Corporateblogging

Corporate Blogging
Sabrina I. Pacifici
Founder, Editor, Publisher, Web Manager
LLRX.com (www.llrx.com), the unique, free,
independent webzine on legal research,
resources, applications, and technology for
librarians and legal professionals.
& Author of beSpacific (www.bespacific.com)
Accurate, focused law and technology news,
updated daily

Sabrina I. Pacifici, www.bespacific.com
Presentation Overview
• Blog facts
• Overall blog stats
• Blogging applications
• Blog features
• Tracking blogs at large
• Corporate blogging stats
• Why blog
• What to blog about
• Got Content!
• Blogging Essentials –
benefits, people, time, cost
• Elements/components of
good blogs
• Content creation and
management
• Marketing and branding, in-
house and to the public
• Blogs as knowledge
management tools
– Adjunct to portals, websites,
intranets
• Examples of focused, topical
blogs
• More reasons you should blog
• Tech companies lead the way in
corporate blogging
• News and resources on
corporate blogging

Facts about blogs

Parts of a blog – consider which elements to use

How many blogs are there? Millions and millions….

But how many are updated regularly?

“A mere 2% of Adult Internet users maintain Web diaries or Web blogs…Content
omnivores are among the heaviest overall users of the Internet.”

Blog Software – An overview of some options

Tracking Blogs

Stats on Corporate Bloggers:
http://www.sifry.com/alerts/archives/000390.html, October 17, 2004

Why Blog?
• Inexpensive, non-techie,
easy/quick to launch
• Capture, annotate information
– Indicate document relevancy,
provide taxonomy, create info
relationships
– Make info visible that would
otherwise be overlooked
– Document management tool,
from micro to macro (personal,
departmental, organizational)
• Excellent adjunct/alternative to
email overload
– Leverage your research and
ability to disseminate it
• Create and promote key
relationships within and across
departments, groups and
services
• Expand services to those across
your organization
• Increase productivity and info
exchange through better time
management and resource
allocation
• Seamless access via internal
network
– Read the website, receive RSS
feeds or updates through email
• Promote internal marketing for
individual, group/dept. and/team
initiatives, projects (long and
short term)
• Content is searchable, browsable,
archived and users can comment
– Alternative to vast, impenetrable file
folders of emails
– valuable database is created and
expanded continuously
– Inexpensive, practical KM system
that does not require lots of $

Blogging Essentials – benefits, people, time, cost
• Is a blog the app you should
choose
– Who are you trying to serve,
and why
• Needs assessment
– Have a specific goal, review
progress and assess value
• Who is responsible for
maintenance/updating
• Blogs can be “back-office” or
front and center
– Determine scope…or niche
• Establishing and populating the
blog(s) with content
– review resource options with
key members of departments,
practice groups or areas whom
you wish to serve.
• Obtain stakeholder buy-in
• Demo the service, request
suggestions, comments and
input
• Respond quickly by adapting
the blog to incorporate
additional data
– narrow or expand content and
specifications
• Is one blog sufficient, or do you
need multiple blogs?
• Address usability, functionality,
value for time spent
• Stay on message…focus, focus,
focus – readers have limited
time
• Verify, vet, validate content
– choose your source materials
very carefully

Blogs – can they replace an intranet?

From Dave Pollard's How to Save the World – The Knowledge Process,
http://blogs.salon.com/0002007/

What to Blog About? Share the Knowledge
• new or ongoing projects – close the loop
• new services, or current ones that require better promotion/info
dissemination
• KM initiatives
– Evaluation, design, implementation, roll-out, testing
• Tasks – group/departmental
– Organizational tool, management tool
• Password database, subscription database, calendar of events
• training
• presentations
• topical/subject specific research
• practice development
• clients
• virtual reference, electronic services, cataloging
• from topics specific or broad, it is up to you!

