Word is that companies are creating blogs:
A growing number of companies are stepping softly into the blogosphere, following a path blazed by Microsoft Corp., Sun Microsystems Inc. and others in the technology field.
The Internet journal format, they find, lets businesses expand their reach, generate product buzz and encourage consumer loyalty – while bypassing traditional media.
“When we feel that we need to get a direct response out there, we’ve certainly got this bully pulpit to some extent,” said Michael Wiley, GM’s director of new media. “It’s a place where we can talk directly to people unfiltered.”
I’m not sure how this is all that more “unfiltered” than the company simply posting the information on its website. And of course there’s the danger of the blog becoming an infomercial:
Rubel follows blog news on his blog, Micro Persuasion, and runs his company’s unit of the same name, advising clients on blogging and on podcasting, the suddenly fashionable creation of downloadable person-to-person broadcasts.
He and other PR professionals can rattle off blogs gone wrong – usually “fake blogs” that stir up the ire of bloggers by hiding the fact that they are really ad campaigns, such as one McDonald’s posted in advance of a Super Bowl campaign about a Lincoln-shaped french fry.
Blogs that smack of press releases won’t do the job, Rubel said. He tells clients to see what’s out there about their company or industry, then decide whether they want to engage bloggers or even start their own blogs.
According to the article, some businessblogs have open comments. Such a feature helps convert a corporate site into a “real” blog. But I wonder what they do if a bunch of irate customers start flaming the comments.