lørdag den 31. maj 2008

Naked Conversations - god bog om corporate blogging


Jeg har netop vendt den sidste side i "Naked Conversations", en bog om virksomheders blogs. Den er skrevet af Robert Scoble (Microsofts mest berømte blogger; han står bag bloggen "Scobleizer") og Shel Israel, og jeg kan anbefale den til medarbejdere i virksomheder, der overvejer eller er i gang med corporate blogging.

Det er svært ikke at lade sig smitte af forfatternes entusiasme for corporate blogs, og de betegner da også dem selv som "evangelists convinced that all businesses should blog and warning that many businesses that don't blog might perish". Så lad det være sagt med det samme: De to superbloggere bag bogen har et udpræget positivt syn på mediets potentiale.
Bruger man sin kritiske sans under læsningen, gør det dog ingenting. Desuden er bogen i høj grad baseret på cases fra virksomheder, der har erfaringer med blogs, så postulaterne er underbyggede i rimellig grad.

For den medarbejder, der ønsker at overbevise sin ledelse om at afprøve mediets muligheder, er der altså masser af empiri, der beviser værdien. For den virksomhed, der allerede er igang med at blogge, er der masser af tips til at gøre det bedre. Og ikke mindst er der cases om de steder, det er gået helt, helt galt - enten fordi en virksomhed ikke har taget bloggosfæren alvorligt eller fordi den har misforstået mediet.

Det havde været skønt med lidt flere europæiske eksempler, for som forfatterne selv bemærker, så har kulturelle forskelle stor betydning for, hvordan blogs bruges forskellige steder i verden. Ikke desto mindre er der masser af god viden at hente i "Naked Conversations" også for danske virksomheder.

søndag den 25. maj 2008

Hvad skal læserne vide om vores blogs?

Jeg har arbejdet videre med blogkonceptet, som jeg omtalte i sidste post. Èn ting er de guidelines, vores bloggere skal køre efter (som jeg også regner med bliver gjort offentlig tilgængelige på websitet). Men hvad har bloggens eventuelle læsere egentlig brug for at vide for at kende præmisserne for COWIs blogs?

Jeg har skrevet et oplæg til en side, der forklarer læserne lidt om konceptet. Denne gang kraftigt inspireret af GCI Mannovs nyhedsrum og Patent og Varemærkestyrelsens blogs. Især er det vigtigt for os at gøre klart, at kritiske kommentarer ikke bliver slettet, da vi som stor virksomhed typisk kunne blive mistænkt for det.

Kommentarer er meget velkomne.

About COWI's blogs

COWI's weblogs are channels for our consultants to write about and discuss their areas of expertise. The idea behind the weblogs is to engage in conversations with our stakeholders and any one else interested in the areas we work with. We believe that these conversations can help all of us get smarter together.

We write about…
News, innovation and market trends within our professional fields, interesting projects in Denmark and internationally and much more. The consultants writing the blogs are encouraged to start or participate in debates on these subjects, offering their own professional opinions.

We don't write about…
Business secrets and any projects that our clients do not want us to discuss.

About comments
All our weblogs can be commented, and we warmly encourage our readers to do so. Ask us questions, tell us your thoughts on the things we work with. Please leave your name on your comment and note that your comment will be viewable to all readers of the weblog.

We reserve the right to delete comments that are judged to be

  • derogatory
  • slanderous
  • in other ways in conflict with the law
  • spam

Critical comments are not deleted unless they fall into one of the categories above.

(factbox:)
What is a weblog?
A weblog is in a sense a journal on the Internet. Weblogs - or just blogs - are written by either a single person or a group of people. The newest posting is always displayed at the top. Most weblogs can be commented by readers. Typically, blogs offer many links to related blogposts and websites.

fredag den 16. maj 2008

Oplæg til blogging guidelines

Vi arbejder frem imod at en eller flere corporate blogs bliver en vigtig del af det kommende social media newsroom. Derfor har jeg skrevet et oplæg til COWI's blogging politik og guidelines, som jeg godt kunne tænke mig kommentarer på. Jeg har lånt kraftigt fra andre store virksomheders politikker, og kilderne er listet nederst.

Umiddelbart synes oplægget temmelig langt. Så hvad siger I - kan noget undværes? Eller har jeg glemt noget?

COWI corporate blogging policy and guidelines

COWI's corporate blogging policy and guidelines is an appendix to the communication policy and web strategy. The general principles of credibility, openness, honesty and competence in the communication policy also form the basis for the corporate blogging policy.

POLICY

Write as yourself
When writing a COWI corporate blog, please let your readers know who's behind it. In other words, you can't be anonymous or write under a pseudonym. We want the blog be an open medium with a free dispute, and writing under your real name will add credibility with your readers. Your name or names should be prominently displayed on the blog and it should be easy to access further information about you in the blog or somewhere on COWI's websites.

Keep secrets
Blogging about your work or profession will unavoidably mean that you sometimes have to decide whether information about a project is confidential or public. Obviously, a blog is all about openness. If you are too cautious, the blog risks becoming uninteresting. However, it is imperative that you do not disclose any sensitive or confidential information about COWI, our customers or projects. Likewise, don't refer to customers by name unless they want you to and don't disclose personal information about other individuals. If in doubt, check with your manager.

Respect copyrights
It's a good idea to use images, videos and other multimedia on your blog. But remember that a lot of this kind of material is copyrighted. Do not post others' material unless they've granted you appropriate permission to do so.

