Of course, with the burgeoning interest from corporate boardrooms, on the potential of business blogging, this shouldn't be much of a surprise.
Along with thoughts of business blogs dancing in the executive suite, are concerns about what information might land on the blog's home page.
Enter the corporate blogging guidelines.
As with any new idea, the recommendations for what should or should not be blogging fodder, vary from company to company.
In an effort to provide an outline of what to include in a set of company blog guidelines, Toby Bloomberg of Diva Marketing has done precisely that.
While her suggestions are themselves an outline, and not carved in granite for all time, they are definitely an excellent starting point.
By using Toby's great suggestions, many of the concerns of the boardroom are successfully addressed, while maintaining topic flexibility for the company bloggers.
As with all guidelines, it's important that they don't morph into hard and fast rules. One size is not for clothing every business blog. Adapting the ideas to your own business and company culture is important.
Let the bloggers share in the creation of the handbook, and they will take ownership of the ideas. Once internalized, the chances of major public relations disasters are largely averted.
At the same time, the need for strict enforcement is reduced. Edicts from on high are rarely as powerful as ideas formed with all of the stakeholders involved in the process. In this case, the bloggers themselves most certainly should help to shape and establish the company's blogging policy.
The power of the business blog can then be employed to benefit the business as a whole. Blogger involvement in establishing the business blog is the key to its long term success and overall value to the company.
Corporate blogging guidelines are becoming a hot topic in the blogosphere.
Other business bloggers are displaying a keen interest in the concept of blogging guidelines for companies.
The bloggers include, among others:
Susan Getgood of Marketing Roadmaps
Paul Chaney of Radiant Marketing Group
Michael Fitzgibbon of Thoughts from a Management Lawyer
I fully expect to see a many more discussions of businesses developing their own blogging guidelines in the very near future.
They are moving onto the corporate agenda as blogs begin their appearance throughout the entire organization.
