Liz Strauss at Successful Blog

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March 1, 2006

Blogs: The New Black in Corporate Communication

ME Liz Strauss wrote this at 11:03 am

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PART 2 IN A SERIES

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. . . Has the blogging sensation passed corporations by?

Not by a long shot. Instead of public blogs, think about blog technology. That’s the focus for many leading companies around the world. From McDonald’s (MCD ) to Cannondale Bicycle, corporations are using the software to revamp internal communications, reach out to suppliers, and remake corporate Intranets. Often the site doesn’t look much different from what it’s replacing. Sometimes there’s nothing particularly bloggy about the results.

But these corporate initiatives are interactive and cheap to deploy — making them an attractive form of communication. “Blogs are a way to bring our knowledge together,” says Dave Weick, chief information officer at McDonald’s. –Stephen Baker, Business Week Online, The Inside Story on Company Blogs

Who Said Blogging Has to Be Public? We might not find many Fortune 500 blogs on the Internet. That doesn’t mean that Fortune 500 companies don’t have them. It means that we’re not invited to their private party. Corporations are taking advantage of blogging technology inside their firewalls.

Move Over Website, Bye-Bye Intranet

Blog technology is slowly overtaking the traditional website and Intranet structure at some corporations. Why is that?

Like employees from another era, websites and Intranets constantly need to be brought up to speed. Blogs have the right skillset for today’s knowledge-based enterprise–they’re innovative, fast, accessible, and made for constant changing . . . and they can be as beautiful as any website. What’s not to like? I’d hire one.

Communication in Every Direction

Ever heard the saying, We’re all 100% responsible for communication? Blog software is being used to make 100% communication happen in almost every direction.

Choose your options. You can have any color as long as it’s blog technology.

Why Do We Need to Know This?

Rare is the person who doesn’t already do business with, work for, or buy from a company who is already using blogs in these ways. It’s reasonable to think that a Fortune 500 company that has made any step toward putting a public blog online has experimented with internal blogging. Think–McDonalds.

The Internet website and company Intranet are quickly becoming just so . . . old hat.

If we want to be invited to the party, we need to dress the part, know the culture, and speak the language. We need to be prepared as vendors, consultants, customers, and employees. We need to factor in this data when we think about where we fit. How does this change the way I interact with companies? How might this information affect my brand, my business, or my life in general?

For this black tie party, blogging technology is definitely the new black.

The world is getting smaller. I’m starting to think there really is only one party.

If I’ve got this wrong, please set me straight. I’ll listen. I’m the nice one.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Related articles:
Blogs Aren’t Mini-Websites. They’re Powerful Tools.
Business, Blogs, and Niche-Brand Marketing
Chicago Goes Wi-Fi . . . What Does that Mean to Business?
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2 Comments to “Blogs: The New Black in Corporate Communication”

  1. April 9th, 2006 at 9:44 am
    Successful Blog - Why MSM Are Afraid of Blogs–and Should Be said

    [...] Related articles: Chicago Goes Wi-Fi . . . What Does that Mean to Business? Blogs Aren’t Mini-Websites. They’re Powerful Tools. Blogs: The New Black in Corporate Communication Technorati Tags: bloggers David Starling michaeld porter\’s five forces MSM Online Publishers Scot Karp Tom Glocer [...]

  2. November 26th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
    Employee Communications is a Blog useful? « Julie’s twitters said

    [...] “Blogs are carrying on conversations between management and employees that allow them to get to know each other as people. ” http://www.successful-blog.com/1/blogs-the-new-black-in-corporate-communication/ [...]

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