Corporate Blog Tip #6

A good blog is a conversation, not a one-way PR channel. Get over the fact that you won't have control. Instead, embrace the extension. If you don't have comments your corporate blog will be seen as a PR channel and will be far less likely to be paid attention to.

Comments

[orcmid]

Hey, it was Geek Saturday Night and Scoble is writing on/from The Red Couch. Cool.

I think there is more here. The two-wayness is contageous and it may have a serious tipping point, sort of like demand pull (site feeds with full content, for example).

I notice that, over the last year, I no longer tolerate the "ick" of turning in bug reports that receive late, lame, or no responses. If the state of software is that users are relied upon for QA, then there has to be an active, visible recipient. I'll blog or webpost the report and at least then other users get to know my experience, and I'll tell the vendor when I have the time.

I use this to illustrate that I am looking for some sort of relationship and acknowledgment. I can give good and bad examples of the situation at Microsoft (it is a big enough place where the whole range is visible). The bad examples are the form pages that take suggestions/comments/experiences and it is not clear they go anywhere (and I am not even left with my own copy for follow-up). Or there is an automated response that assigns some sort of contact number and a vague promise for follow-up (Blogger.com's version of this was actually rude, but that has improved since Google has been at the helm.) Then there's the response that the item has been forwarded to someone and that promised follow-up doesn't happen (I am guilty of having done that too, so these kinds of promises require serious and careful management and tracking, in my experience.) And then there is the lame response that the customer will see as either clueless or a kiss-off. My best example of that is my complaint to Starbucks when they switched to plastic foil prepackaged beans and I wanted the paper packages back because they can't be recycled but they do biodegrade. The response was all about how they wanted to provide a great flavor experience and they didn't address my environmental concern at all. I cashed the coupon for a free beverage, but now I get all of my beans at Safeway because they still provide paper bags for beans I grind there myself. And the French Roast is pretty good.

So I guess these are examples of how not to provide a two-way or one-way deal, but here is what worked. The wiki for MSN Search works way better than any other feedback mechanism. I actually got my problems solved and I also found confirmation that a problem I had was indeed an unspoken limitation (forgetting that Outlook 2000 really has two versions, and MSN Search only works with the one I can't use) and that the limitation wasn't going away. That was very useful. (I am now on Outlook 2003 and it all works just dandy, thanks.) Similarly, the Microsoft security guys at the security mail-to point are awesome and I got clear help in identifying what was actually a known threat, along with guidance about where to get more info from non-Microsoft sources. [Again, in contrast, I have never found a way to let either Google or MSN know of a security problem with *their* site or with an impersonating phish. Some banks and especially the anti-phishing consortia don't provide much feedback or even acknowledgment about the phishes they ask to see!]

OK, what is this all about. I think it is all about relationships and the customer wanting demonstration that it is a two-way deal. I also think that the theme here, allowing comments to a corporate blog, is going to set the bar for corporate communication generally. And window-dressing won't work. So the corporate organization needs to be really clear who the customers are for them and how they are going to respect the communications from customers before they open their yaps at all. And I think those who don't open their yaps, in any commerce based on distant trust relaitonships, will indeed die. Heh. [;<).

[Steven Streight aka Vaspers the Grate]

There are some famous, pioneering, authoritative, popular blogs that do not enable users to post comments. You know exactly to whom I am refering.

But, I agree that all blogs should enable comments. I have argued this point many times, and the only arguments against comments are either:

(1.) comment volume would be too huge, server couldn't handle it, nobody would want to read 673 comments on each post (yet look at Slashdot).

or

(2.) comment spam is a huge problem and I can't afford the time to manually remove it, nor the software to prevent or delete it.

I think both objections are ridiculous, but I may not understand everything. Yet from my research into comment spam, there are many ways to deal with it.

I remove any blog from my blogroll if it consistently gets loaded with comment spam, and the spam sits there for days or weeks at a time. I'm talking about two or three spam comments. Why does the idiot blogger not go in there and manually delete this potentially hazardous junk? Big pet peeve of mine.

"Too many comments" also seems silly. GM FastLane Blog, Slashdot, many blogs get hundreds of comments, and if you are a proficient web user, you know how to Power Skim.

[WILL TAYLOR]

i think what your doing with this website is excellent but i know the editor is having an affair with my wife who has three breasts and she hAS had a sex change to a MAN so watch out because im gona get you signed

WILL TAYLOR

[Mikey the west ham man]

IM going to get you back will taylor

[,]

we have reported the editors disloyal behaviour on this disturbing website so therefore we are taking legal action, and tracking down the designer and editor of this website.
we will also be tracking down will taylor FROM PERRANPORTH, TREGUNDY and mikey the west ham fan, no one becAUSE I HATE WEST HAM,no two because they are performing illegal stuff and theres evidence.
#ONLY JOKING
I LOVE THIS WEBSITE

[Steven Streight aka Vaspers the Grate]

Comment spam above. Kill the scum.

[Will taylor]

Now listen up STEVEN straight, no 1 i am not a scum and no 2 my dads in charge of a warfare state.

[Mikey the west ham man]

Steven streight is a HOMO

[Steven Streight aka Vaspers the Grate]

Like I said: COMMENT SPAM, or ABUSIVE COMMENT, or maybe just not very intelligent.

I am a veteran of more blogo-combat than you ever dreamed of. You want a piece of me chump? Ha!

[Russian bride]

i think what your doing with this website is excellent but i know the editor is having an affair with my wife who has three breasts and she hAS had a sex change to a MAN so watch out because im gona get you signed

[Steven Streight aka Vaspers the Grate]

Comment spam zombies. Eat your neighbor's vomit and shriek blue midnight rubola.

[Brauer]

See this guide to integrating comments more effectively into your corporate blog.

[Steven Streight aka Vaspers the Grate]

First instance of trackback spam I've seen on this site. You may feel free to delete this comment once you've cleaned the trackback spam.

don't let comment spam or trackback spam damage the credibility of a good blog.

:^)

[Marcus]

Crazy comments

http://www.remove-spyware-from-computer.com

[dave]

http://www.benchmarksd.com

http://www.benchmarksd.com/printing.html

http://www.benchmarksd.com/color_copies.html

[Steven Streight aka Vaspers the Grate]

...and the vomit comment spam keeps piling up.

[Steven Streight aka Vaspers the Grate]

knock knock

Is anybody home here?

Is anybody deleting comment spam here?

Is this blog deterioring in value due to malicious, spyware attaching comment spam?

hello?

Hello?

What's going on at this blog?????

[steven streight aka vaspers the grate]

Lovely.

[HomeL]

Thank you for this nice site!

[gavan]

Spam is a killer and a waste of time for the author of the blog ,I spend half my time trying to get rid of spam.

[Andrew Hillman]

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[Vikas Agarwal]

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[Smartie]

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[Andrew Hillman]

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[Hillman, Andrew 29]

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