The Blogging Journalist

Jens Alfke: Apple Doesn't Like Blogs

Jens Alfke, a former Apple, Inc employee who resigned over "creative differences" and is "now working on my own, from home, as an indie software developer," writes in a January 10, 2008 post headlined "Gone Indie":

And then there are blogs. Apple doesn’t like them, not when they talk about it. (Big surprise.) I’ve heard it said that there are hardly any bloggers working at Apple; there are actually a lot more than you’d think, but they mostly keep it a secret. (I could out a few people, including at least one director…) I think Apple’s policy on blogging is one of the least enlightened of major tech companies; Microsoft in particular is surprisingly open.

Alfke adds:"I believe in being individual, and open. It always got on my nerves that there were so many things I couldn’t write about (not confidential information, of course, just public stuff) without the very real chance of waking up to a testy email the next day."

To read the entire post, please see "Gone Indie."

Technorati Tags: Jens Alfke,Apple,Inc.,blogs,bloggers

Blogging for Business in Charlotte, North Carolina

Charlotte.Com, the online news presence of the Charlotte, North Carolina-based The Charlotte Observer, told its readers December 23, 2007, that  "local [Charlotte] business owners" are "writing blogs about their trade or particular stores, hoping to draw in customers with every keystroke."

If you want to read more, see "Blogging for business." The subhead is "More companies using online conversations to entice customers."

Technorati Tags: Business Blogging, Charlotte, North Carolina, The Charolotte Observer

Google's Lauren Turner Learns a Valuable Lesson

 Lauren Turner, Account Planner, Health, writing at Google's Google Health Advertising Blog, says she has learned something from her June 29, 2007, post headlined  Does negative press make you Sicko?":

"Well, I've learned a few things since I posted on Friday. For one thing, even though this is a new blog, we have readers! That's a good thing. Not so good is that some readers thought the opinion I expressed about the movie Sicko was actually Google's opinion. It's easy to understand why it might have seemed that way, because after all, this is a corporate blog. So that was my mistake -- I understand why it caused some confusion.

Lauren, your critics didn't get confused. You expressed an opinion about "Sicko" on Google's Health Advertising Blog, which offers "News and Notes from Google's Health Advertising Team."  Therefore, it's Google's opinion. If you didn't want people to view it that way, you shouldn't have criticized the movie on blog that's designed to woo healthcare advertising.  

To read Lauren's entire post, please see "My opinion and Google's. By the way, I hope the folks at Google see this as simply a mistake and leave it at that. It's not a firing offense in my opinion.  

And Lauren, put a date on your posts. It's more valuable to researchers than a time stamp.

Technorati tags: Lauren Turner, Google Health Advertising Blog, Sicko

Graeme Philipson: Australian 'Bosses Let Sleeping Blogs Lie'

Australian tech writer Graeme Philipson notes in the February 13, 2007, edition of theage.com.au that, "You'll look high and low for a web log penned by an Australian captain of industry."

To read why, see "Bosses let sleeping blogs lie."

Jeremy Wagstaff: 'What A CEO Would Really Write In His Blog'

Jeremy Wagstaff over at The Loose Wire blog told his readers on February 12, 2007, that his "fellow BBC World Service commentator, Lucy Kellaway, lays into Reuters CEO Tom Glocer as the worst case of vapid CEO blogging (via the BBC's Richard Sambrook)."

This is "harsh," Wagstaff wrote, "because Glocer seems to be a cut above the rest of the old media but she has a point: Blogs are about being honest and authentic, and I've seen few CEOs manage to do this."

To read more, please see "What a CEO Would Really Write in His Blog.

Company Blogs: Benefits And Pitfalls

"One blog entry at a time, General Motors Corp. is trying to reestablish itself as an innovator. It isn't alone," contends Christopher Scribner, a reporter at the Oakland (Michigan) Business Review.

To read more about General Motor's blog, please see "Company blogs hold benefits, pitfalls."

