Corporate Intranet

Web logs, which have popularly known as blogs, have become one of the hottest communication tools on the Internet. Provides the ability for anyone to create their own free Web site, encouraging opinions and blogs provide forums for interaction citizens to create their own highly personal presentations to the Web audience, and for all types of consortia, the kind of online community to experience feelings that lead was from the beginning of newsgroups and the phenomenal success of AOL in the1990s.

Blogs have reached into the business and public sectors as well. A prominent federal magazine shows that some employees of the company more time on blogging as a personal e-mail, on average, more than one hour per day. What originally began as an outlet for teenage expression and grassroots journalism has become a lucrative communications tool for small and large companies alike objected.

General Motors Vice Chairman Bob Lutz, turned to the company's blog when rumorsSurface on the closing of Pontiac and Buick brands. It was a means for a direct answer, a way to talk to their unfiltered consumer.
Other companies like Sun Microsystems and Microsoft are also recognizing the impact of blogging in their relationships with their customers and employees. In an article dated 5 Proposed in June 2005, The Washington Post that there are more than 100 official corporate blogs there, with hundreds more on theHorizon.

Although a great newspaper "blogging" volatile, fast moving and destructive self-righteous continue to grow "steadily blogs in the corporate world and businesses realize their value.

Corporate Blogging

Internal Communications

Corporate Blogging refers to a company or supporting a blog that she used to achieve business goals. A blog can serve many purposes in a company --Setting. Internally, a blog can be a forum for discussion on the work of topics.

The informal atmosphere is encouraging, corporate communication. From the small discussions, virtual "town meetings" to sense where employees at all levels that they can be heard, blogs promote collaboration and knowledge sharing.

Blogging can help a company or employees as experts in their field. By using information about a specific subject, shows a persontheir knowledge of the subject matter, setting in of itself as an authority. People come to equate to the site and the author of this issue. This issue calls for skill and know-how can boost your sales and consumer opinion.

A blog can be an interactive addition to an intranet or e-mail newsletter. Since automatic update notification is possible with blogs, people tend to stick to the latest contributions.

PublicCommunication

Blogs can be used to communicate with potential new customers, clients, employees and the media. Press releases and project updates can be posted, as well as employment opportunities or information, which the company intends to distribute outside the normal news channels.

A blog can strengthen the ties between the company and its customers. If a company presents itself honestly and transparently, it not only builds confidence but inspires loyalty as well. The customers are more likelyWorking with a company think they know better than others. Blogs make it possible for informal communication. They create good word-of-mouth among customers who do not read the trade magazines or business pages. The essence of a blog promoting the image of transparency and openness for a company. Most people prefer companies that are honest and open about their relations with their problems. How have seen in the media with the Dan Rather case, a blog can illuminate the truth through the promotion of people to sharewhat they know.

Blogging is also reflected in forward thinking. With his stay with the current technological trends, give your company a fresh image.

A blog can be used as recruiting method. Interested job seekers can check the company by reading his blog.

When considering a new product or service, is a blog, a great place to get detailed instructions or to provide feedback.

Although comments may be negative. Not everyone will agree with what is said in a blog. Insteadpreventing them, welcome the constructive criticism and editing comments only worldliness and personal attacks removed.

The Down Side

There are some disadvantages to blogging. There is no magic solution to your business needs. Many people feel that blogging popularity is much like the Internet in the 90s, a promise of money, but not necessarily delivery.

Blogging can lead to legal questions. The companies have serious concerns about liability, exclusions andRestrictions and compensation. Although there are laws that have suffered protect against libel, misappropriations and other injuries as a result of posts on the Web, companies can be held vicariously liable for the harm to other statements made by employees.
In any medium in which a worker is the exchange of information is the possibility of leaking trade secrets or financial information. Former Google employee Mark Jen was famous for chat about life in the society to be firedpersonal blog, not sanctioned by Google.

Like all essentially unfiltered communication, blogs get personal. Many bloggers have had the need to discuss her personal life and their professional reasons. Companies must be careful not to communicate by personal life out of the choke job. Thus, they risk the closure of the lines of communication altogether.

