On the Blog Council
Several large companies have banded together to launch something called the Blog Council to deal with issues in corporate blogging. Hmmm.
Before reading skeptical reactions from the likes of Robert Scoble, I had some skeptical reactions of my own. Corporate blogging in itself is a bit of an oxymoron given the ponderousness of most corporate cultures and the speed (and, to some extent, sassiness) with which blogging happens. However, with an open mind and dedicated writing time, it’s possible to make corporate blogging work.
So what does a Blog Council bring to the table? My fear is that its members will take all the characteristics of traditional corporate culture and communications and try to shoehorn them in to the blogging medium. Obviously that’s not what the Blog Council has set out to do (and I fully support what the Blog Council is trying to do – i.e. get folks talking), but all I can picture is committees discussing how to create standard operating procedures and official corporate policies. No doubt those things have their place, but they simply can’t be the primary focus of any blogging effort. The primary focus has to be smart, relevant, authentic content. And I worry that that point will get lost in an avalanche of bureaucracy.
In the meantime, I feel very lucky to have the freedom Motorola has given me with this blog. I am an information junkie, and in a lot of ways I get to be an internal reporter for the Home and Networks Mobility business. I’m sure I’ve made a pest of myself more than once, but with nearly one year under my belt, I’ve had a great experience, and I believe we have a blog that people value.
Oh, and as far as my corporate blogging peers go, we have other ways to connect with each other beyond organizations like the Blog Council. There are these great new technologies like site linking, blog comments, and something called email! 
