s why.”

If you enjoy witnessing the evolution (devolution?) of advertising like I do, you’ll also enjoy Greg’s post on consumer aversion to traditional advertising.

“How to Keep Your Geeks Happy and Productive”

That’s the title of a new article on the Jobster blog. The article offers managers eight ways to keep their technical / IT personnel (i.e. geeks) happy and productive, all the live long day.

This is one of the most accurate, insightful and “no B.S.” articles on employee management I’ve read in a while.

My favorite of the eight tips:

#1. Let them work when they want
Geeks work almost every moment they are awake. They are online before they go to the office. They are home working after the office closes. They work weekends. They are even sometimes working in their dreams. Employers should understand this and more importantly appreciate it. Don’t force geeks to work 8 - 5 if there is no real need other than “company morale.”

Read the full article

Some longtime bloggers have assembled their own list of best practices for corporate blogging.

A notable quote comes from Shel Israel, co-author of the blogging book Naked Conversations.

Shel says:

“To be effective every now and then you need to do something risky, and attract attention. When you take risks you increase the chance of making a mistake, show that you are a real person. People see organizations as an ‘it.’ “

I agree with this notion, because I feel the corporate leaders who are waiting for a “best practices” book on blogging are missing the point of blogging. Blogs foster ideas and innovation, but only when you get out their and take a leap of courage. If you’re waiting for a blogging blueprint of best practices to emerge, your corporate blog will be destined to follow a trail blazed by somebody else.

~Brandon

Michael Fitzgibbon, a labor lawyer from Ontario, has written an interesting post about corporate blogging / CEO blogging that brings up the question (can of worms?) of employee blogging, legal issues, etc.

Michael seems to share my belief that most concerns over corporate blogging come down to people issues, not technology issues. The technology may give certain “bad apples” a powerful medium, but it still starts as a people issue that can be prevented through good old-fashioned people skills.

Michael puts it more eloquently than I:

“…employers can’t ever fully protect themselves from the ‘rogue’ employee who chooses to use technology to further their own purposes. Employers can, and should, put in place policies and practices that minimize the risk. They can, and should, educate employees about the proper use of technology, but, in the end, it comes down to trust…”

Read Michael’s post

~Brandon

Ross Dawson outlines some global trends for 2007 that he feels will have a continued impact on the highly networked world we live in. Aptly, he calls it Five Global Trends for 2007.

One of the points he makes is about longer working hours. Ross makes the point that “technology has helped create business. But as we have more ways to communicate with each other, we keep adding to our communication load and what we have to get done.”

Sometimes I feel this way about blogging.

I ask myself, “Do the benefits of blogging outweigh the fact that I have one more thing do each day?” Inevitably, I answer this in the affirmative. For me, blogging is an integral part of my business. Not just here at CEO Blog Watch, but through the many blogs I maintain. I am firmly entrenched with Web 2.0.
But how does this apply to corporate blogging in general? Do the benefits of a blog justify the time and effort spent on upkeep? Obviously, this question cannot be answered across the board, as situations vary from company to company.

In my opinion, it goes both ways. The benefits of a corporate blog vary in direct relation to the amount of effort put into it. It’s a slope with burden at one end and benefits at the other end. When the corporate blog is poorly executed, the burden is there but the benefits are scarce. But when the corporate blog is carried out with passion, enthusiasm and healthy dose of best blogging practices, the benefits will eventually outweigh the burden of upkeep.

I guess as long as you down off the slope and break something, you’re doing all right.

~Brandon 

Ann Handley, Chief Content Officer at MarketingProfs, blogs about the online creativity of real estate professionals. As blogs and other social media continue to grow in popularity, the real estate industry is catching on.

The number of real estate blogs has risen steadily over the last few years, as those in the real estate professional look for new ways to reach home buyers and sellers. Ann also points out how the real estate industry is adapting other forms of “Web 2.0,” such as the wiki.

Read Ann’s Post:
Real Estate 2.0: The Future of Buying and Selling Houses

A recent article at iMediaConnection.com talks about corporate blogging in general, and the blogs of GM, Sun Microsystems and Wells Fargo in particular.

One particular part of this article rings true for me, when the author states:

“The best corporate blogs shed their corporate happy talk and speak to people in the same tone and manner as if reader and blogger were shooting the bull at a cocktail party. There’s a reason for that. People are exposed to plenty of marketing prose and hyperbole in your ads. They don’t need more.”

Amen to that.

3 Big Brands Reinvent Themselves with Blogs

Corporate blogs have been in the news a lot lately. In the first press release listed below, the author seems skeptical that blogs will become mainstream in the corporate world. Is it just me, or does this run contrary to the fact that the author is writing a press release about corporate blogs?

I see people say this all the time: “Are corporate blogs hype, or will they become mainstream?” I’m not sure which Internet these people are watching. But on my Internet, blogs are at this very moment becoming mainstream.

Corporate blogs in the news (offsite):

Are Corporate Blogs De Rigueur, or Fading Fast? Utah Communications Experts Report From the Blogosphere

3 Big Brands Reinvent Themselves with Blogs

Blogging, and knowing how to do it properly

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/