You are personally responsible
What you post on your blog are your own personal opinions. Your blog posts will not be checked or approved by managers or lawyers in COWI, and therefore you are personally legally responsible for any content you publish. You must observe legislation and so must the people writing comments to you. This includes legislation against:

  • discrimination of any kind
  • defamation, libel, wrongful accusations etc.

It can be a good idea to place a disclaimer somewhere on the blog stating that you work for COWI, but as your opinions or views may not always correspond with the company's, you are not speaking officially for COWI. Contact Communication and Design if you need help writing a disclaimer.

You can write your blog on company time
You are allowed to write a corporate blog on company time as long as you agree the level of resources to be spent on it with your manager.

Disagreement with COWI is ok
You are free to disagree with official company actions or policy on your blog. Please keep a respectful tone, however

GUIDELINES

Link and cite
Linking to other websites and blogs is an important part of blogging. So is citing from relevant sources. Remember that weblogs in their most ideal form are conversations. Find out who else is blogging on your subject. When you read something interesting they or someone else has written - including our competitors - be sure to link to it. It adds value for your readers, and you'll also generate links back to your blog.

Write about what you know
The best way to write an interesting blog is to write about what you know. As a COWI professional, you have a deep understanding of your professional field. Write about the challenges and issues around it. Communicate your enthusiasm to your readers. Have opinions. Be honest and admit mistakes. And don't be afraid to ask your readers about the things you don't know. This will give your blog a human face and it won't discredit you.

Write often

If you want to develop a consistent readership, you should post new entries regularly. New content is what keeps readers coming back. Post at least once a week.

Write in a human voice
Dialogue and relationship-building happens between people. All really great blogs show off some of the writer's personality. Be yourself when you write and try to write in a human voice. Don't have your posts checked every time by a manager. Your blog will be too polished, less authentic - and you'll be too slow in posting.

Answer comments
Encourage comments. Comments testify to the fact that someone reads your blog and find it interesting enough to comment on. Be sure to answer promptly to any comments that require a reply. Do it on the blog if the answer is something other people could benefit from knowing. Otherwise, write an email. If you get offensive comments, you are free to delete them. If in doubt, check with Communication and Design first. If you get comments that break the law, you are obliged to delete them.

Be nice
Obviously, you should keep a nice, respectful tone on your blog. If someone criticises you or COWI, keep your focus on the subject matter and answer in a professional manner.


Inspirationskilder:
Sun's Policy on Public Discourse (Sun Microsystems)
IMN eight basic steps pdf (IMN E-communication)
Feedster Corporate Blogging Policy (Feedster)
Thomas Nelson Blogging Guidelines (Thomas Nelson Publishers)
Yahoo Employee Blog Guidelines (pdf) (Yahoo)
Arla Weblogretningslinier (Arla)

onsdag den 7. maj 2008

Inspiration til corporate weblogs fra Arla

Arla Foods er en af de store virksomheder i Danmark, der har flest erfaringer med corporate weblogs. Jeg hørte i sidste uge et oplæg fra Maja Møller, chef for forbrugerrelationer hos Arla, fortælle om baggrunden for deres weblogs. Og selvom Arlas kontekst er meget anderledes end COWIs, var der også lighedspunkter. Bl.a. er det hos Arla også almindelige medarbejdere, der blogger, ikke (kun) chefer.

Udgangspunktet for Arlas blogs var faktisk negativt: De havde et kæmpe imageproblem. Svaret blev at begynde at lytte - og "føre samtaler", som Maja udtrykte det. Først på "Arla Forum" - et åbent spørgsmål/svar-forum - og siden med egentlige forbruger-rettede blogs. Lige nu har de syv blogs. Fælles for dem er, at de har en personlig vært, bliver opdateret hyppigt og at alle kan kommentere på indlæggene.

Arlas blogs bliver i følge Maja Møller ikke annonceret meget. Blogværterne kommenterer især på andre blogs for at blive synlige. Arla forum inkl. blogs har haft 150.000 unikke brugere siden de gik i luften i 2005.

Hvad kan en "grøn" blog-organisation som min så lære af Arla?
Maja havde bl.a. nogle gode pointer omkring bloggens natur: Nemlig at dialog ikke kun handler om at én spørger og den anden svarer - men at den, der svarer, også kan spørge om noget tilbage igen. Og det er netop det, vi gerne vil opnå med vores blogs: at vi også kan blive klogere igennem dialogen. At vi tør spørge, når der er noget, vores læsere er klogere på end os.

Hun gav også gode råd til at spotte den gode virksomhedsblogger i organisationen. Det er en person, der...

  • har tid interesse og et konkret udbytte af at blogge
  • er en netværker
  • kan dele tanker, tvivl og ideer med andre
  • er god til at lytte/vise processer

Måske banalt, men jo ikke selvfølgelige egenskaber hos alle.

Og endelig havde hun et godt billede af bloggen som en virtuel dagligstue: Værten bestemmer emnet og tonen i samtalen - men han/hun skal ikke føre hele samtalen.

I virkeligheden er det nok lidt en ideel fremstilling. De fleste virksomhedsblogs har svært nok ved at ramme en stil, tone og et indhold, der får bare nogle få af læserne til at kommentere. Derfra og til at få en virkelig levende blog - en rigtig samtale, hvor det ikke kun er værten der taler med gæsterne, men gæsterne også begynder at tale med hinanden - er der nok stadig et stykke vej.

Men at det er der, virksomhedsbloggen for alvor får værdi, er der ingen tvivl om. Ideelt scenarie eller ej.