Why Most CEOs Shouldn't Blog

What's the difference between Robert Scoble and Bill Gates? Blogging talent. (And, um, net worth...)

A couple of days ago, my friend and colleague Dave Taylor wrote a sure-to-be-provocative blog post, Why Jonathan Schwartz Should NOT Be Blogging. He also was quoted on this topic in a Sept. 16 AP article, and his posting explores his thoughts in more depth -- a great strategy for getting more mileage out of mainstream media play, by the way.

Dave lists several reasons why CEOs of major companies are probably not the best people to blog for a company -- at least in public, external blogs. (Intranets might be another matter.) One reason that I think is particularly compelling is this:

"Quick, how many CEOs can you name? How many from companies with more than $10 million in sales or more than 500 employees? I thought so.

...In my experience, people outside the company actually don't care much whether the CEO blogs. While company blogs can be popular, I think that mainly depends on the quality of the conversation that happens there.

A quality corporate blog requires putting someone on the job with these qualifications...

• Reads, comments on, and understands blogs. Routinely. You want someone who's a blogosphere junkie, who thrives on this aspect of the public conversation.
  
• Has enough time and energy to blog. Whether the posts are short or long, daily or every few days, doesn't matter as much as being able to establish a reasonable pace and maintain it.
  
• Has the freedom to blog. You need to trust your company blogger to speak fairly for you. That definitely does NOT mean staying religiously "on message," but rather being genuine, responsible, and accountable. If you can't trust your blogger, any "official approval" process will only hobble your blog through weak content and sluggish response.

As anyone who's worked in or with corporations for more than five minutes can attest, often CEOs are the last people who can speak to the public in a relaxed, human voice. This is especially true for text blogs where you're dealing with the written word.

In my experience, most top-level executives are horrible writers. Worse, they loathe writing and they aren't emotionally prepared to handle open comments. They're more comfortable giving speeches and interviews -- which might make them better candidates for a podcast.

As Robert Scoble's time at Microsoft demonstrated, the lower rungs of the corporate ladder can be where you'll find your most enthusiastic, capable, creative, and successful corporate bloggers. I mean, really -- who would want to wade through a daily stream of unedited (or over-lawyered) Bill Gates prose? Yuck...

My advice: Unless your CEO is already actively engaged in blogs (including reading and commenting, not just writing), and has the passion and the time to blog well, don't worry about having her blog.

Instead, find yourself a really good blogger and let her do her thing. Sure, the CEO or others can do occasional "guest postings," but make sure these are timely and have real energy behind them. Never publish anything your core online community will find boring or phony.

Also, I recommend getting your company's bloggers and executives involved in responding to comments on your blog, and on making comments to other blogs. Especially if your corporate blog is new or poorly trafficked, you'll get far more benefit from leveraging existing conversation than by trying to start a new one from scratch.

Remember: Whether postings and comments appear in your blog or someone else's, it all washes up on Google's shores eventually. Stop trying to "own the message." Put your energy into constructive conversation. You can make conversation work for you, wherever you find it -- and ultimately, it's all findable.

Comments

[Sunil Bajpai]

Very good advice indeed. Thanks.

A CEO may not blog himself, just like he may not write code for his company, or sing for his studio or operate upon patients in his hospital.

On the other hand, he may do any of these things, if that's what he does best.