It wasn’t that long ago everyone (or so it seemed) was asking everyone else, “do you have a blog?” Or worse, “do you blog?” In the past week, two of my favorite bloggers — or people I choose to call “people who write blogs,” as I try not to use blog as a verb — announced they were going to stop blogging, or writing blogs, or whatever.

On September 4 came the announcement on my little brother David Postman’s blog that he is “leaving The Seattle Times. I’m also leaving journalism, at least for the next phase of my career. I am going to work for Vulcan, Inc., the company founded and led by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. I will be doing media relations for the company.” Talk about a sellout! And how did I find out about it? On his blog. He never calls.

David is chief political blogger for the Seattle Times. Journalism and blogging were but two of the many things he set out to in life in which he seriously kicked my butt. He flew in the governor’s helicopter covering the Exxon Valdez spill. He met President Bush. In high school, he had an awesome Austin Healey “Bugeye” Sprite. And a vintage Honda into which I accidentally poured a 5-gallon “jerry can” of rusty water. (Dave, I’m really sorry about that.) In the 60s, growing up, my brother was known on Templeton Ct. as “Little Davey.” It was such a cool nickname, that when the family moved away from Sunnyvale, California, there were two other Davids on the block, and the younger of the two, asked, “Hey, do I get to be ‘Little Davey’ now?” Of course the answer was no. Sorry pal. There is only one Little Davey. Good luck on your new venture, Little Davey!

One day later, Michael Tangeman, who up until recently was not a “Knight Who Said ‘Ni!” but up until recently did write the Media Mindshare blog, announced that he has decided to stop blogging. Michael is a solid writer, with a keen eye for news and a sharp analytical mind. I have always enjoyed his blog. He’s a fellow Humboldt State University alumni. Michael decided to stop blogging because he wondered, as many of us do, whether he still had something worth saying, and whether there was a world beyond his blog. Michael concludes his two year foray into blogging believing there is a “case for the advancement of both traditional media and online media hand-in-hand — rather than the supplanting of the former by the latter.” He wonders if his focus on his blog has interfered with his more active participation in this process.

As the number of people writing blogs continues to grow, there will naturally be in an increase in the number of people who quit blogging to go on to something else, something bigger and better, something perhaps more rewarding. I think it’s very healthy to break out of something quotidian and comfortable and go on to take the next step, whatever it is.

Tags: David Postman, Seattle Times, Michael Tangeman, Political blogger, Postman on Politics, Media Mindshare

Based on my observations of dozens of large companies who have ventured out onto Twitter in one way or another, here are my seven rules for establishing a corporate presence on Twitter. These seven rules will help a company start off on the right foot and gain credibility and consumer loyalty on Twitter.

On social networks in general, and on Twitter in particular, it’s sometimes difficult to tell who is an authorized company representative and who has just snagged a cool Twitter ID and Photoshopped a convincing Twitter background graphic.

Trust is the currency of social media. Without it, social media is worthless as a tool with which to engage customers. You may have read recently that ExxonMobilCorp on Twitter, turned out not to be an authorized representative of the company. (Jeremiah Owyang broke the story.) This is not the first revelation of Twitter identity theft, and Twitter, while having a clause in its terms of service protecting companies against people who co-opt their name and brand, does not actively police this unless approached by a company with a complaint.

These “rules” are intended to guide the legitimate company in building trust with consumers, and that includes assuring them that they are dealing with an authorized company representative. The world of social media is so new to most consumers, that companies are obligated to give them a little extra help in making these kinds of judgments.

1) Create a Twitter profile that helps people verify your legitimacy

Dozens of purported celebrities and companies on Twitter have turned out to be bogus. Link your Twitter profile to your company web site to give consumers a place to go if they have questions. Use your company logo as your “avatar” (profile picture), and use it in the background for your Twitter home page.

