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June 29, 2005
The Fear of Blogging
The Blog Business Summit has a good post about the fear of blogging. Offered are a few tips on how companies can "blog without blogging".
These steps describe how companies that are fearful of letting employees blog, can start to get a grasp on the blogosphere as it relates to their company and industry. Once companies get into steps one and two - step three will hopefully follow.
As for step one - all companies should be doing this.
Posted by kpoor at 02:54 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 27, 2005
Media Relations Perspective on RSS
Linda Zimmer at ZNetLady has a nice post on how media relations professionals should be thinking about RSS. As we go through the process at Dix & Eaton of getting our clients to think RSS, it is good to have resources such as this to help with our own thinking.
I also like the idea of a very specific look at how certain disciplines with in PR can take advantage of RSS.
First found this post here.
Posted by kpoor at 02:27 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 22, 2005
Jonathan Schwartz: Blogging A Must
In a recent interview at the Supernova 2005 Conference, Sun COO Jonathan Schwartz stated that "If you want to be a leader, I can't see surviving without a blog."
While I think this statement is a bit dramatic, I do agree with his point that blogs and instant publishing allow companies to easily engage with a broad marketplace in an authentic manner.
Posted by kpoor at 08:27 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
June 20, 2005
Blog Q&A
Easy Bake Weblogs has 46 questions and answers that can get anyone up to speed on blogs.
First saw this post on the Diva's blog.
Posted by kpoor at 05:14 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Blogs Practice?
I found my way to an older post on POP! Public Relations, making a case against PR firms starting practices around new technologies such as blogs, rss, podcasts etc. It's an interesting take given the number of firms that are touting these types of practices (Ketchum, Hass MS&L, MWW to name a few)
Posted by kpoor at 04:08 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 16, 2005
10 Steps to Using RSS
Otherwise Engaged has posted a very straightforward, 10-step process to start using RSS. For someone confused by the technology, this a great walk through on how to get started using Bloglines.
First found this post here.
Posted by kpoor at 08:05 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
June 14, 2005
EFF Legal Guide for Blogs
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has posted a nice, comprehensive overview of legal guidelines for blogging. While they state that the guidelines are no replacement for legal advice, they are thorough and cover information such as legal liabilities, intellectual property, online defamation, section 230 protections, privacy, reporter's privileges and more.
For people interested in the legal aspect of blogging, this is an excellent resource.
Posted by kpoor at 01:53 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 13, 2005
Ketchum observation
Upon reading Ketchum's press release about the company's new 'Personalized Media' service, I immediately went to their site to find how they are using the tools they will be advising clients how to use (blogs, RSS, podcasts ets.)
No blogs - no RSS feed.
Posted by kpoor at 04:46 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 10, 2005
Customers Comment on MS Blogs
CorporateBloggingBlog is blogging (say that 5 times fast) from the Reboot7 conference in Copenhagen. A recent entry highlighted a presentation from Robert Scoble that included some feedback from Microsoft customers on Microsoft's employee blogs. What company would not like this type of feedback?
1) "I love how you're using blogs to explain your decisions even if I don't agree with them."
2) "The employee blogs are the most innovative thing out of MS in years."
3) I've connected with several people at Microsoft through their blogs and it has made a real difference in the work I do."
4) Blogs tell me the truths I can't get from press releases."
This feedback gets to heart of how companies can use blogs to be more transparent (comments 1 and 4) and strengthen relationships with customers (comment 3).
Posted by kpoor at 08:03 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 09, 2005
Why Do Executives Blog?
An interesting interview on how and why GM's Fastlane blog was created.
Posted by kpoor at 01:48 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 08, 2005
Blogs = Brainfood
A co-worker of mine recently asked me "why should I read blogs?" This caught me a bit off guard as I am usually asked why and how companies should be using blogs. After thinking about if for a moment I responded that that blogs = brainfood. This was based on a conversation I'd had recently with my wife.
