Corporate blog policy : Blog in peace
Leave it to the bright lawyers like Denise Howell to come up with a sound corporate blog policy. Her's is called 'Blog In Peace' and you need to read the whole post.
- Blog. Companies pursuing their own blogging initiatives will run into fewer problems with employee mistakes or misunderstandings. This is because the management and culture throughout the organization is bound to better grasp the process and related security and compliance issues. Per Denise, the best 'training' occurs by example and widespread use.
- Breathe. Blogs may be the least risky form of corporate communication. If a company adequately gets across the reasons it expects certain employee conduct with regard to external communications, confidential information, and technology use, blogs, etc. are at least as 'safe' as email and the phone; in fact, because people are more likely to understand up front these technologies are designed to accomplish wide and persistent information distribution, people are more likely to approach their use with caution and respect.
- Mix. Organizations need to make sure their P.R./marketing and legal arms are communicating about how employees should be relaying work related information to third parties or the world at large.
All excellent points. And most large firms already have policies in place that cover issues of employee conduct and communications with the public, including the media. Just because we have a new medium of communication called blogs does not mean we need to have one of these 'Of my God, lock down the hatches, what are the associates talking to people about' kind of reactions, law firms are known for.
As Seattle's Ivar is known for, 'Keep Clam.'
Read through and enter the discussion with the form at the end