Google Publishes 'Nearly 40 Corporate Blogs'

The Google Blog team's Karen Wickre says in a December 30, 2006, post at the official Google Blog that, Google "didn't just hope that readers would come to us" in 2006."

"We also launched company blogs in China, Japan, Italy, Brazil, Mexico, Poland, and Russia (and more are coming in 2007)," she wrote. "We also launched AdSense-specific blogs for publishers who speak Dutch, German, Portuguese and Spanish. Product teams also started up quite a roster of new blogs covering everything from Custom Search Engines to Google Book Search to our Mac and Enterprise endeavors."

Wickre said, "If you want to keep current with nearly 40 corporate blogs we now publish, here's the Atom feed, the Google Reader share option, and the OPML file (English language blogs only)."

Who was Google's top referrer in 2006? According to Wickre, "The top non-Google referrers this year are the influential Digg.com and Slashdot."

To read the entire post, please see "A year in Google blogging."

What Google Myths?

On December 27, 2006, Ionut Alex.Chitu over at the unofficial Google Operating System blog addressed what he calls "Google Myths."

"I've heard many inaccurate things about Google this year, and most of them are spread by word of mouth," he wrote. "Maybe Google should do a better job at explaining things that may seem trivial to computer experts, but difficult understand for other people."

It's as simple as that, sir. You can't take anything for granted when it comes to how information is disseminated and digested. Forget the A-listers, it's the common people you want to understand what you are doing.

The New York Post: 'Building Cred In The Fog Of Blogs'

"If you can't build online buzz for your brand, then just buy it," writes Holly M. Sanders in the December 26, 2006, New York Post .

Sanders said, "That's the pitch from a handful of dubious Internet services offering to turn people into paid shills for advertisers. Their tactics have sparked a controversy similar to the one over fake blogs, or "flogs," launched by Wal-Mart and Sony," she wrote, adding:

"Some of these services offer money to bloggers to endorse a company or product, while others pay people to manipulate popularity rankings on sites such as Digg, Delicious (sic) and Reddit."

To read more, please see "Building Cred in the Fog of Blogs."

Will Google Bloggers Step To The Forefront In 2007?

"Will 2007 bring more Googler bloggers to the Google blogging fore?" ZDNet's Donna Bogatin, who blogs at Digital Markets, asked that question in a December 22, 2006, post headlined "Google 2007: More Googlers blogging?

Bogatin said, "If Techmeme is the blogosphere’s barometer, December reflected an uptake in high-profile Googlers putting forth the Google case, at their own personal blogs." She highlights three of them.

Blogger Mike Sansone Mentioned in Des Moines Register.com

Iowa blogger and business consultant Mike Sansone is mentioned in a December 24, 2006, Des Moines Register.com article headlined "Blogging: An important business tool."

The publication describes Mike as the "owner of Bizolution, a Clive [Iowa] company that specializes in advice on business blogs." Mike, according to The Register, "estimates that about 80 Iowa companies use blogs." I suspect he had a lot to do with them blogging in the first place.

Meanwhile, Register business writer William Ryberg did a great job describing some of the blogging Iowa companies. I highly recommend his piece.

Mark Cuban's Message To 'Trump The Chump'

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has a provocative post today over at blog maverick headlined "Trump the Chump." Of course he's talking about The Donald. Writes Cuban:

Every couple weeks I get emails from people asking me if I heard what Donald Trump said about me on some radio or TV show. From Howard Stern to Donnie Deutch to just this week while promoting The Apprentice. I have to be honest, I LOVE IT when he rips me. Its been 3 seasons since The Benefactor tanked, but Donald still couldn't find something else to rip on. It always gives me a good chuckle knowing that he thinks of me so often.

Cuban doesn't bite his tongue in his opinion of Trump and isn't afraid to mix it up. I hope Trump responds himself and not through an apprentice. Cuban writes his own stuff and I like that. It makes him seem approachable and less corporate.