2) Let consumers know who they are talking to

Explain why you are on Twitter and who is responsible for your company’s presence there. Consumers want to talk to a “real person,” and not a bot. Harpers Magazine does a masterful job of this, especially given the limited number of characters available in a Twitter profile:

Comcast also does a fantastic job here. Other companies use their company name in the Twitter handle, such as jetBlue and Popeyes Chicken, but do not identify who is responsible for the account. In the case of jetBlue, it’s Morgan Johnston of jetBlue corporate communications and his staff. Popeyes Chicken on the other hand, identifies its Twitter spokesperson only as an employee in his mid-40s in the company’s IT organization. This information is not disclosed in either Twitter profile. I contacted each organization and asked who staffed their account.

3) Empower your Twitter representative to make a difference

There are many different models by which a company can engage with consumers on Twitter. Principally, these rules apply to companies that create Twitter accounts that are intended to serve in an almost traditional way as a vehicle for one or more company spokespeople. Companies that follow this model include jetBlue, Southwest Airlines, Popeyes Chicken and Comcast.

Comcast is a great example of a company representative who is empowered to help consumers. Comcast’s Twitter account is managed by Frank Eliason, Comcast’s congenial, helpful digital care manager. He actually gives technical support and advice via Twitter, and can dispatch technicians to help consumers. I’ve tweeted with him occasionally and he has a very pleasant personality and a good sense of humor. (Comcast has received national attention for its presence on Twitter.)

Another strategy for corporate spokespeople on Twitter is what could be called the “executive microblog.” When I started writing this set of “rules,” I wasn’t thinking about this type of corporate presence on Twitter, but it is worth mentioning.

Many senior executives use Twitter to chat with consumers, share their thinking, and answer general questions about the company’s strategy. They may be acting as spokespeople for the company or as individuals. It is difficult to tell sometimes.

For example, Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos, and Loic Lemeur of Seesmic, have Twitter accounts. Tony uses overt Zappos branding and clearly identifies himself as CEO of the company, while Loic does not identify himself as CEO of Seesmic, and links to his personal blog. Seesmic does have several corporate Twitter accounts with Seesmic branding. I do not know Loic, but these choices indicate to me that he chooses to be Loic Lemeur on Twitter and not a fulltime spokesperson for Seesmic. This is not a criticism of Loic or Seesmic, just an observation.

Obviously, CEOs are empowered on Twitter. Tony has launched several Zappos promotions form his Twitter account, giving away prizes like trips to Las Vegas.

4) Protect consumer information

This is a relatively new concern as companies like Comcast provide actual customer support on Twitter. Company spokespeople on Twitter should insist that consumers do not publicly share private information, and use more secure methods of transmitting personal data, like phone numbers and account numbers, for the purpose of customer support.

I mentioned previously that Frank Eliason does a great job with Comcast’s Twitter account, and he is very consistent in suggesting that consumers send him private information by direct message (private Twitter messaging), so that this information is not exposed in the Twitter public timeline. It’s a small thing, but it’s smart.

I am sure additional privacy issues will come up as more businesses see Twitter as a serious customer support tool.

5) Include your social media affiliations on your corporate web site news page

I think every company that uses Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and other social media/social networks for corporate communications of any kind should include a list of company social media affiliations on the news page of the company web site. This would allow consumers, journalists and bloggers to quickly verify whether they are talking to an official company spokesperson.

6) Be human, and have a sense of humor

I’ve enjoyed chatting with company spokespeople on Twitter. Popeyes Chicken and Comcast have both been fun to talk to. I had a lengthy and fascinating email conversation with Morgan from jetBlue (he knows social media), and exchanged direct messages with Tony from Zappos when a competitor charged the company with misappropriating some store photos. Popeyes Chicken made some great “nuggets” jokes (come on, you know what I mean), but tapered off on that. In every case, being able to talk to a real person, even a few characters at a time, “softened” the company and made me feel both sympathy and appreciation.

7) Turn control over to “regular” employees

One thing I’ve found interesting is that non-management, frontline customer service/customer relations folks generally aren’t representing companies on Twitter, nor are rank and file media relations staff. Some companies, like Dell, do have a visible presence of non-management people on Twitter, and Comcast is using real support people, but these are the exceptions. It’s early days still, and it seems most companies are being cautious and having more senior people handle their company’s Twitter account. Ultimately, it would be nice to see customer relations and media relations people staffing these corporate accounts on Twitter. It will prove Twitter’s viability as a legitimate way to engage with customers, and it makes more sense from a business standpoint.

