Does your CEO blog? (and ech hob dir in drerd)

Oh looky, it's Monday's IT Blogwatch, in which we ask, Why don't more CEOs blog? Not to mention a classic example of why you should never write email or send voicemail that you wouldn't want blogged -- are you listening, Darren Sherman?..

Randall Stross writes in the NYT:

Chief executives are inclined to avoid activities generally deemed to be high-risk: Sky diving. Cliff jumping. Motorcycle racing. And blogging. Two years ago, when Jonathan I. Schwartz, then the president and chief operating officer at Sun Microsystems, inaugurated a blog that made him the most senior executive at his company to venture onto such a publicly visible platform, he embraced the risks ... When Mr. Schwartz was promoted to the top job at Sun this spring, he automatically became a member of an elite group: Fortune 500 C.E.O. bloggers. He is the only active member. Where is everyone else?

Capital markets function as they should when the flow of information is strong and unimpeded. Mr. Schwartz has shown ably that for the chief executive sincerely interested in increasing information flow to the fullest range of stakeholders, a blog is a hydraulic wonder ... Microsoft, for example, says that it has more than 3,000 employees who maintain blogs on the company’s Web site, an impressive number. But a large company is an outsize elephant, and each employee works within a tiny wrinkle on the hide. Only the chief executive is in a position to sit astride the beast and share the widest perspective. The fact that Microsoft’s chief executive, Steven A. Ballmer, and its chairman and former chief executive, Bill Gates, have chosen not to blog leaves an embarrassing silence at the top.

Steve Rubel nods sagely:

When done well, and its rare, CEO blogs are great. My own CEO's blog played a big role in attracting me to Edelman. However, I am going to argue that - at least in a perfect world - just as CEOs surround themselves with smart people in the executive suite, they ideally shouldn't venture into the blogosphere alone. It's not because they need nannies. They don't. They should also have people blogging from the gut of the company to demonstrate that their entire workforce is fully engaged in dialogue. Don't get me wrong. I would rather see a company have a CEO blog than none at all. However, having multiple online touch-points, not just at the executive level, is the best scenario. It lets readers find individuals they can relate to. Sun does this quite well.

Lori Kravets makes sure it's not still pink inside:

Blogging provides an opportunity for executives to reach their primary audience, the consumer, directly. It seems to me that by creating open lines of communication through a blog, executives can facilitate the necessary conversation to improve their companies ... an uncomfortable scenario in which an executive may not be well prepared for the type of public exposure given to “important” bloggers ... as pointed out by weblogs work ... CEOs simply don’t have time to blog. As Cynthia Brumfield blogs, the main job of an executive is to be a communicator. In my opinion, the idea exchange from a direct communication with the shareholders and consumers provided by a blog makes it a worthy endeavor for even the busiest executive.

Rob Hyndman scratches his head:

I’ve generally wondered why any CEO of a company of any real size would blog. I know this idea is anathema to blogging evangelicals, but with very few exceptions, the CEOs I know are fanatically busy, and live lives of utter dedication to the company. Except for rare occasions, they are “always on” - always working. I’ve never really understood why anyone who must make that kind of commitment to his or her work would take on the added responsibility of finding extra hours to keep a blog.

Jeremiah Owyang agrees, and suggests vlogs:

I’d boil it down to something more important –they don’t have time.
Authentic ... If CEOs want to harness the internet to get their message, I reccomend they use Videoblogs –here’s a few reasons why: It takes less time than writing ... An Archive ... It’s still two way ... It can be engaging.

But Warner Crocker disagrees:

The premise seems to be that their jobs are about communicating. WRONG PREMISE. CEO's, like politicians, are rewarded for moving their lips and not saying anything. That's why they have PR departments.

Amanda "Strumpette" Chapel giggles:

The NYT article was a sales pitch indeed ... simply a PR promo placement for Debbie Weil’s new book, “The Corporate Blogging Book.” Okay, here’s a more realistic and exact review: Sometimes when a girl says “yes,” it is completely obvious she means “no.” Debbie’s “How To” ironically does more to say “If You’re Smart, Don’t!!” ... Now if you decide to buy this corporate-blog stuff or Debbie’s book, I might also suggest the “Flaming Swords Corporate Juggling Manual.” Other similar Amazon buyers have gotten the “How to Give Yourself a Lobotomy” handbook, and the “Beirut on 10 Bullets a Day” travel guide.

John S. Bracken bangs his head against the keyboard:

At the Hyperlinked Society conference last ast month, [NY Times SVP for Digital Operations] Martin Nisenholtz said to look for increased out-linking from the website. Today’s Digital Domain column by Randall Stross, on corporate blogging, seemed like a prime opportunity for the Times to spread its out-linking wings, but, unfortunately, if you want to read Jonathan Schwartz’s or John Mackey’s blogs, which are featured in the article, you’re on your own.

Buffer overflow:

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And finally... Oy! Darren Sherman! Ech hob dir in drerd

Richi Jennings is an independent technology and marketing consultant, specializing in email, blogging, Linux, and computer security. A 20 year, cross-functional IT veteran, he is also an analyst at Ferris Research. Contact Richi at blogwatch@richi.co.uk.