Technorati tags: Mark Cuban, blog maverick, Trump the Chump, Howard Stern, Donnie Deutch, The Apprentice, The Benefactor

Sun's Mike Dillon On 'A New Standard For Transparency'

Mike Dillon, Sun Microsystems, Inc's general counsel and corporate secretary, has a post in the December 18, 2006, edition of BusinessWeek (BW) online headlined "A New Standard for Transparency.

Dillon's post "is the second of two perspectives" BW has presented "on the risks and rewards of corporate blogging." The first post, published December 14, 2006, was written by Jacqueline Klosek, described by BW as "a Certified Information Privacy Professional and an attorney with Goodwin Procter, where she practices in intellectual property and privacy." It's headlined "Corporate Blogs: Handle with Care").

Who's Blogging On Wall Street?

Frank Barnako at Market Watch's informative Internet Daily blog reported December 5, 2006, that, "While there may be an Internet bubble in Silicon Valley, there's an online boomlet on Wall Street. Lots of people have created businesses talking about stocks," he wrote.

He means they are blogging about stocks. To learn who's doing it, see "Blogging on Wall Street."

Does Dell Understand Blogging?

David Berlind at ZDNet's Between the Lines blog tries to explain "Why Dell doesn’t understand blogging." Edward Moltzen at CRN provides some perspective on Dell's position on blogging in "Dell: You Say Blogging, We Say 'Electronic Dialoguing'.

Will SEC Let Companies Use Blogs For Disclosure?

 A Great Suggestion. Associated Press Business Writer Marcy Gordy reports that "In the first official communication posted to a blog by a chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Christopher Cox said he was intrigued by the idea of letting companies use Weblogs to disseminate important corporate information." See "SEC Chief Suggests Blogs for Disclosures."

"Cox has invited the chief executive of Sun Microsystems Inc., avid blogger Jonathan Schwartz, to talk to the agency about the idea of allowing companies to disclose significant financial information through blogs," Gordy reported.

Schwartz blogs at Jonathan's blog. Here's his letter to Cox requesting that the SEC let companies use blogs for  disclosure. Here's Cox's response to Schwartz's letter.

The IT@Intel Blog: Is An AMD Blog Next?

The IT@Intel blog made its debut October 9, 2006. Have you had a chance to look at it yet? I have, and was surprised that the posts from the four bloggers currently writing for it weren't filled with technical jargon. I commend them for that.

Webpronews.com staff writer David A. Utter makes good points about the blog in an October 11, 2006, post headlined "Intel Goes Blogging."

By the way, I looked for an American Micro Devices (AMD) blog but couldn't find one. AMD is Intel's main rival.

BloggingStocks: 'IBM Gets Web 2.0 Religion'

"Don't expect IBM to create the next MySpace or YouTube," writes BloggingStocks blogger Tom Taulli in an October 12, 2006, post. "However," he adds, "it looks like this corporate IT giant is starting to use some of the dazzle of Web 2.0 – such as blogs, community and RSS."

To read about it, see "IBM gets Web 2.0 religion.

Online Media Daily: 'Wal-Marting Across America' Shutting Down

Tom Siebert at Online Media Daily asks in an October 12, 2006, post headlined "Pro-Wal-Mart Travel Blog Screeches To A Halt":

"WHAT DO YOU CALL A phony blog that's actually a front for a huge corporation? A "flog"?

Siebert noted that, "A pro-Wal-Mart blog called "Wal-Marting Across America," ostensibly launched by a pair of average Americans chronicling their cross-country travels in an RV and lodging in Wal-Mart parking lots, has been reduced to a farewell entry. One of its two contributors was revealed to be Jim Thresher, a staff photographer for The Washington Post, Siebert said.

Has Scoble Earned A Place In Corporate Communications History?

In the introduction to its Q & A with blog star Robert Scoble,  vice president of media development at PodTech, CIO Insight magazine says the former Microsoft technical evangelist "has earned a place in the history of corporate communications."

