One of the most exciting trends in the world of internet communication is the growing use and influence of blogs. Short for "web logs," these online journals are not only growing in numbers, but also in influence. Unlike the older "gripe sites" which were relatively isolated websites that allowed people to comment or complain about a company's management, procedures, or work environment (Robbins, 2005), blogs are very interconnected, particularly due to their integration with social networking sites such as Technorati and MyBlogLog. Once someone publishes a blog entry it has the potential to reach thousands of people within minutes. "Some bloggers have "viewership" in the millions, rivaling some television program audiences" (Voigt, 2006). This can either be very good or very bad from a business perspective.
Rather than trying to silence this type of public scrutiny, many companies have decided to create their own blogs. By doing this they can stay on top of what is being said about them in the ever-growing "blogosphere" and can quickly correct any misinformation or false accusations that appear on the web. Just as "grips sites" were and are useful for a company to gauge the overall mood and discontents of its employees, blogs are a perfect way to widen the scope of feedback from employees to the general public.
Other uses for blogs are public relations, a medium for dispensing new company information or products, and as a way to make the company seem "user-friendly" or accessible. This latter point is becoming increasingly important for maintaining a good reputation, as many young people expect immediate corporate responses to their complaints. "As a public relations tool, a quick, honest blog response from the company CEO "is better than the polish of a press release," Ito (head of Technorati) said. "Speed and tone of response is critical ... even if it's just, `I'm sorry, we don't know what's going on, we're looking into it'" (Voigt, 2006).
Perhaps blogs are the future of corporate public relations, and companies would be better off asking themselves *when* they will launch their own blog, rather than *if* they will launch a blog.
Sources:
Robbins, Stephen P. and Mary Coulter. 2005. Management.
Eighth edition. Upper Saddle River, NY. Pearson Education Inc.
Voigt, Kevin. (December 20, 2006). Companies Ponder the Blog Option.
CNN Online. Reference URL: http://www.cnn.com/2006/BUSINESS/
11/07/digitalbiz.blogging/index.html
Other:
Technorati URL: http://www.technorati.com
MyBlogLog URL: http://www.mybloglog.com
Technorati tags:
blogging, blogosphere, blogs, business, generation y, management, opinion, public relations
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