You can see right through me
January 5, 2006
I saw a post that mentioned my name on Regina’s blog over the holidays, but I didn’t read it fully until now. Wow. I’m flattered, even if she wasn’t looking to get on my good side. Here’s what she said:
A good example of transparency that is unfolding for me right now is Max over at SuccessFactors Blog. The other day I wrote a post called I’m Not Buying It! which talked about my opinions about the technology and tools included as part of a product suite that SuccessFactors develops and sells. As a result of that conversation, Max has offered a few of us naysayers the ability to actually see a demo, etc. In any event, the demo may sway my opinion or not about the product. But what the personality and actions behind the blog are offering goes even further in terms of building a connection for me to the SuccessFactors Brand.
In my opinion, the only point in having a company blog is to reach out to the community in which it exists. Those blogs that are purely marketing or "synthetically transparent" run the risk of alienating a highly intelligent audience with a nose for what’s real. In the first instance, the blogging movement was given rise due to a desire for unfiltered, "unfooled around with" content. News from the horse’s-mouth, as it were. Purposefully violating that fundamental tenet of the blogosphere is simply stupid. There are too many options for readers.
With that said, the biggest challenge for any corporate blogger is to balance the needs of the company, the interests of readers and the market and the need to be honest and reasonably open. I don’t think that I get it right all the time, but Regina makes me feel like I’m doing a half-decent job of walking the tightrope.
What do you think? I’d love to get some feedback.
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