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Technorati Founder David Sifry Outlines a Basic Corporate Blogging Policy

Speaking at the Software 2005 conference yesterday, 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.

That's just not going to happen in most publicly traded companies. Companies are too paranoid to let employees air their laundry, and in most cases, they should be. The only people who should blog for a company are those who the company would allow to be a spokesperson in the media. Cause blogs are media baby.

And guess what? A lot of those people are going to have media training. It doesn't have to be done by a PR firm, but it does have to be done by someone with interview experience. I would never let a client do a media interview without coaching them on how to make a point succinctly, where to look while on camera, even not to wear a striped tie of certain colors. You can't just let people have blog access and run from there. There needs to be a policy, and a style book.

Sifry suggested a basic corporate blogging policy that seems pretty sound to me:

* 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.

Categories: Blogging and Moblogging

BL Ochman | Apr 28 05 1:45 | TrackBack (1)

Comments

I may respectfully differ here - how about tinbasher blog http://www.butlersheetmetal.com/tinbasherblog/ and stonyfield farm blogs...http://www.stonyfield.com/Weblog/ do those bloggers need that kind of training? Blogging policy is essential but I think the employees need to be trained to be savvy bloggers, not just media savvy..

Posted by: Adriana at April 29, 2005 7:07 AM

I agree that employees need to be trained to be savvy bloggers, and thought that was a given. But I stand by my statement that blogs are media because they are public forums. There needs to be a corporate policy before bloggers are just let loose.

rankly, I can understand the Tin Basher blog. Maybe you have to be British? And from what I have seen and read, the people who do the Stonyfield blog are very well aware of its PR value and do indeed have a policy for what is written and how. They are not giving away company secrets or airing dirty laundry that I have seen.

Posted by: B.L. Ochman at April 29, 2005 9:59 AM

If you can't understand the blog then you ought to hear me speak!

With the best will in the world, The Tinbasher isn't written with American marketing blogs in mind.

It may appear impenetrable at times and I wouldn't dream of being so parochial and colloquial if I was writing for a company with more of an international market. I'm savvy enough to understand that. It's what we might call round here 'common sense.'

Are most customers trained in the art of the media wise when they post a comment?

Of course they aren't, but they can't half smell the stench of PR poop when it starts being shovelled.

Then again, you could just moderate comments in the first place and it wouldn't really matter.

When are we going to admit that PR blogging is a paradox?

Posted by: Paul Woodhouse at May 8, 2005 8:14 PM

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About BL Ochman

Blogger, social media strategy consultant to Fortune 500 companies, and sought-after corporate speaker B.L. Ochman heads the creative team of whatsnextonline.com. She also publishes the Ethics Crisis blog for SRF Global Translations

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