Inevitably, a disgruntled employee can talk about this as an opportunity to the company badly. This isnot limited to blogs, since an unhappy employee has a variety of media through which to air his disapproval. Blogs just make it easy.
The content may not have enough substance to warrant or hold an audience. Some companies fill their blog with marketing fluff. You can see right through this and will most likely ignore the site. Blogs are used for transparency, not shameless self-promotion.

Best Practices

Fine Print. There isso many legal issues surrounding blogs, it is essential that the website has some sort of disclaimer and limitation of liability.

Know What You're Doing. Board would take the corporate communications and legal department about what are blogs and how they influence each activity to be educated.

Create blogging policies. A company should have a list of actions in relation to blogging, to ensure that trade secrets are kept secret and personalLife are not public. Policy can also hold out the financial information that is sent, as well as serious consequences for all, with the blog for negative headlines.

Avoid the Marketing Blog. Your blog into a blatant marketing campaign is a bad idea. Customers are looking for real answers and honest opinions. They will pick up on insincerity instantly.

Keep It Fresh bodies. Relevant content and the right time. Update the blog as often aspossible with the most worthwhile news. This encourages people to come back.

Strengthen the company's core values. Then, make sure that the content fits these values and supports the business strategy.

To encourage employees to use it, but they recall the consequences of their actions.

Free versus Paid Products

When creating a blog, there are hundreds of services and software from which to choose. The first decisionmake is whether it is to go with a free service or pay.

With varying fee-based services, the costs used depending on the features. The basic hosting fee for a domain is anywhere from $ 5 to $ 15 per month. The domain name must be registered annually, which cost $ 5 to $ 35. This does not apply to software that must also be purchased.

While offering free service for the basic needs of blogging, paid services in general, more than to have them moreoffer.

With a free service that offers companies a free website, but it may contain advertising for the cost of maintenance, balanced. A place paid ads.

Most free services a variety of templates to choose from for the look of the website to choose, but paid services offer highly customizable design.

Besides the basic functions of paid blogs offer the ability to upload photos and images, and customized links on the site. They also offer more security and allowthe creator of censorship or control of the comments. Paid sites normally lead to a higher ranking in search engines. They allow the creator to configure search output and there are fewer restrictions placed on paid sites.

Paid news aggregators often a list of recently updated blogs and will rank new sites and newly added shows photo albums.

For a simple blog to do a free service, but a truly individual and well-functioning product, it will pay for somethingnot.

RSS Feeds

With the increasing popularity of blogs, it becomes increasingly time-consuming to maintain track of customers that are of interest. Nobody has time to verify any favorite blog every day to search for new content. RSS feeds have the solution.

RSS feeds are small XML files that contain published a headline, date / time and description, and link to information on a blog. When combined with a feed reader or news aggregator used, they give aUpdate to the latest content to a blog site has added a subscriber.

RSS was developed in several versions, each with a different meaning. You will find RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication, Rich Site Summary or RDF Site Summary, depending on the model used. All versions have the same problem, though. They provide a summary of information. Send to a blog highlights, the participants immediately after publication. RSS feeds save the user no longer go to the pageCheck for Updates.

RSS feed to receive, a user must have a feed reader, also commonly known as a news aggregator. This can be with the software, built a Web-based service, extension, or in a browser. He takes essentially the XML code and translates them into readable information. When the "Update" button at the feed reader is clicked, it searches all pages of subscribed RSS "feed for new information.

With an RSS feed, however, significantly increased the traffic to a blog site, because itprovides an easy way to an audience on the latest developments in this regard. Once someone is a participant, he will continue to be involved in the site. RSS also makes it easier for someone to add a website as a link on their own site.

Blogging in itself promotes communication and the transfer of ideas. Blogging, companies can expand their reach and strengthen customer loyalty, and the people about their product. It is a question of perception, encouraging integrity andStrengthening of relations in the business world. Blogging has become the hallmark of our thinking companies willing to suffer a few bites to get to the benefits it has to offer.