Tech Watch | InfoWorld Staff » Care and feeding of blogs

April 28, 2005 | Comments: (0)

Care and feeding of blogs

TAGS: Standards

Companies ought to encourage blogging, but having policies on blogging is advisable, according to a presentation at the Software 2005 conference on Wednesday afternoon.

Noting that vendors such as Sun Microsystems and Microsoft have embraced blogging, presenter David Sifry, founder and CEO of Technorati, said employees should not only be able to blog but that they should be autonomous and not subject to PR agency screening.

"We all know corporate speak," Sifry said.

He did acknowledge, though, that some companies may have concerns about violating SEC laws pertaining to public company disclosures. A Delta Airlines employee, for one, was fired for a blog, Sifry noted.

Therefore, a corporate blogging policy may be in order. A basic policy can include:

* A requirement that the blogger use his or her real name.
* A disclaimer that says the blogger does not necessarily speak for the company.
* A confidentiality and privacy statement so that the blogger does not violate any non-disclosure agreements.
* A policy on the use of obscenity, tone, and slander.
* Certification that employees will not violate any copyrights.
* A disclaimer pertaining to corporate risk.

Blogging works well at companies that have a culture of trust rather than a culture of fear, said Sifry. Blogging can serve to evangelize, he said.

Asked about money-making possibilities pertaining to blogs, Sifry was a little short on details. He did say software companies can sell blogging software and there are ad sale and syndication possibilities for blogs.

The use of RSS provides interested blog readers with information as soon as it is ready, Sifry said. "What happens to trade magazine space when you can talk directly to the person that is interested?" Sifry asked.

Well, I suppose if someone wants to, they can download one-sided, vendor press releases or ads, or catch other material off of a vendor's Web site right now. Trade magazines theoretically serve as a disinterested third-party observer presenting the pro's and con's of a technology or issue. It's not likely that a blog from the technology developer would present this kind of perspective. And do people really want to be pummeled with vendor ads formatted as technology blogs?

The future for blogs should prove interesting.

-- By Paul Krill, from the Software 2005 conference in Santa Clara, Calif.

Posted by Caroline Craig on April 28, 2005 06:33 AM

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