And I’m not by any means advocating the corporatization of social media. There are many ways to use any form of social media, and on Twitter, some of the most powerful voices are those of executives like Tony Hsieh and Loic Lemeur. But there is also room for day-to-day business applications of Twitter, and these will need to be managed affordably and at the right level in the organization.

I’m sure there are plenty of things I’ve missed in regards to establishing a corporate presence on Twitter. These seven rules are the ones I feel most strongly about, so I hope you find them useful, and if you have other suggestions, please let me know!

Tags: Comcast, comcastcares, loic lemeur, tony hsieh, zappos, seesmic, twitter, southwest, airlines, Exxon Mobil, exxonmobilcorp, harpers magazine, paul ford, popeyes chicken, morgan Johnston, jetblue, frank eliason

Last night I screwed around online for two hours wondering what to write about in my next blog post. Have you ever seen a PowerPoint presentation (like this one) with that hack quote “everything that can be invented has been invented”?* It seems the same is true about blogging. Everything that can be written about in a blog has been written about. Check the comments on any blog or Twitter and you’ll see many repetitions on the theme “there’s nothing new here.”

Now comes “news” from Valleywag that most of us shouldn’t bother writing blogs. Valleywag’s piece assumes that blogs are solely intended to be profitable media entities, an imperative that has ruined thousands of blogs and contributed to both a confrontational style of writing, and an agenda biased toward site traffic and advertising dollars. But I understand the world has changed, and for many, pro bono blogging is no longer relevant.

The piece also argues that changes in social media habits have made blogs less effective at driving traffic than search engines, aggregators and microblogging environments, observing, based on analysis by James Joyner, “the geeks who read blogs all day in 2003 are now following Twitter and other speedier media.”

I agree with this, but note the all-important inclusion of the word “geek.” These observations apply to the geeks, the early adopters, the bubble insiders. That’s the essence of the flaw in the notion that blogs need only cover something “new.” Twitter, for example, is one of the hottest topics in social media right now. How many thousands of educational posts are there on how to use Twitter? Twitter has an estimated 1.6 million users. Nielsen estimates (PDF) there are over 200 million Americans with Internet access. Facebook has over 80 million users. So if Twitter is to become mainstream, statistically speaking, the majority of its eventual user base are not yet online do not know how to use it, and haven’t read a word about it.

Should we ignore them because the topic is no longer fresh to 5000 social media experts? I think there is room for tens of thousands of blogs on similar topics. Why are people calling for a thinning of the herd when social media was supposed to be about letting everyone in the heard have a say?

* Turns out like most really clever quotes, this one is apocryphal. It’s a misinterpretation of a statement made by Patent Office Commissioner Henry Ellsworth in an 1843 report to Congress, in which he states, “The advancement of the arts, from year to year, taxes our credulity and seems to presage the arrival of that period when human improvement must end.”

What Kind of Blogger are You? is a thought provoking post from Leah McChesney that dovetails nicely with my recent post on the various kinds of corporate blog posts.

While I attempted to categorize types of blog posts, Leah does a nice job describing the varied and not always flattering kinds of bloggers out there, including:

• the attention junkie/those who need an ego fixation
• the lazy/undisciplined blogger
• all over the place/depends on the blogger’s mood that day
• antagonistic/this blogger is usually unforgiving and angry, usually tries to be persuasive
• impulsive/is a serial blogger with abandoned blogs
• story telling/often a deep thinker

Leah did a great job and unfortunately, I saw myself in far too many of her descriptions. For example, I’ve got a draft blog post titled “Confessions of a Serial Blogger” about all of my abandoned blogs. But I’m not an attention junkie. No way.

Tags: leah mcchesney, mediameme

How many “kinds” of blog posts are there, and which are the most effective and interesting in a corporate environment? Is it possible to categorize all blog posts this way?

