Policies on Corporate Blogging

There is a need to have specific guidelines when employees are blogging about the company, its products and the work they do with the company.  Even if blogs are considered venues for free expression, there are still responsibilities that have to be taken into consideration especially if it is a matter of company reputation and credibility.  A certain code of ethics would benefit and protect everyone so that blogging continues to be a positive activity is spite of sometimes having critical contents.

Views expressed on personal blogs of employees do not necessarily represent the views of the employer.  Respecting company confidentiality and proprietary information should never be forgotten.  Employees are better-off asking their managers if they are not sure of the appropriateness of including certain information in the blog.  The value of a blog can be determined by the amount of respects it accords the company, employees, customers, partners and even competitors.  It is likewise important that blogging activities do not interfere with work commitments.

There are four principles that form the core of today’s corporate blogging rules – being personally responsible, abiding of existing rules, keeping secrets and being nice.  Bloggers are highly encouraged to be relevant and write about what they know, since to do otherwise would not serve a worthwhile purpose.  Employers should acknowledge that employee blogs are inevitable and realize that a common purpose may be achieved when cooperation is considered an option.