Writer Ed Cone said "Scoble, "starting at Microsoft Corp. in 2003,... became the first high-profile blogger within a large business, ushering in a new era of interaction among companies, customers, critics and the general public. Using his blog, called Scobleizer, and now-familiar tools such as podcasts, RSS and Web video, he helped give Microsoft a human face." Cone contends.

If you want to read the interview, see "Robert Scoble: Life After Microsoft.

Technorati tags: Robert Scoble, Scobleizer

'Going To The Blogs' In Sacramento

Mehul Srivastava  over a SacBee.com, the web presence of the Sacramento (California) Bee, took a look at business blogging in Sacramento in a September 30, 2006, post headline "Going to the blogs."

As in many cities, "local businesses seem to be taking only tentative steps into the blogosphere," according to  Srivastava, who quotes Gopan Madathil, "who heads the local tech networking group TechCoire," as saying:

"There are several people who are blogging -- but I would not call any successful. In my view, Sacramento is yet to have a true (business) blog that people really read and go to."

TheStreet.com: Time Warner's AOL Planning More Blogs

TheStreet.com Senior Writer Jonathan Berr  reported September 1, 2006 that "Time Warner's (TWX - commentary - Cramer's Take) AOL plans a big expansion of its blog offerings." See "AOL Blogfest.

CRN: Sun Gives Ex-Employees 'A Place To Blog'

CRN blogger Edward R. Moltzen reported August 13, 2006 that Sun Microsystems' "top lawyer, its General Counsel Mike Dillon, has begun taking taking time out of his day to blog on Sun's web site:

Given the sensitive nature of much that I do and my professional obligations as a licensed attorney, it will be at times challenging to be as open as I would like. But, I'll do my best. Like I said, this should be interesting.

According to Moltzen, "Dillon then reported that Sun Microsystems, which has hundreds of employees blogging on its official Sun site but which has begun to layoff a good number of employees who have blogged there, is letting them continue reaching Sun's corporate audience. The company has given ex-employees the chance to publish blogs at a corporate "alumni site."

I think this is a great idea. However, I wonder whether Sun will defend any blogger sued for defamation.

For more, see "New Sun Severance Benefit: A Place To Blog."

Will Dell2Dell Respond To Chinese Bloggers?

I like reading Direct2Dell, Dell's recently renamed blog--It was orginal called One2One-- that finally gives customers and non-customers the opportunity to hold conversations with a company with a reputation for treating many of its customers shabbily.

 

And since Dell has been responding to customers lately, I stopped by to see how Direct3Dell is handling claims by some Chinese bloggers that they ordered latops from Dell expecting to receive  machines with with the Intel Core Duo T2300 processor but instead received computers with the T2300E."

 

I found nothing. This is a Dell2Dell story if ever there was one, especially since lawsuits are being filed as a result of the processor switch. Where is the story Dell? Maybe I somehow overlooked it. 

Times Online: 'Bloggers Put The Boot Into Big Business'

Dominic Rushe, the Times Online's New York correspondent,  reported July 30, 2006 that "Structurally many companies find blogging difficult. Speaking with one voice is a hard task when a company contains so many," he opines. "The chief executive blog is one way around that problem."

To read more, see "Bloggers put the boot into big business."

Good Job Blogging Stocks

I think Bryan White at Blogging Stocks: MSFT did a good job of "Live blogging Microsoft's fourth-quarter and FY results."

 It's a model I'd love to see newspapers adopt for some of their news coverage.

Nicholas Carr 's Lessons in Corporate Blogging

Blogger and author Nicholas G. Carr has a thought-provoking commentary in the July 17, 2006 Business Week Online headlined "Lessons in Corporate Blogging." 

The subhead is "What your company can learn about keeping an online journal from the likes of Dell, Microsoft and Apple." I found it quite interesting.

One2One's Comment Moderation Policy

Lionel Menchaca, Digital Media Manager at Dell and the ramrod for One2One, Dell's corporate blog, which made its formal debut this week,  said in a July 14, 2006 post that, "A few people have asked about how comments are moderated so I thought I’d clarify.  You can read our "Rules of Engagement" for more details."

