Speaking of blogs . . .

September 8, 2007

Widespread Blogging 

The use of blogs has dramatically increased over the past few years and business owners should pay attention to this world of Internet exposure.  Blogs can be maintained as highly effective communication and marketing tools.  However, blogs can also expose businesses to liability for postings, retaliation from employees and clients, and potential release of confidential business information.  Business owners should familiarize themselves with online communities and create policies and procedures that specifically address blogs and related Internet postings. 

What could happen?      

Would you want every day-to-day activity of your business posted online for the world to read?  With the vast amount of blog communities, business owners should understand that it is difficult to regulate information that may be released to the public by means of a blog. 

Check out Xoogler; an ex-Google employee’s blog that has received a decent amount of media attention.  You may note, in Blogger Doug Edwards’ Here’s your desk. Now start doing marketing stuff, he identifies other Google employees by their full names and discusses specific details about his days at Google.  In another post, Edwards explains his postings are, “just an impressionistic look at Google from the perspective of a guy who worked there, with a bias toward how the brand was built.”  As a former insider, how much will he reveal about the brand and how it was built?

There are many free blog hosting sites and software is readily available to ease bloggers in maintaining their posts.  Blogs have a potentially indefinite lifespan and you may not be entitled to information regarding who may view the blog and how many times.  Internet intelligence is rapidly increasing and blogs may receive exposure from various places.  How many of you did I just direct to the Xoogler blog?  Are there already blogs, comments, or online reviews regarding your business?  Do you know?

Learn more about blogs.

As a business owner, you should research blogs and keep them in mind when creating a standard for your business.  Ignorance of online communities may be damaging to your business and it’s reputation.  Explore blogs and other online resources to stay informed of the ever-evolving business world and to produce relevant blogging policies and procedures. 

-Jamie T. Pruitt
Jamie Pruitt Law

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