I’ve railed before that it isn’t about blogging. It’s about communicating. Classroom blogging affords a unique opportunity to spend less time teaching writing, and more time teaching communication. That said, this article in BusinessWeek Online caught my attention this morning.
Defense contractors and aerospace companies aren’t known for their openness. After all, this is an industry built on security clearances and classified government projects. But today Boeing Co. (BA ) is embracing a kind of management glasnost that would have been unthinkable a few years ago. The evidence? Boeing’s use of blogs. The Chicago aerospace giant — no stranger to recent and well-publicized ethical and political scandals — is among a small but growing group of large non-tech companies such as Walt Disney (DIS ), General Motors (GM ), and McDonald’s (MCD ) that are embracing the power of blogging. That means Boeing has learned to cede some control and expose itself to stinging criticism in exchange for a potentially more constructive dialogue with the public, customers, and employees. “Companies are nervous about creating external blogs because they fear the negative comments,” says Charlene Li, an analyst at Forrester Research Inc. (FORR ). “But negative comments do exist. A company is better off knowing about them.”
Perhaps it is, a bit, about blogging. If conversation is being harnessed by the corporate world, through blogging, then perhaps it is the “B” word is becoming a basic skill. I don’t know. It’s still about communication.
2¢ Worth!
Writing blogs effectively, and knowing when not to, and learning how to read the blogosphere is already an essential business skill, particularly for those operating across countries or states. Shel Israel and Robert Scoble’s Naked Conversations and, before that, Loic Le Meur’s Les Blogs pour les Pros are both examples of ‘manuals’ for business in this brave new world and both are well worth reading for educators and those trying to effect change.
Is it really about blogging, or is it about effective communication? One of the requirements at our school is “Know how to effectively communicate using e-mail and e-mail programs.” Times have changed. We are simply updating the tool in which we use to communicate. Will it now read “Know how to effectively communicate using a blog and blogging software.” As the next generation starts to work their way into the global workforce, are blogs and the transparency that they can provide within a business going to become standard? Only time will tell.