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The number one reason business owners name for holding off on blogging is fear...
...fear of a wildly out-of-control public waking up everyday with one thing in mind: to post filthy rotten lies on your blog about you, your company, your products and occasionally, your beloved pet retriever. I mean that's what a blog is all about right?
I could go on for a few paragraphs about how this sentiment developed, but I'll instead get to the point. If your business publishes a blog you are entirely in charge of the content on that blog. Most blogs do indeed have tools that allow for interaction, but you get to set the rules. You can determine who can comment, what they can say, when they can say it, and whether they can say it at all.
You get to write your own content or assign a trusted employee to write it. In some ways a blog is just a more powerful form of the communication vehicles you have used to date - it's just another marketing tool - proper use is a matter of common sense.
There is a well-worn riff in the blogging world that says for a blog to be real the conversation must be naked and authentic. For a business blog, I can buy authentic, but naked, no, this is your blog, your business. If you allow comments on your blog, you should moderate them. If someone says something down right ignorant (yes, some people have too much time on their hands) you have no obligation to publish that comment.
Does that mean you should delete anything that could be interpreted as negative? No way. Shut that kind of feedback off and you will never get better. One of the great things about blogs is that when your readers see that they can have a conversation with your organization they won't mind that you are fully clothed when you do it.
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Comments
Hi John:
There are a lot of good reasons for moderating comments (anti-spam plugin, identity verification, etc.). Filtering out "ignorant" comments isn't one of them, IMHO.
My blog isn't a business blog, but I allow everything that isn't posted by a robot or spammer to be posted to the blog, no matter how ugly or "ignorant." I've found that there's a lot to learn from people who might hold unpopular perceptions, or who might have incorrect facts. I think that's part of the conversation - vetting the ideas and letting the most creative and factually sound ones rise to the top.
In many ways, this is self-correcting, but I'd hesitate to recommend to clients that they delete comments that they might subjectively label as ignorant. Other commenters might not necessarily agree. When they compare notes and find out that a particular commenters opinions have been 'censored' without comment, it can cause damage to the blogger's credibility. Regardless of your intentions, if you're not transparent about why comments aren't making it to your blog, expect some backlash.
My $0.02.
-TFH
Posted by: Tom Hespos | 05.23.06
John I'm going to agree with Tom here. I understand the point you were trying to make, that small business owners have no reason to fear blogs, but the suggestion to 'censor' comments based on content is heading down a very slippery slope. One thing you learn quickly when blogging is that you MUST be thick-skinned. And let's be honest, some people simply can't stand criticism or anyone disagreeing with them. These people are the ones that will likely go too far and delete too many comments, thus alienating their readers, and ultimately do more harm than good on their blog.
I think simply blocking anonymous commenters will remove most of the problem. But if you are going to blog, you simply have to be able to handle a certain amount of criticism and disagreement from your customers, because it's going to happen early, and often. Those who can't do this, may hurt their business more than help it by blogging.
BTW welcome aboard!
Posted by: Mack Collier | 05.23.06
As a personal blogger, I agree - I moderate but don't delete because it's my blog and I choose to do so.
But, as a business blog - the writer may need to have thick skin but the brand does not and that's far more important than the appearance of filtering.
I can argue and I think we would all agree that in reality there is little to fear when blogging, but business owners need some assurance that they CAN be in control - what they choose to do once they have that control is up to them.
Posted by: John Jantsch | 05.24.06
"I can argue and I think we would all agree that in reality there is little to fear when blogging, but business owners need some assurance that they CAN be in control - what they choose to do once they have that control is up to them."
Exactly. I think that's the middle ground, make sure they realize that they can allow or disallow any comment they choose, but if they go too far, there could be a backlash from their readers.
Posted by: Mack Collier | 05.24.06
Your idea for policing the comments on the blog is good for so many reasons. It not only provides opportunity to block comments deemed ignorant (including spam), it can be good risk management. For example, a post or comment in a forum may reveal private information of a third party, creating opportunity for an invasion of privacy claim. Or a third party may sue for defamation claiming a post was a malicious lie or was defamatory in another way. The federal Communications Decency Act can provide protection in some contexts. But even then, it may need to be raised as a defense in a court case.
Companies using blogs to create an open dialogue with clients are taking advantage of an excellent marketing tool. But there are other tools that may need to accompany the blog, such as reviewing the posts before publishing them online and developing: user rules defining appropriate and inappropriate posting behavior, privacy policies, Terms of Service and Terms of Use agreements and copyright ownership details.
Posted by: Marcia Sutton | 05.24.06
But, as a business blog - the writer may need to have thick skin but the brand does not and that's far more important than the appearance of filtering.
I disagree intensely. If the brand can't take it, the folks behind it shouldn't be blogging. Blogging is all about the marketplace of ideas and taking the bad with the good. The good companies and good corporate bloggers will distinguish themselves from those who are faking it by how well they respond to negative criticism.
The trend lately is for companies to install a blog CMS, post their press releases and filter out the bad comments so they can keep things "on message." Good luck with that one. In such cases, the "blog" isn't really a blog at all. It's a PR machine incapable of furthering any real dialogue.
I'm not saying folks need to let comments come through unfiltered (how would you get rid of blog spam?) but blogging isn't about hand-picking the shiny, happy comments for display purposes. It's about conversation and meaningful dialogue. Sometimes, that dialogue includes things that are not so pleasant.
-TFH
Posted by: Tom Hespos | 05.24.06
One of my Fortune 500 clients was terrified when some negative comments appeared on the blog I created as part of a marketing campaign.
They made the wise decision to allow the posts, and the community evened out the conflict. People who were clearly hostile were labeled so by other commenters.
I find the idea of editing "ignorant" comments unappealing. And I agree that filtering out anonymous comments solves most of the problems.
Posted by: B.L. Ochman | 05.26.06
Eric Kintz of HP talks about the experiences of Vichy, a skincare company that's part of the L’Oreal Group. According to Eric, Vichy launched a blog for the introduction of a new anti-aging product as part of an integrated marketing campaign, but they were tarred and feathered by bloggers for presenting a fake character and filtering comments. Vichy ultimately wisened up, and developed a far more authentic blog that was more useful for everyone: bloggers...certainly, but more importantly customers and (ultimately) L'Oreal.
Eric points to Shel Israel's write up of the fall and subsequent rise of Vichy here:
http://redcouch.typepad.com/weblog/2005/06/case_study_the_.html
Posted by: Ann Handley | 05.26.06