CLO-Blog

Published June 2008

Who's Blogging?

Lindsay Edmonds Wickman

Check out this wiki that lists all of the Fortune 500 companies that blog. According to the research (as of May 17th), 11.6 percent of the Fortune 500 are blogging.

Really? That’s it? To me, that percentage is woefully low, and I just don’t get it. I don’t understand what’s stopping organizations from connecting with their internal and external customers. What better way is there to engage them?

Maybe I’m passionate about this subject because blogs are a big part of my personal life, as they have become an ideal way to stay in touch with my family. With all of us residing in different parts of the country, blogging is the best means of communication, and even my 70-something grandmother has a knack for it.

Now take that and apply it to the workplace, and the same benefits apply. Blogging is a means of communicating with a highly dispersed workforce and a simple blog can help employees learn more about their company.

Above and beyond the learning perspective, blogging presents an opportunity for companies to commune with their customers. For instance, check out the Starbucks’ blog, which is used to interface with customers. As a result of this, Starbucks has a new product — the energy drink.

In an age where customer service is frequently abominable, blogging can serve as a way to restore faith in corporations. It can lead to new products and improved service. So I ask again, why are only 58 Fortune 500 companies doing it?

I will be blogging about this again because the wiki will eventually compare the stock performance of companies that blog with those that don’t. So stay tuned to find out if blogging has a bottom-line impact. Also, be sure to check out Jeanne Meister’s column in the July issue of CLO magazine, which will talk more about how today’s organizations are approaching blogging.

Lindsay Edmonds Wickman is an associate editor for Chief Learning Officer magazine. She can be reached at editor@clomedia.com.

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