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« Blogs as Corporate Marketing Tools? | Main | Blogging Made Easier? » June 23, 2003The Corporate World, The Internet and the BlogosphereTwo interesting stories in back-to-back editions of the New York Times. The first, published yesterday, looks at how corporate executives are increasingly tiptoeing into blogging – and the risks and rewards of doing so. The second story, published today, says the speed with which critical comments and positive reviews spread online is drawing more scrutiny from both the business world and academia. Regarding corporate executives blogging, the Times says... For companies and executives, blogs provide a way to talk informally to customers, vendors and employees. But the so-called blogosphere can also be a minefield. Saying the wrong thing or revealing trade secrets could come back to haunt a company. And public companies need to worry about disclosure rules.One company president who blogs tells the Times a blog is a way for chief executives to get around the company's PR people and "glossy brochures" and speak directly to customers and vendors. But that unsettles corporate attorneys. John G. Palfrey, executive director of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at the Harvard Law School, and a blogger: "Once you get to the point where lawyers review everything in a blog, it ain't a blog anymore." Meanwhile, today's story looks at how "word-of-mouse" communications can impact a company's reputation for better or worse. Although it is difficult to quantify how much online reviews affect sales of particular products, the Internet's ability to quickly tarnish or gild reputations has interested businesses for many years. Academic interest in the field has grown recently, spurred by the availability of more data as the Internet ages and by recognition of the importance of understanding the dynamics of online reputations.The story highlights the work of Paul Resnick, an associate professor at the University of Michigan's School of Information, who runs Reputations Research Network, a web site devoted to research relating to online reputations, with more than 100 papers on the subject published on the site. Given how blogs affect Google searches, corporate execubloggers may soon be joining the blogosphere in droves, seeking to counteract negative word-of-mouse and enhance positive mentions online. Posted in Blogging & Journalism
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