Earthling

I think to an extent this is somewhat irrelevant. Here's what I mean. Long before blogging, Microsoft had the rep of being Darth Vader and having to defend its reputation and business practices. Apple is seen as the innovator and the antithesis of Microsoft. In fact, they dress themselves, figuratively, in white cowboy hats (white plastic ipod anyone?). Google is just the coolest kid in school right now. They don't need to work hard to defend themselves, yet. But everyone is feeling that Google could be the next Microsoft. It is a fine line, and has nothing to do with blogging, between being the up-and-comer done good, to being the industry heavy that doesn't want anyone else to play on the playground. Remember, there was a day that Microsoft was the up-and-comer and IBM was the big bully. These are cyclical...blogging will play a part in the reputation management in the future for Google. But it is just a part of the way we see them now and in the future.

EarthLink - We are the little engine that could and I like working for a company that has that in its DNA. Blogging doesn't matter as much to me, as that our customers get the best service possible and get their questions answered to improve their Internet experience.

I think there are benefits and pitfalls to each path, but I do think it's a question worth asking, not just for us, but for companies small, medium, and big. It's one of many parts of a company's identity, for sure, but it is an important one.

More bloggers can bring more conversation and engagement, but also more chaos and risk and resource needs. Microsoft has benefitted from their approach, but as Scoble points out, Apple and Google have not necessarily been harmed by their differing model. It's probably a little bit of a different question for each company. I don't have an easy, pat answer, and in posting this entry I'm hoping to get some more opinions on it.

In my opinion, we (EarthLink) just needs to be part of the conversation(s), make sure the facts are correct, and let people know we're listening.

I think Scoble was mistaken when he pointed out that Apple and Google do not engage with bloggers. They do. Via their evangelist armies.

Microsoft does not have many evanglists. I suppose they went and got themselves some by encouraging employees to blog.

Anyway, if a company wants to build a great reputation the important thing is not to engage with bloggers. It is to engage with customers, hear what they say, and make their products and services better.

It is my observation that EarthLink has always been a company that wanted to do this. Sky Dayton was a regular voice to the customer, usenet groups where used to communicate to customers, and nearly any employee could post.

Sky moved on to some other endeavors, usenet died (unless you want to cop SoaP for free), and employees were told to stay out of groups and message boards.

Along the way some of the evangelism for EarthLink was dampened. The voices died down. Some smart person somewhere figured that out and hired you to be vocal. It is working as evidenced by some of the conversations over the recent product launches.

And if you do a really good job the voices will be strong without you. Then you can go work with Scoble @ Podtech. : )

I guess some of it comes down to your situation, as both you and Lance state. Microsoft is DEFENDING itself. Apple and Google EVANGELIZE. Google and Apple make really cool, different products from their competitors. Microsoft - well, they invented powerpoint and create products that don't speak to individuality as much as ease-of-use. The two don't go hand in hand, necessarily.

PR-types like me read blogging through a certain filter, and one subject up for debate over-and-over is what role should blogging play in your company? Is it something the company should do, need to do, or need to stay away from? Different businesses provide different answers. Different companies need to define the answer that best fits them. Scoble and Coustan raise a good question...but some guys holded up in a room over at Boston Scientific or Phillips Conoco have to answer these questions for their business perspectives and models...

Your perspective is appreciated as always, Lance. Both the history at this company and the point about external evangelizers are well taken. Jerry, I hear you about the whole "should we blog/who should blog/who shouldn't blog" being a little tired. The question I'm thinking about here is more precise than that -- Brian has done a good job in reframing it -- should it be more like a few selected and sanctioned bloggers out in the world on behalf of your company, or everyone/anyone who wants to? Hopefully not quite as tired a question.

Microsoft has more than 1,000 paid evangelists -- it's just that they work with software developers around the world, not only with press and bloggers the way I did.

Anyway, even Google employees tell me that they don't feel comfortable blogging and talking with the press due to internal pressures (and cause they fired a blogger, with cause, I might add).

Microsoft is getting more "everyday employees" to blog, which, I think, will end up serving it better in the long run than the Google approach of only letting PR-vetted information be posted to its company blogs, or by keeping everyday employees from really having open conversations. Yeah, I know Matt Cutts proves there are SOME but he happened by taking some internal risk.

Robert: Your point about Google employees you've spoken to is an important one. There are two sides to the question: what a company chooses as a policy decision (i.e. do we or don't we let everyone blog as employees?) and then what individual employees are comfortable with within the company (do *I* feel comfortable doing this?).

I have heard employees here and elsewhere bring up fear of the "career-limiting" effects as a barrier to their blogging. It's a fair point but too often that fear taken to an irrational level paralyzes smart people into staying on the sidelines. Reminds me of "The Only Winning Move Is Not To Play" from War Games.

Robert

As head of corporate communications and a blogger with a personal blog http://bernaisesource.blog.com, I view the blogosphere as a critical tool in communicating who we are and where we want to go. While I would never let an employee talk about EarthLink to a NY Times reporter without my I direct involvement, I am increasingly comfortable letting employees go unscripted and unsupervised. We have rules governing the engagement, but I feel a decentralized approach will help us in the short and long terms. The key is to make sure the evangelism is consistent with your coporate culture. At EarthLink, we have taken a gradualist approach. We launched earthling, implemented an employee blogging policy, and started podcasting. We have made some miscalculations - fortunately not egregious ones, and allowed employees to blog.