We've been doing a number of webinars on the Impact of Web 2.0 and Social Computing on Organizations over the past several weeks. One of the questions we are routinely asked is, "Should Our CEO Blog?"
Great question.
The simple answer might be sure, why not? If the CEO has a blog, wouldn't it send a signal to everyone else that blogging is now an acceptable way of communicating?
I can hear the nay-sayers now. The floodgates will open. Everyone will want to blog. I remember the same argument when job sharing was first introduced over 20 years ago. I ask you, how many job sharers do you know?
Well ok, the naysayers concede, maybe everyone won't start a blog. But how will we control what our employees say on blogs; what if they give out lousy or confidential information? What if they spread negative comments or post links to unflattering portrayals of the company on YouTube? What if someone posts photos of the department when they're out for drinks after work? Won't this mean everyone will be spending way too much time on their own blog or commenting on others?
Weren't (aren't) similar concerns raised against telecommuting? The troubling thing is that lo these many years, there are still many managers who aren't comfortable with folks working at home.
The trust factor raises its ugly head once again: How will we know they're really working and not doing laundry? How can you really judge performance or form a relationship if you can't see the person?
So maybe the decision as to whether or not your CEO should blog or not goes deeper than whether they are great communicators, or whether they won't resort to ghost bloggers.
The bigger question is about trust.
What do you think?
So, no sooner than I post this when I'm sent the link to a blog called AdFreak with this post: Mayor Stripped Of Office Afer MySpace Pics.
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