He also said, "  I’m working on bios for each of our bloggers. (Thanks to a number of you for suggesting it, including Shel Holtz and Neville Hobon on FIR.) 

Menchaca  just might make a difference in the way people view Dell.  I've followed him since the blog's debut and detect a sincere effort to be open. I hope the top dogs don't reign him in. I'd love to see him truly unleashed and allowed to go into every corner of the company.

Jarvis: 'Now They’re (Dell) Getting The Idea'

Jeff Jarvis at BuzzMachine, who has been one of Dell's harshest critics, says "The latest post on Dell’s blog finally addresses the dead, decomposing, stinking elephant in the room: customer service." See "Now they’re getting the idea."

Customers Don't Want Magic

There are "No Magic Wands For Customer Service. So says Laura Bosworth, Dell's "Director-  WW Customer Experience," says in a July 13, 2006 post at Dell's one 2one blog.

I don't think customers and potential customers are looking for magic. They want satisfaction and someone they can understand when they call customer service. So, no excuses.

Dell Finally Tries Blogging

I've reviewed Dell’s one2one weblog, which made its debut July 4, 2006, although Lionel Menchaca, Digital Media Manager at Dell, says "Yesterday was the first official day " of the blog's existence. So far, they're off to a good start.

Already, Dell is getting good advice from readers and bloggers. Of course, there has been some criticism. Jeff Jarvis at BuzzMachine says "It’s a blog in content management system name only."

Be sure to see Jarvis' Some friendly advice from Dell.

So, what's my advice to Lionel? It is to be open, honest, engage commenters without being defensive and even respond occasionally to posts on other blogs. And don't do it anonymously.

Above all,  listen to those who've bought your computers and those who may be inclined to buy them. Listen even if they never buy a Dell.

Depending on the vibes I get from the blog, I may be convinced to buy my first Dell machine. For years, I've resisted it. On several occasions, just before I bought a new computer--I've bought eight in the last 15 years--, I asked people what they thought of Dell. Generally, I got positive answers. Yet, I couldn't hit the send button after filling out an order form on at least two occasions. There was always the feeling that all Dell cared about was selling computers and customer service contracts. I couldn't feel the human element the way I could with Compaq, Hewlett Packard and Toshiba.

Finally, maybe someone will emerge at Dell who can do for the company what former Microsoft Technical Evangelist Robert Scoble did for Microsoft. That is bring out some of the humanity in the company. I'm sure its there.

Sun's Schwartz Sees 'Competitive Advantage In Blogging'

"When Jonathan Schwartz was promoted to CEO two months ago, Sun Microsystems (SUNW) became by far the largest company with a CEO who blogs," writes  Del Jones of  USA TODAY in a June 26, 2006 report headlined "Sun CEO sees competitive advantage in blogging."

 

I'm a frequent reader of Schwartz's blog. He seems to be a proponent of corporate transparency and I like that. See his "60 days into the job...'

'Sun Alumni Can Now Apply To Have Their Blogs Aggregated '

Simon Phipps, "Chief Open Source Officer at Sun Microsystems," reveals in a June 24, 2006 post that "There's a radical new step emerging" at Sun involving employees who decide to move on.

 

"Sun alumni can now apply to have their blogs aggregated at the new community.sun.com aggregator page by filling out a form, staying part of Sun's extended family," he wrote.

 

To read the entire post, see "Gone but not forgotten." I like the idea. Sun is known for leaving the door open for ex-employees to return, if they can contribute something to the company.

Blogging Stocks Analyzes GM's Approach to Blogging

Brian White at Blogging Stocks says "GM seems to have a few different faces on right now regarding blogging." See "GM's two-faced approach to communicating with bloggers."

Scoble's Visit With Sun CEO Jonathan Schwartz

Microsoft Technical Evangelist Robert Scoble's June 9, 2006 post on his visit with "Jonathan Schwartz, CEO of Sun Microsystems," was a joy to read, in that it shed light on what could be Sun's last, serious opportunity to save itself from becoming a subsidiary of another company--Microsoft, for example-- or just another firm  that rested on its laurels too long before realizing that today's great product is tomorrow's museum piece.   

