Problem #1: The Person That Should Blog Can't
As I said in a previous posting, I think it's interesting to discuss why blogging in a corporate environment could be hard or problematic - and what to do about it if you want your organization to blog anyway. I have 7 or 8 potential problems on my list, and here's the first one.
Problem #1: The person that should blog can't
Blogging requires some skills, most of all writing skills. And let's face it, not everyone can write. Or have the time or ideas enough to do it. To blog you also need to know the more or less unwritten rules of the blogosphere. It's unnecessary, and possibly counterproductive, to get a reputation of "the one that never gives credit" and so on.
And there is of course a technical side to blogging as well. The exact minute I'm writing this (it's true) CNN is reporting about blogs, saying "everyone can do it just 3 clicks" and showing the Blogger front page. Well, not really. Not for your company. You'd want to understand what a feed is, what directories to be listed in, how to (if at all) work with Trackback and other features, and many things like that.
So, what to do if the person you have in mind - the one that should blog given the results you want - can't write, has never read a blog and hardly can remember his Windows password?
Training: It's not rocket science. Most people can be taught to write quite well and there's plenty of bloggers/consultants out there who easily, in just a few hours, could tell you all you need to know to start blogging.
Get technical assistance: If you're organization is big enough there will be someone who knows the technical aspects of blogging, or can find out. If not you can buy the help you need. Even if you start from scratch it'll only cost you a fraction of your latest intranet project...
Use a Ghost Writer: This could be controversial. Many bloggers would say that a ghost writer is plain wrong. But all communication professionals knows that ghost writing is everyday work. How many high-level managers writes their own presentations, customer letters or staff magazine editorials? A good writer can use the voice and tone of another person. Certainly blog postings might be harder to ghost write and require more trust between the parties, but it can be done. The thoughts, ideas and opinions would still be the official blogger's.
Audioblog: For some purposes you could just skip the writing part. Give your blogger a phone number and some basic instructions (don't talk more than X minutes etc) and you're off. Many people are far better at talking than writing, and most have 10 minutes in a taxi or at an airport when they're not really doing anything - and could audioblog. I think this is interesting especially for internal blogs. See Audioblog.com and Audioblogger.com for more information.
Start an editorial board: So far I have assumed that the would-be blogger has things to say often enough. This doesn't have to be the case. Your company must have things to say, though, otherwise a blog isn't for you.
To support the blogger one option is to start an informal editorial group - three or four persons that keeps an eye on blogs, sites and magazines and gives the blogger relevant input.
Groupblog: Does it really have to be just one person? As long as the most profiled person (the most well-known of you, the boss, the professor, the head of strategy...) is part of the blogging group others could post as well. It's not hard to see situations where that not only would work, but would be a better alternative if your purpose in any way has to do with the branding of your company.