What Should Corporations Do With Their Blogs

March 23, 2009 · Comments

I was fortunate to be able to call together a great group of people at a moment’s notice to host a flash panel at the Pepsico Podcast Playground at SXSW. I wanted to talk about a Wall Street Journal article where AMD blogged about something and then Intel said blogs weren’t the place to talk about important issues. I pulled together George Smith, Jr, from Crocs, Christopher Barger from GM, Keith Burtis from Best Buy, Bonin Bough from Pepsico, Pat Moorhead from AMD, and Morgan Johnston from JetBlue for a conversation.

What follows is a video from the flash panel. I hope you’ll watch it and share your thoughts.


SXSW Flash Panel: Corporations & Social Media from Kipp Bodnar on Vimeo.

Thanks to everyone who participated.

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  • Cool conversation on co-creating and human interaction. If important matters do not go on a blog or microblog, then what goes?
    Fan the Flames with Blogs (i) inspired by Bill Arconati.

    Disclosure: Posted this comment 20 minutes into the panel. Sorry for not watching all of it.
  • I like the statements that were made about why corporations blog and bring topics out in the conversation in social media is "respect for the intelligence of the customer". The Internet is a really important tool to get the feedback so that the "customer experience" can be catered to and not just some idea of what the customer should want. I really appreciate being treated like I have intelligent feedback! I think the trend will be that customers will give their business to the companies that allow them to participate as intelligent "partners" in how they do business. Doesn't mean that every idea is a good one but it's nice to have a place to be heard and enter the conversation.
  • I applaud you for bringing a first-rate panel together to discuss the appropriateness of blogging as an engagement tool to link consumers and corporations. As a social media blogger myself, I believe a blog can be a powerful forum that can help corporations connect with their customers in a more intimate way. In that regard, like any traditional form of communication, a blog can be relevant, worthwhile and beneficial to all who participate in it. To those of us involved in social networking, that premise is unquestioned. Why would the Wall Street Journal question it? Perhaps they don't like the competition echoing from voices in non-traditional media.
  • That is perfect post. Thank you
  • Interesting content to hear how large corporations are working to connect and build a relationship with their customers in a very micro way. Check out starbucks ideas which is built on the salesforce.com service which is generating a lot of ideas and action from the intelligence of the consumer.
  • Chris,

    Big thanks for using my video of the panel in your blog post. Again thank you for putting it together, some great information was shared. The theme of humanizing, I thought was the most important.

    Sorry that the beginning of the video is shaky everyone!
  • @Kipp - you're a great guy for sitting through it all and managing to have the best possible video out there of it.

    Yet another way that you're completely awesome.
  • It's an interesting conundrum.

    Sure, blogs offer a fantastic way to not only "meet" your audience but also discuss the pro's and con's of your business.

    Yet from another standpoint, any important message probably would be lost if the blog didn't "carry weight" to start with. Is it a proper company blog? Who's writing it? Is it just propaganda for the company in question?

    Getting an important message across via a blog is more than feasible and should definitely be used. But maybe the blog in question should be looked at first?
  • My origins are as a normal, every day blogger. From Doogie Howser-esque diaries in 1996 to the more analytical ones of today- I've always had a passion for writing blogs and the culture that resides within that realm. I learned a long time ago that, to be cliche, the truth will set you free and try to model my blogging world around that.

    But @Danny is right, there is a conundrum. For Crocs - the blog is a communication channel, which means that we ultimately have an agenda to sell more products. That's not some secret goal - it's a fact of life for a corporate blogger. I'm blessed with a company that lets me be me - but I still have to cater my subject matters to overall company goals. Learning how to balance that is key and like @melody says above- respecting the intelligence of the consumer is virtue #1 for all corporate blogging. Finding that voice to cater to your audience and also accomplish your objectives is tough. Do I think we're there yet at Crocs? Not completely but we're getting there and our audience is becoming more and more engaged. We're learning. We're growing. And we're not afraid to make the mistakes along the way. I think that's where the corporations on the panel stand out. They're not trying to figure out all the details in the back rooms and then launch a perfect campaign. They're out there saying, "This is me. Love me. Hate me. But ultimately, tell me how to be better." That's why these brands will grow - because they're out there doing it.

    Again - I want to thank you Chris for having me on the panel. It was great experience and I think these kind of things need to happen a lot more.
  • AMD has been more savvy than Intel for a loooonnng time.....
  • Chris, thanks for the opportunity to share experiences from the all star cast you assembled. Wow, GM, Pepsi Co, Crocs, JetBlue, and BestBuy. Simply amazing. I am hoping that this continued discussion prompts large corporations to embrace the social media medium in a more frequent and transparent manner.
  • Lovely meeting you, if only so briefly, on the first day of SXSW.

    Linked ya here: http://jolieodell.wordpress.com/2009/03/24/blog...
  • I love that this discussion started with a basic question that many people ask, "why are laptop batteries lacking?" The result of this conversation has a chance to spark new ideas and possibly lead to new innovations in the chip industry/battery industry. I commend AMD for asking the question, even having a blog (still somewhat rare for a B2B company), and for using the blog in a way that can effect a larger change. That's what corporate blogging has to offer.
  • "Don't be afraid to be human." Love it.
  • Several companies locally have asked me for help with their on-line identities. What is the best way to connect them, ultimately, with you?
  • Chris you did a great job! I was fortunate enough to be there and watch live in person! I also got some video of it and included some pics of you if you would like to watch http://tw2.us/LG
  • This was a great panel to be a part of. I think the discussions will get deeper and deeper as time goes on. Next years SXSW will be quite interesting as the industry and infrastructure have more time to develop.
  • I really enjoyed your panel! Very interesting comments which I agreed with completely.
  • I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.

    Sarah

    http://grillsblog.com
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