Transparency Is Not Always Clear
Dell recently launched its new corporate blog to decidedly mixed reviews.
Critics seemed to be unimpressed by its first forays into the blogosphere and in true blogger fashion were not afraid to say so. Given that Dell had waited this long to address customer service issues in a corporate blog, bloggers like Steve Rubel in a Micro Persuasion posting felt the company had missed a real opportunity to be more candid and forthcoming with their customers.
Candidly I am of two minds here – hence my headline.
No company should get a free ride. You can’t use a corporate blog as a PR vehicle to gloss over or ignore problems with customer service. Nobody is going to be fooled, but I am wondering how the blogosphere’s response will impact skittish executives at other companies who are still on the fence about social media. It may spur companies to do it right or reinforce their fears so they don't blog at all. If they can’t do it right – honest, transparent, personal, conversational – perhaps they shouldn’t blog. Or conversely cut them some initial slack -- at least they are trying.
I kind of like the wait and see approach taken by Shel Israel in a posting from last week -- Blog the way we tell you to. Right now, dammit! He brings some perspective to the debate without passing judgment.
Good blogs should evolve over time. That certainly is the case at EarthLink (of course I am biased!). EarthLink’s blog experience is not analogous to Dell’s, but it may be instructive.
An earlier version of our corporate blog was not greeted with disapproval, but didn’t garner legions of readers either. Postings were made irregularly and the hosting set-up did not allow readers to post comments. We worked our way through the first year and then decided to revamp the blog to move beyond the theme of Internet protection.
Our corporate blog earthling reflects the broader mission of the company. It is intended in part to capture the spirit of the Internet and help readers to take advantage of what the Internet has to offer. We also hired a full time blogger to manage the process and provide his unique perspective.
The point is we took a chance, experimented, and most importantly learned from our experience.
The same is true of my blog. I continue to experiment and grapple with subject matter as I try to find my voice. That voice is shaped by topics I want to discuss, the image I want to project and feedback I have gotten from readers.
At times, my writing has alternated from the personal, the professional, and the professorial. I must confess I am still working on my blog’s tone and content, balancing confidence and certitude with humility and doubt.
At work, colleagues have been coming to me for advice on how to blog. They want to be honest, but they don’t want to go off message. They worry about internal and external reaction if they say the wrong thing.
Transparency is not always clear.
What is off limits? Is there a proper mix of personal and professional? Can a blogger be too honest? Beyond guidelines about disclosure, disclaimers and deportment, I am encouraging them to take a leap of faith and be themselves. Demanding control when talking with reporters, I am willing to cede authority in the blogosphere. Where I speak in scripted talking points during interviews, colleagues should be more informal. Mistakes will surely be made, but the sense of engagement is far more critical.
Their blogs will be as different as the bloggers themselves. Each voice won’t represent THE voice of EarthLink, but collectively I am expecting a symphony, not a cacophony.
They say blogs are conversations. They also say that great conversationalists are great listeners. Let's hope that Dell will listen to its audience and find a voice for its blog that serves the needs of the company and its customers.
Let me get back to you.
But there has to be some reason for readers to go there. If the content is no different from going to a "Web 1.0" corporate Web site, then telling people it's a blog feels something like a bait and switch.
There should be links, a way to comment, and interesting posts. That's a blog.
Not that I don't agree with letting them get their sea legs, and it looks as though they're recovering nicely. Good!
For what it's worth, the EarthLink blog is highly readable, and worth a visit by anyone interested in technology or the Web. (Comment this)
Having floated around in the blogosphere for so long now, and having become accustomed to quick repsonses from droves of people, big cheeses and little cheeses, I was stunned at the amount of effort I had to put in just to TRY to communicate with this particular publication's editorship.
After a series of searching the masthead for emails, none printed there, I looked for a phone number. None of those printed even! I tried the online version. No contact sources listed there, either.
I then went through a series of bad phone number hoops, assorted off-putting loops, clueless receptionists and a battery of admins, until I FINALLY connected with voice mail, whereby I proceeded to leave a message. Whew! 48 hours later, I have yet to receive any kind of communication back from this particular editorship, despite me listing about a dozen sources of contact info for me, from emails to cell phone numbers.
My takeaway from this preposterous communication effort with a print media outlet was that it is hopelessly and pointlessly arrogant, and that it wants nothing to do with input/feedback from the readership it depends upon to purchase the media and patronize the advertisers.
So any entity that goes down the corporate blogging path, however graceless their initial effort might be, I give them A for Effort. Others have yet to even publish a working phone number!
Needless to say, I won't be subscribing to Southern Living anytime soon. Purchasing a Dell? Maybe. (Comment this)