 

Schwartz is a veteran blogger, with definite ideas of how to put Sun back on track. In a June 2, 2006 post headlined "Sunlight is the Best Informant," he wrote:

You can tell I'm a big fan of transparency - that's why I write a blog (with comments on, and yes, I read every one, as do a host of others at Sun). It's why I encourage others to drive the conversation in the market, as well. Transparency's at least a part of the solution. If not an outright competitive weapon.

Scoble said Schwartz "won me over. I've met a few CEOs over the years and a lot of them just want to tell me their point of view," he added. "Jonathan was noticeably different: he asked ME questions about how I looked at the world. He was curious, personable, someone I could see drinking a lot of beer with and still remaining friends with..."

Is Corporate Blogging Catching On?

Jill Jusko at Industry Week says "Blogging may be all the rage among the Internet-savvy, but top company executives have been slow to bestow any credibility to corporate blogs as a new communications medium, recent survey results show." See "Unconvinced: Corporate Blogging."

 

Who da' Punk: 'Microsoft's Mystery Insider

Seattle Times columnist Danny Westneat has an article in the may 28, 2006 edition on Who da'Punk, the anonymous Microsoft employee who publishes Mini-Microsoft, a blog that has galvanized many rank-and-file Microsofties who otherwise are just cogs in the big corporation still looking at world through the eyes of old pioneers when what's needed is new blood to compete with the young swashbucklers at Google.

 

"Mini is one of hundreds of bloggers at Microsoft," Westneat writes. "Yet he's earned a Zorro-like status. Speculation is rampant about who he is and if he'll be outed and fired. His site, with thousands of comments from Microsoft workers, has been dubbed a "virtual union hall."

 

"This month," Westneat added, "after the company debuted a new pay and benefits policy, some said it was due to the bosses finally clueing in to worker angst via Mini's site.

"Can one person change a huge company? Mini did. And we don't even know his name," wrote Robert Scoble, who runs another Microsoft Web log (Scobleizer)."

Mini, as Who da'Punk is more commonly called, has considered coming forth rather than waiting to be outed. According to Westneat, he feels guilty for not telling his wife he's behind Mini-Microsoft.  At least one Microsoft employee has discovered who he is but has vowed to keep the secret.

For more, see "Microsoft's mystery insider." By the way, I'm a big fan of Mini's. I've been mentioned in his blog and in Scoble's in connection with a post I did on Mini. I've done several. 

Blogging at Boeing

BusinessWeek online has a post on blogging at Boeing, the Chicago-based airplane manufacturing giant. Actually, Boeing is more that.  See "Into the Wild Blog Yonder."

Is The Apple Suit Against Bloggers a Free Speech Issue?

Gene J. Koprowski of MacNewsWorld says in an April 18, 2006 post that, "A judgment entered in December [2005] against bloggers, alleging that they illicitly disclosed trade secrets from Apple Computer about Apple online, may have free speech implications for all online publishers."

"This is not the usual, run of the mill trade secrets case," he quoted "Karna Berg, an intellectual property attorney with Halleland Lewis Nilan & Johnson," as saying.

To read Koprowski's article, please see "Free Speech Rights at Issue This Week in Apple Lawsuit."

Novell CTO Jeffrey Jaffe 'Starts Blogging'

Stephen Shankland at CNet News.Com reported April 3, 2006, that, "Jeffrey Jaffe, Novell's new chief technology officer, has become the latest Linux executive to try his hand at blogging."

He said, "Jaffe launched his blog Monday [April 3, 2006] with a 2,700-word posting that derides Microsoft products as "bloatware," discusses the difficulties he faced years ago trying to drum up software company support for IBM's OS/2 operating system, and offers opinions on why things will be different for Linux and open-source software."

For more, please see "Novell CTO starts blogging."

