Corporate blogging
Religion & Liberty Online

Corporate blogging

The AP passes along this story about the use of blogs by corporations and executives. Some of the good advice includes:

“Don’t go toward fake blogs. Don’t launch character blogs. Use a blog for what it’s for, transparency,” said Steve Rubel, vice president of client services at CooperKatz & Co., a New York PR firm.

He and other PR professionals can rattle off blogs gone wrong — usually “fake blogs” that stir up the ire of bloggers by hiding the fact that they are really ad campaigns, such as one McDonald’s posted in advance of a Super Bowl campaign about a Lincoln-shaped french fry.

Blogs that smack of press releases won’t do the job, Rubel said. He tells clients to see what’s out there about their company or industry, then decide whether they want to engage bloggers or even start their own blogs.

The story lists some corporate blogs, including Boeing and Sun Microsystems. I personally have found the Google blog to be very informative and useful. Google uses its blog to keep interested parties abreast of new and upcoming software programs and advances.

Jordan J. Ballor

Jordan J. Ballor (Dr. theol., University of Zurich; Ph.D., Calvin Theological Seminary) is director of research at the Center for Religion, Culture & Democracy, an initiative of the First Liberty Institute. He has previously held research positions at the Acton Institute and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and has authored multiple books, including a forthcoming introduction to the public theology of Abraham Kuyper. Working with Lexham Press, he served as a general editor for the 12 volume Abraham Kuyper Collected Works in Public Theology series, and his research can be found in publications including Journal of Markets & Morality, Journal of Religion, Scottish Journal of Theology, Reformation & Renaissance Review, Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Faith & Economics, and Calvin Theological Journal. He is also associate director of the Junius Institute for Digital Reformation Research at Calvin Theological Seminary and the Henry Institute for the Study of Christianity & Politics at Calvin University.