Corporate bloggers criticizing their employer on their blog - a catch22?
Joseph Jaffe has some interesting thoughts on corporate bloggers who openly criticize their employer, like Robert Scoble constantly does with his employer Microsoft. You might think that the employer crosses a line. The problem for the employer is however that (quoting Joseph Jaffe) "any overt action by the employer (other than actually addressing the issue) is likely to be a PR-minefield". Which sounds like a catch-22 for the employer. However, you can also look at it as a a PR-opportunity:
The bottom line is that it is an opportunity waiting to be capitalized. No less. At the very minimum, it gives the company in question the chance to explain itself
A lucky guess: we'll be seeing some tactictal PR-games on this issue: Blogger will criticize his employer. Employer responds in a very friendly way. Employer gets the street credibility. Employer and blogger have a good meal with the PR-agency aftwards. Links: Jaffe Juice: Blogging the hand that feeds you.
Comments
Agree with you on PR-tactical games...there will also be a few planned executions that get found out, and then all hell will break loose... :)
Hey Joseph, great to have you on the blog. And Yes! Nothing like a good collective execution of a PR-complot. It leads to great stories and then, at some point, Forbes will write a new column about those dangerous fascist bloggers and thén hell will truly break loose ;-)
Anyhow, luckily: nothing smells as fake as a fake blog. I'm looking for the first PR-agency that fools me with a fake CEO blog, full of Engrish or typo-mistakes, full of amateur angry fruit salad design and other smart cover-ups, to make it really really look real. At that point i'd might say: ok it's fake, but so wrong it actually feels good :)