Andy Beal's 'Two Assignment for You'

Andy Beal, "President & CEO of Fortune Interactive," has an assignment of us in a post at WebProNews.com headlined "Scoble And Israel Not Impressing Amazon." The assignment:

1. Read Shel Israel's recap of his and Robert Scoble's presention about blogging to Amazon.com.

2. Now read Robert Scoble's intepretation of the same presentation.

Done that? They both paint (in my opinion) the picture that Amazon simply doesn't get blogging.

Beal said, "Shel's comments sum it up,..."We got a great many questions challenging any contention that Amazon would benefit from blogging in any way"

"Ok, now read Werner Vogels', CTO for Amazon.com, version of events."

Vogels' long post over at All Things Distributed is headlined "Naked Answers." It's a play on the title of Scoble and Israel's book Naked Conversations, which can be purchased at Amazon. I say let the conversation continue on this subject. Scoble's readers definitely are engaged.

Israel also has interesting comments from readers. Vogels has a list of "links to weblogs that reference Naked Answers."

This is one of the reasons I love blogging. CEOs, CTOs, authors and average citizens can engage in conversations from any place in the world about issues, technology and events, something that wasn't possible before bloggers rebelled against the traditional means of distributing news and information.

Mini-Microsoft Takes a 'Blog Break

Who da' Punk, a Microsoft employee who publishes Mini-Microsoft , a blog that agitates for a Microsoft to become a "lean, mean, efficient customer pleasing profit making machine!," announced March 29, 2006:

I'm going to take a bit of a blog break and let things cool down here. It's been a heck of a couple of weeks and I, for one, need to recharge. I'll check-in occasionally to moderate, but I'll be far more focused on the deeper meaning of Red Hook than blogging. Cheers to you.

I wish Who da' Punk would reconsider. Mini-Microsoft is a good counterpoint to Robert Scoble over at Scobleizer. Scoble does a good job of evangelizing for Microsoft. However, an alternative voice is always good. I guess I'll give some of the other Microsoft bloggers a try.

By the way, I wonder whether Who da' Punk is feeling heat from his employer.

In Florida, Small Businesses Blog More Than Large Firms

Dave Gussow, staff writer for The St Petersburg (Florida) Times reported in a March 26, 2006, article that,

Searching for major companies in the Tampa Bay region and Florida that have blogs turn up precious few. A Fortune 500 Business Blogging Wiki at Socialtext.net turns up less than 5 percent of that prestigious list doing blogs. Entrepreneurs and smaller businesses appear to be more active.

For more, please see "Blogosphere mainly a domain of small business - for now."

Blogging4Business Conference Set for April 4, 2006

If you are interested in the Blogging4Business Conference scheduled for April 4, 2006, at the Marriott in London's Grosvenor Square, then see "b4b Conference 2006." Time and Microsoft are among the sponsors. The theme is "How blogs can help and hurt your business."

Should Business Blogs Let Readers Comment?

I found Demir Barlas March 21, 2006 post post at Line56 headlined "When Blogs Fail" thought provoking. He wrote, in part:

These days, when I look at GM's FastLane blog, I'm torn between characterizing it as a failure or as a success. Actually I think it's both.

As a blog itself, FastLane is a success. It is open, navigable, and frequently used by a large, diverse, and articulate community of GM customers and other interested parties. Click here to find out more!

Barlas said, "As a corporate marketing mechanism, FastLane is a car wreck. That's because the blog, clearly intended to build enthusiasm and support for GM, contains some of the pithiest GM criticism you could hope to find on the Web, conveniently gathered in one place."

I take a contrary position on this. At least Lutz and GM know what the criticism is. It also shows that they don't have their heads in the sand. If they listen to their customers--it appears that they are listening--they can hopefully solve GM's problems. It stood out, at least to me, that some commenters were saying GM needs to add cool as well as good gas mileage to its vehicles.

