Is Blogging Good for Corporate Responsibility?

I am often asked why I take the time to blog. Overall I believe that blogging makes a positive contribution to corporate responsibility.

In large organizations the individual connection between the employee and the stakeholders can be lost. The internet is thought of as an equalizer for small voices to have an equal voice to larger ones. But the internet also has the capacity to serve as the personalizer, allowing executives in large organizations to share their views and be more connected as individuals with their stakeholders.

Here are some examples of executive blogs and communities that I find impressive:

· Melanie Holmes, VP of World of Work Solution, Manpower North America blogs about topics including gender gaps, giving back to the community and diversity.

· Bank of America and MIT collaborate together in this blog, which highlights executives’ views on a range of topics, including corporate social responsibility.

· Sun provides a portal for its employees’ blogs, including this one on CSR from Marcy Scott Lynn.

· Tom Glocer, CEO of Thomson Reuters, blogs about work at Thomson Reuters, as well as wider issues such as technology, information publishing and globalization

By simply supporting any type of blogging these companies give a key message on the importance and acceptance of differing viewpoints. Blogging provides a strong foundation for individual accountability and contributes towards continually improving corporate responsibility.

But with blogging comes responsibility. The fast cycle of the blogosphere begs us to provide quick responses to issues that may well justify a more considered response. And the media influenced drive to get noticed incents us to be extreme in our views. Don’t fall into this mode. I try not to.

My approach to blogging is contrarian. The internet allows for immediacy, but it doesn’t mean we have to use it. The proliferation of media requires controversy to draw an audience, but it can be resisted.

Corporate bloggers, CSR or otherwise, should take a different tack. Rather than for reporting on today’s conference as soon as you return to your hotel room, blogs can be a tool for sharing ideas, drawing responses and developing considered views over a longer time period. A drive for quality not quantity will enable blogging to be a force for good in corporate responsibility.