Just announced this morning:
CORPORATE BLOGGERS LAUNCH THE “BLOG COUNCIL” ORGANIZATION
Top Executives from 12 Global Brands Form Private Community to Develop Best Practices, Measurement, and Idea-Sharing
CHICAGO, December 6, 2007 — The Blog Council, a professional community of top global brands dedicated to promoting best practices in corporate blogging, officially launched today. Founding members include the leading companies from a diverse range of business sectors: AccuQuote, Cisco Systems, The Coca-Cola Company, Dell, Gemstar-TV Guide, General Motors, Kaiser Permanente, Microsoft, Nokia, SAP, and Wells Fargo.
The Blog Council exists as a forum for executives to meet one another in a private, vendor-free environment and share tactics, offer advice based on past experience, and develop standards-based best practices as a model for other corporate blogs.
The CEO of the organization is Andy Sernovitz; Founder and President Emeritus, of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association. Andy literally wrote the book on Word of Mouth Marketing and has his own blog Damn I wish I’d have Thought of That.
This is a very good development for corporate bloggers, the companies they work for and the blogosphere in general. Corporate bloggers do have their own unique issues to deal with and do need a “vendor free” environment to discuss them. This will undoubtedly raise awareness in other large companies who haven’t yet figured out the blogosphere or fail to take it seriously. As for the blogosphere in general the formation of a group like adds another stamp of credibility that corporations, advertisers and the MSM will take note of.
Here is wishing the Blog Council many years of success.
**Update**
Several folks have posted opinions on this now. Techmeme is tracking the conversation here, here and here. Lionel Menchaca explains why Dell is involved:
It’s also not about control. For me at least, that has been decided—companies don’t control the message, customers do. I hope that Dell (and other companies in the council that have made the leap into digital media) can work together to move companies past the false notion that we are still in control. I’ve talked to folks from other large companies and that reality scares the heck out of them.
later he says:
Good corporate blogs force companies to look at things from a customer’s point of view. That’s why I want more large corporations to blog, and I want them to do it the right way.
That is exactly the kind of attitude corporations need to succeed in today’s new media world.
Duncan Riley doesn’t care much for the name but is willing to give the group a chance.
My friend Dave Taylor is much less optimistic:
My translation: “we’re all clueless, but don’t want anyone to realize just how unplugged our organizations have become from the world of “marketing 2.0″, so we created a club so our ignorance can be shielded from public eyes.” Alright, that’s probably a bit harsh, I admit, but having helped organize the terrific Blogworld Expo last month in Las Vegas, why weren’t these companies there?
ahhhem; Dave a couple of them were. Namely SAP, Cisco, and Microsoft.
More opinions, advice, and consternation at Read/WriteWeb, Mashable, and Scobleizer.
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