I was working on a blogging training presentation for a corporate client last night, trying to answer these questions. Here’s what I came up with:

Experiential: The experiential post uses personal experience to tell a relevant story. It is distinct from the trivial post, which can also be a narrative, because the experiential element is a story telling technique, but the larger story in the post is relevant to the company’s business. An experiential post might be based on observations made at a conference, solving a customer problem onsite or by phone, or even of a longer term experience, such as bringing a product to market, or hiring a new management team. A well written experiential post can be interesting and engaging. I write speeches for executives, and have always found that personal anecdotes are extremely effective and credible in bringing the company’s products and services alive.

Trivial: A trivial post is an off-topic post about personal experiences such as travel, or the purchase of the latest consumer electronics gadget. These do not generally relate to the business, but they can be useful in helping the blogger connect with his or her audience through shared experiences. The typical trivial post covers things like “should I get one of the new iPhones?” and “the cable company made me wait four hours.” From an emotional standpoint, the biggest byproduct of Web 2.0 is that people are empowered to whine and complain about things frustrate them, and this is often the kind of content found in a trivial post. While it does create a bond between the blogger and readers of the blog, it can become tiresome, and may reflect poorly on the executive’s public persona.

Strategic: An executive blog is perfect for communicating strategic information, such as quarterly results, a product announcement, a launch, or the goings-on at a major company event. Strategic posts are “deliberate,” that is they are designed and timed and not spontaneous. In a large company they are likely to be group efforts (despite all the hoopla about authenticity) in order to align with approved messaging and comply with financial disclosure requirements and other regulations. (Don’t let any CEO of a large company tell you that he or she does these posts solo. It just doesn’t happen that way.)

These tend to be important, particularly in terms of offering blog visitors something to comment on, but are not as interesting or effective as experiential or analytical posts.

Analytical: An analytical post offers an in depth discussion of a particular technology, industry trend, socioeconomic situation, business strategy or other topic. These posts are most like traditional print commentary in that they involve research, and while espousing the blogger’s point of view, should show balance and quote credible third party sources. A well written analytical post is great for “selling” the company’s strategy, or helping explain why the company chose a certain approach to a product or service. This kind of post also helps the executive be seen as engaged and knowledgeable about things that go on outside the four walls of the company.

Responsive: The responsive post is generally a rebuttal or reaction to another blog or a column. It isn’t really an altogether different post category, but since it is a response, the structure and the tone are unique. It can have many or all the elements of the analytical post. The responsive post may be driven, for example, by the need to get the company’s point of view into the conversation in reaction to a highly critical post, or to make people aware of a highly complimentary post. It’s also useful for generating topics when you’re not sure what to blog about, but when instead of reacting, you “blog first,” you start the conversation and you control the agenda. By starting the conversation, you better demonstrate originality, and the courage of your convictions, instead of taking a reactionary, and often defensive stance.

TOH Link: Many bloggers like to publish favorite links with little or no commentary and some even maintain separate link blogs for this purpose. The Tip-Of-the-Hat link post is the little brother to the responsive post. It is often just a few sentences long, and may start “great post by Dave on why social media is like the Peloponnesian War…” with a link to the post. Without at least a few lines on why Dave’s post is so great, and a few reactions or contributions that expand the conversation, these kinds of posts are of little utility in a corporate environment.

Educational: The educational post is often Web 1.0 content in disguise, but if the blogger is knowledgeable about the topic and involved in writing the post, it can be effective. These often have titles like “Top 10 Strategies for Long Term Data Archiving,” or “Popular Models for Utility Computing.” (You can see from all of the hypotheticals in this piece that I have spent WAY too much time in IT.) A former Google engineer told me that the Google algorithm loves numbered lists. This kind of post also has the potential to bore readers and evoke cries of “marketing hype.”

Crisis: The crisis post is a special case and difficult to critique in this framework. These are an unusual kind of responsive post in that they are based on reactions to events, announcements and other critical situations that may seriously affect the company’s reputation and its financial health. This type of post doesn’t really fit in this discussion, because it’s not something you make a strategic choice about. My advice: try not to have crises. If you do, post as soon as you can, briefly and honestly.

There are no doubt 100 varieties of blog posts that I haven’t covered here, but I thought I’d share this in case you find it useful. I’ve used similar explanations to help new bloggers answer the question, “what should I blog about and what tone should I use?”