We both agreed that the most addicting aspect of blogging is being able to tap into the minds of like-minded (or not like-minded) at a local, national or global level. From a personal perspective, I feel that reading and participating in the conversation among hundreds of PR professionals that is taking place online using Web logs is making me better at what I do.
That is the addicting part of blogging for me - the endless amount of brainfood available that helps me look at things differently and bring more creative ideas and solutions to my work a personal life.
Posted by kpoor at 09:14 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 06, 2005
Policy Comparisons
Fredrik Wackå at CorporateBloggingBlog has posted a very thorough and interesting comparison of corporate blogging policies. The companies included are IBM, Yahoo! (pdf), Hill & Knowlton, Plaxo, Thomas Nelson, Feedster, Groove and Sun.
His comparison divides policy subject matter into three catagories:
* The Core; covered by all companies
* The Common; covered by approximately half of them
* The Unusual; things only one or two companies mention.
Posted by kpoor at 04:17 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Blogs About Transparency More Than PR
A good Associated Press article in the Boston Globe recently reiterates a few points that I think can get lost in all the hype about blogs. Corporate blogs are first and fore most about transparency not PR. A few highlights from the article:
Done well, corporate blogs can create good word-of-mouth among consumers who aren't reading business pages or thumbing through trade magazines.
But bad blogging can easily backfire.
''Don't go toward fake blogs. Don't launch character blogs. Use a blog for what it's for, transparency," said Steve Rubel, vice president at CooperKatz & Co., a New York PR firm.
He and other PR professionals can rattle off blogs gone wrong -- usually ''fake blogs" that stir up the ire of bloggers by hiding the fact that they are really ad campaigns, such as one McDonald's posted in advance of a Super Bowl campaign about a Lincoln-shaped french fry.
Blogs that smack of press releases won't do the job, Rubel said. He tells clients to see what's out there about their company or industry, then decide whether they want to engage bloggers or even start their own blogs.
First came across this story on the Via Interactive blog.
Posted by kpoor at 01:44 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 03, 2005
EPIC
I came across EPIC, a 10-minute flash movie while reading NevOn. It is set in 2015 (there is an earlier version set in 2014), and recounts how the publishing of information moved from the few to the many. EPIC is a fascinating piece, created by Robin Sloan and Matt Thompson. It provides a cool, brief history of the Web to date and moves into what happens between now and 2015, when all information is retrieved based on personal choice.
It's especially interesting from a PR standpoint as it lays out how media will be delivered. As I choose to get more and more of my information online using the subscription nature of RSS, EPIC made me think of how technologies such as blogs, RSS, Google and others will evolve. Not sure if this vision of the future is on target, but it's definitely thought provoking.
Enough praise. Click here to view.
Posted by kpoor at 02:02 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 02, 2005
Yahoo's Blogging Guidelines
Yahoo has posted is guidelines for corporate blogging(PDF). One difference from other guidelines I've seen is that they provide PR information in case bloggers are contacted by the media. This is very good foresight.
For companies wanting guideline examples, this is a good place to start. Found this link on Steve Rubel's blog.
Posted by kpoor at 04:04 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 01, 2005
Journalists Using Blogs To Gather Information
An interesting summary from the recent PR Newswire Forum on Blogs. The main takeaway:
Journalists are using Web logs more and more for information gathering, and corporate PR professionals should use blogs to get their message to key audiences.
To me this means that journalists are using RSS more and more to gather information. Another reason companies need to ensure that web content is RSS friendly. If customers and journalists can't find information about you the way they want to, you will become irrelevant to them.
Posted by kpoor at 11:27 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Yoda Rules for Blogging
I thought Tris Hussey had an entertaining take on Yoda's rules of blogging:
* Blog you must for your business.
* Truth, passion, authenticity a blogger must have
* Comment and trackback spam paths to the Darkside are
* Prideful blogging, a dangerous thing it is. A way to the Darkside it is
* The Blog-i Masters train you in the way of the Blog, they can
* Blog-i Masters guardians of the Blogosphere they are
* May the Blog be with you
Thanks to CorporateBloggingBlog, where I first found this post.
Posted by kpoor at 08:09 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