What Does Blogging Involve – Got Content!
• Assignment: monitor, track, locate (through all
avenues available…fee and free)… find needle in
haystack and make it look easy!
• validate, verify, analyze
• review, edit, append info as req’d (PDF, Word docs,
Excel, graphics, audio, video)
• seek feedback, comments, contributions
• publish, disseminate, update (the updating part is the
real kicker)…commitment is key!
• don’t start what you can’t continue – Feed the Blog!
• time management is essential

Example of a blog used for development, collaboration, testing

Blogs facilitate organization of, and access to, relevant data by topics

Example of a very focused topical blog: GM Smallblock Engine Blog

Example of a topical blog with broader focus but still subject oriented – stays on message.

More Reasons Why You Should Blog
• Identify and target your users
• Provide channels of information
– Choice/selection in data stream
– From the general to the granular,
your readers can choose if you offer
them a range of content
• Supplementing info/data/resources
from websites, e-newsletters, paid
subscription services, online
databases
• Aggregate your current publishing
formats
– Intranet
– Portal
– Websites
– Handouts/brochures
– Power Points
– Emails
– Newsletters
• Branding/marketing vehicle for your
library – good PR
– Offers tangible, ongoing
documentation of work product
– Justify resources, staffing, additional
services
• Where is that report, news article,
survey, training manual?
– Promote, maximize internal
collaboration, knowledge base
management of resources, tasks
and projects
• Real time publishing
– Direct, no intermediary req’d
• You are the expert
– Blogging will focus and expand
upon your skills
– Level the playing field…minimize
barriers and increase visibility,
communications, integration of
resources

A Product Blog
"By announcing a new product on a
blog you are creating an invitation to a
discussion about your product. On-line
press releases don't allow readers to
post comments to provide feedback or
to ask questions. As more and more
blog readers use newsreaders, people
are very apt to grab an RSS feed for a
blog they find interesting. That creates
an opportunity for the blog to continue
the discussion that starts with a new
product announcement. “
http://contentcentricblog.typepad.com/
Think about products and services – informing and supporting users

Consider the options, value and flexibility offered by RSS Feeds
• News feeds help you “get the
word out” about updates to
your blog
– In-house or to the public
– Offer your
readers/community an
alternative to email only, or
as a supplement to it for
those who “opt-in”
• Review websites you use that
offer feeds
– To locate feeds, look for
the orange icon or button
that says RSS, XML,
Syndicate or Atom.

Microsoft has over 800 employees blogging…take a look

Bloggers from Sun Microsystems

CEO’s Who Blog

News and Resources About Corporate Blogging
• Blogging for Business – “With readers flocking to their Web postings, execs are
finding blogs useful for plugging not just their products but their points of view.”
Business Week, August 9, 2004 http://tinyurl.com/4mukc
• Blogging With The Boss's Blessing – “More companies are helping employees
to speak freely -- and bond with customers.” Business Week, June 28, 2004
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_26/b3889107.htm
• Blogging behind the firewall – “InfoWorld’s internal Weblog started as an
experiment. Already, it’s indispensable.” InfoWorld, May 24, 2004
http://www.infoworld.com/article/04/05/21/21OPconnection_1.html
• The Corporate Blog is Catching On, New York Times, June 23, 2003
http://tinyurl.com/f10d
• Google sees benefits in corporate blogging, “Company says internal blogs
can be used to track meeting notes, share diagnostics information and code.”
InfoWorld, November 18, 2004
http://www.infoworld.com/article/04/11/18/HNgooglecorpblog_1.html
• HP quietly begins Web log experiment – “Hewlett-Packard Co. has become
the latest IT vendor to dip its toes in the wild world of Web logging, or blogging.”
IDG News Service, 23 Nov 2004, http://tinyurl.com/689r4
• See beSpacific.com’s regular updates on blogging at http://www.bespacific
.com/mt/archives/cat_blogs.html
• Blogging policy examples – Charlene Li,
http://forrester.typepad.com/charleneli/2004/11/blogging_policy.html

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