Raven's Roads
Living an interesting life: the travels and musings
of motorcycling author Linda R. Moore

Aug 23, 2007

Three books about blogging: Part 2–The Corporate Blogging Book by Debbie Weil

Filed in Reviews

I got this book with a view to learning about using my blog as a vehicle for selling copies of A Little Twist of Texas. I was also interested in learning about opportunities to blog for hire, and the like–i.e. writing for a living.

This book didn’t quite fit the bill, but it was well worth the read and helped me to focus a little better on what I really needed to be doing, i.e. producing a blog worth reading. ;) What could otherwise have been a very dry topic was made palatable by the author’s informal style and sense of humor. Just like the Blog Wild! book, it starts with an introductory Q&A about blogging, and what it’s all about. Then it moves on to the nitty-gritty of corporate blogging.

Covered in some depth are how to persuade one’s boss to let you blog, what use a blog can be, and how to make blogging for companies “safer”–i.e. by setting a specific blogging policy. The author makes the point that almost always it’s just a case of having some common sense. It also suggests that a company worried about employees blogging should set a policy with guidelines like, “Do not mention the company by its name.” There are some sample corporate blogging policies in the appendix.

Topics covered include the evolution of corporate blogs, and the mechanics of blogging (how to handle a corporate blog, find the right blogger, etc.) There are suggestions for ways to include the public in one’s blog (the whole point, really), how to gauge a blog’s success, and how to get involved in some of the “sister” technology such as wikis and podcasting.

I learned from this book that Raven’s Roads is not a corporate blog in that sense but more of a showcase for my creative writing efforts. There was a great deal of very useful information and I learned from the author’s words. I would say that it’s worth reading for anyone who is serious about making their website sell a specific product or idea, or anyone who would like to peek at the world of corporate blogging, especially if they want to become the company’s blogger. It is also rather more up to date (2006) than the other books I read, which is always a plus in the blogosphere. ;)

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2 Comments, Comment or Ping

Debbie Weil (1 comments.)

Linda,

Thanks for the great write-up of my book!

Aug 23rd, 2007
Linda R. Moore

Oh, you’re most welcome! And I think it’s awesome that you stopped by, too–I’m honoured. :)

Aug 23rd, 2007