'The Bottom Line on Blogging'

David Hayes of The Kansas City Star reported March 14, 2006, that "Within the last month or so, both Sprint Nextel and Garmin formally launched corporate blogs, joining a handful of smaller [Kansas City] area businesses that have been blogging for a year or more."

The article looks at a number of local, national and international businesses using blogs to spread the word about their products.

For more, please see "The bottom line on blogging:Companies find all that Web talk builds business." Here's Garmin's blog. See "The Star's talking business."

Blogging The 'Brand in Australia'

Chris Jenkins of The Australian said in a March 14, 2006 report that, "No one has as ever accused corporate America of being shy when it comes to making its pitch for our dollars." "So when the blogging phenomenon became mainstream it was hardly a surprise that the likes of Microsoft, Google and General Motors took it up to spruik their wares," he wrote. I have no clue what spruik means. For more, please see "Blogging the brand."

Howard Kurtz's Comment on Wal-Mart's Overture to Bloggers

What does Washington Post columnist Howard Kurtz think about "big companies like Wal-Mart using friendly bloggers to get their message out"?

The answer is in a March 8, 2006, article headlined "Blog Wars," which was inspired by New York Times reporter Michael Barbaro's March 7, 2006, article titled "Wal-Mart Enlists Bloggers in P.R. Campaign and bloggers' response to it. Kurtz wrote, in part:

It's a very different story, obviously, if a blogger runs the corporate spin verbatim, without disclosing the source, just as it would be for a garden-variety reporter to reprint a handout. Whether bloggers are doing that remains in dispute.

What's not in dispute is that what was once dismissed as a pajama-clad brigade is becoming increasingly influential, to the point that giant companies have to worry about what they say. Dell got tarnished, for example, when it dealt shabbily with Jeff Jarvis over his lemon of a laptop. And as I reported the other day, the Pentagon has created a unit to seek good coverage and knock down bad coverage among bloggers.

Kurtz said, "The better bloggers are going to have to figure out their own standards for dealing with corporate and political flacks, and those who blindly carry water for outside groups will probably lose credibility over time. But I expect them to be in the minority."

I think Howard is right about the growing influence of bloggers. Among those with influence will be hustlers who think they can secretly shill for corporations and political parties and not be found out. The likelihood is that they will be exposed either by The New York Times and other mainstream publications or other bloggers. The bottom line is that we can't hold discredited columnist Armstrong Williams to one standard and ourselves to another.

TypePad Business Class and Movable Type Enterprise

Rachel Rosmarin of Forbes has a Q & A with Six Apart vice president Anil Dash about "the company's TypePad Business Class and Movable Type Enterprise, which are both launching today." Six Apart's blogging tools are TypePad, Movable Type and LiveJournal.

For more, please see "Should Your Boss Be Blogging?" My answer: Yes.

The Wal-Mart Bloggers

Since Mike Sansone at the blog Conversations is an expert on "changing how companies talk with their customers using blogs as conversation stations," I paid him a visit to see what he had to say about The New York Times' March 7, 2006 article headlined "Wal-Mart Enlists Bloggers in P.R. Campaign." He asked the important question: "Is It Relationship Building or Relationship Manipulation?"

His answer:"The cloth of trust has been soiled. The marketplace manipulated. The conversation staged."

Of course, there is more. Visit Mike and read the entire post. His comments are quite informative.

Technorati has a list of bloggers who've commented on the story. Mike linked to some of the so-called A-list bloggers in his post. It all makes for good conversation.

NY Times: 'Wal-Mart Enlists Bloggers in Its P.R. Campaign'

The New York Times reports in its March 7, 2006 edition that "Wal-Mart Enlists Bloggers in Its P.R. Campaign. Reporter Michael Barbaro wrote: "Wal-Mart, long criticized for low wages and its health benefits, began working with bloggers in late 2005 "as part of our overall effort to tell our story," said Mona Williams, a company spokeswoman.

Williams is quoted as saying, "As more and more Americans go to the Internet to get information from varied, credible, trusted sources, Wal-Mart is committed to participating in that online conversation."