A recent meme that's got some smart folks arguing back and forth: is blogging ennui about to set in amongst the CEO crowd? Stephen Baker asks in BusinessWeek's Blogspotting.net. Chris Anderson (of Longtail fame) makes the point that employee blogs are bound to be more authentic than CEO blogs. Neville Hobson adds his two cents, noting that individuals are more credible than CEOs.
Interestingly, Stephen Baker was prompted to ask the question after reading my write-up about Intel CEO Paul Intellini's internal blog. I noted that Otellini blogs every week to ten days. Evidence, Baker says, that CEOs will soon weary of the time-intensive nature of blogging.
I put the question to Seth Godin in an interview for my book, asking "Are CEO or senior exec blogs a passing fad?" His reponse:
"Is communication a passing fad? As long as they want to communicate they need a blog."
That said, Seth admitted that blogging boredom is bound to happen. With 80,000 new blogs every day a CEO's blog - or any blog - better be pretty darn good or we won't read it.
"No one can keep up, so we won't try. Instead, we'll find the really good ones, or the popular ones or the specific ones and stick with those."
My take on the question of corporate blogging backlash and CEO vs. employee blogs... Too soon to tell. In the inner circle of we-who-are-in-the-know it may seem as if we're due for a backlash or a bit of boredom. The reality, I suspect, is that most companies and CEOs are just waking up to blogs. They're asking three basic questions: 1) What are the risks? 2) What's in it for us - or for me, if it's the CEO herself? and 3) If our company and/or employees blog, how can we do it effectively and keep it going?
It's the last question that's the most pertinent right now. The "how" of corporate blogging. And while I agree that it's often easier for smaller companies to be nimbler and more creative, I wouldn't rule out the big dogs' use of blogs - or something akin to them - just yet.
Useful link
New kids on the blog: CEOs (New Jersey Star Ledger)
Debbie, thanks for putting together a nice piece on the growing debate over CEO/boss blogs' usefulness and roles versus those of employee blogs. I just posted today about the potential for business owners to actually hire investigators to identify employees who post corporate gossip anonymously. It's an interesting future to ponder, for sure. Thanks for giving me more food for thought!
Posted by: Easton Ellsworth | October 27, 2005 at 05:07 PM
There will always be questions & concerns relating to privacy, and rightfully so. It goes back to the rejoiner "if you wouldn't want your mother to know about it, don't do/say it." Same with putting things on the internet.
With regards to CEO vs employee blogging, I sense an underlying notion of whichever is sustained is therefore more genuine & honest. Of course the two have nothing whatsoever to do with each other. I suspect that CEO - and employee - blogs will come & go as they serve a purpose to that individual, and as people see that such tools either do or don't provide a net-positive (as in cost-benefit analysis) benefit to them or their organization.
It will also become clear which blogs are marketing propaganda, which are personal reflection, etc. Many of the top blogs today - even by blog bloggers - are hybrid - that is they provide both personal insight & marketing for their products, company, etc.
A question that can only be answered through time deals with the effect of employee blogging on a business, and the employers policy toward that blogging. Of course employers can not hinder the first amendment, but they can pursue legal remedy when an employee crosses a line, whether defined by libel, or even insubordination. They can also shut off employee access to the external internet. Not so difficult in some cases: does my barber shop use email &/or need to provide access? What about my plumber, or Home Depot, or most of the stores at the mall, or the grocer, or even a lot of non-retail businesses for that matter? Of course many of them would do so at their own "business peril"...
Rules, regulations, laws, etc. are usually enacted to manage the exceptions - so it will be a matter of time and large-scale "2.0" web-tool integration before we find ot the answers to these sorts of questions.
Posted by: Troy | October 18, 2007 at 10:27 AM