The July/August issue of Law Practice Magazine has a feature section on legal
blogging, including a tour around the blawg world (It’s Not Your Father’s Web Site: Lawyers in the Blogosphere), How to Start Your Own Weblog And Make the Most of It, Between Lawyers Roundtable: The Future of Legal Blogging, Ethics and Lawyer Blogs, and an article is one that journals the process of blogging: Stepping onto the Cutting Edge.
Fast Company provides a guide to Business Blogging for Beginners, suggesting that, in addition to updating frequently, companies should use a personal voice and casual tone to connect with readers, instead of repackaging “marketing speak.”
At the Progress & Freedom Foundation Blog, Ray Gifford looks at the importance of choosing a tone for a blog and the implications that has when the blog represents an organization: The Progress & Freedom Foundation Blog: On blogging…a thumbsucker: “Reckless blogging seems to be a particular hazard of academic-types. I often wonder over the rhetorical tone of PFF’s IPCentral and this blog. I neither want us to descend into the ad hominem ranting that characterizing many tech blogs; nor begin thinking that the partial, immediate reactions on blogs are a substitute for more discursive, scholarly work.”
Of course, setting the tone is crucial for independent, non-affiliated bloggers as well, especially those who are, say, in the job market (not that I would, um, actually know anyone like that…) Tone is critical. It is easy to be glib on a blog, without realizing how that might be read by more serious-minded readers. On the other hand, blogs are generally off the cuff and informal without much, if any, editing or review. Blogs are a way to get quick feedback on– or make a fool of yourself with– thought experiments and quick ideas.
For an organization, it is wise to starting blogging internally, behind a firewall, to understand the value and not worry about disclosing private information. Collecting information for the organization is easier when not worrying about publishing something that the whole internet can read. After getting comfortable with tone and subject matter, then it might make sense to take the blog to the streets. For many workspaces, a private blog may be much more valuable then a public one.
Christopher E. Cobey and Philip L. Gordon from Littler Mendelson suggest that employers develop a blogging policy for how employees treat private and proprietary company information in their personal blogs. Dooces Wild: How Employers Can Survive the New Technological Poker Game of Employee Blogging:
Policies on blogging are particularly important for employers who embrace blogging. Without well-defined policies, the employer could be deemed vicariously liable for the contents of employee blogs. In addition, corporate encouragement of blogs significantly raises the likelihood that the contents of employee blogs will be discussed throughout the workforce, opening the door to the negative repercussions of personal attacks, rumors, and prematurely disclosed corporate decisions.
Cathy Kirkman reports on a panel discussion at the Bloghercon conference about legal tips: “what you can get away with”, with Lauren Gelman and Wendy Seltzer, moderated by Jennifer Collins. The discussion touched on the copyright, employment, defamation and First Amendment law issues raised by blogging.
The Boston University Journal of Science and Technology Law will hold a colloquium on blogging in February 2006, Personal Presses – The Legal Realities Behind the Blogging Revolution. (via Between Lawyers).
Previously: Blogging About Blogging.
