Blog Fight
The best reason to blog is probably to spread peace and harmony around the world, but it’s also true that a blog can be a pretty handy weapon in a fight.
The Guardian’s Newsblog has a good account of how the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and its unions are both using blogs to slog it out during an industrial dispute.
It’s easy to see why every trade union should have a blog. Blogs are great for promoting causes and getting people involved.
Most business bloggers will take a more cautious approach, and will be wary of getting into an online scrap with anybody. There are a few pugilists among the business community. Stelios Haji-Ioannou promoted easyJet with a series of fights against BA and Barclays Bank. He could have done with a blog in the early days. Perhaps he could do with one now…
One strategy is to use a proxy to do your fighting. Microsoft’s leading blogger is Robert Scoble. He’s a lightening conductor who takes a lot of flack on his blog. He also annoys others. He doesn’t seem to relish a fight, but he puts up a good one all the same. Scoble works for Microsoft, but he’s also seen as being at one remove from it. He doesn’t quite speak for the company, but mostly for himself. This gives him licence.
Perhaps every company should have a Scobleizer.
