blogs.conchango.com

Self promotion?

It's a good question. Surely it's not just to provoke 'lazy designers' or make 'experience' bigger? If either were the case, we could use more clandestine or draconian methods!

No, I think it's because we have points of view that deserve to be aired because they are useful, potentially worthy of debate and hopefully valuable. There is plenty of evidence that these blogs are 'observed' by the outside world and that they influence people's perception and often consideration of the organisation.

Finally, in my limited experience, I've found writing something down really makes me question my own perspectives and opinions - or at least my expression of them!

Your question about waste and efficiency reminded me of the whole 'ban Facebook' debate.

At the end of last year, a lot of companies proudly announced that they were going to ban their employees from using Facebook on the basis that it was wasteful. Press releases were issued and everyone seemed pretty pleased with themselves (except at Allen Overy where - according to legend - the policy caused a mini-riot and had to be reversed).

I still don't understand what they were thinking. Were staff 'wasting time' using Facebook? As JP Rangaswami points out here: http://confusedofcalcutta.com/2007/08/03/more-facebook-musings/; over 20% of Goldman Sachs (not a company traditionally associated with time wasting) was on Facebook as far back as August last year.

Of course, some staff will be using the service 'excessively' (just as some will take excessive breaks, or pull far too many sickies) but most were simply getting back in touch with people they knew and probably changing communications from a less efficient form (such as texting or phoning) to a more efficient one. (http://usin.wordpress.com/2007/09/01/no-but-i-think-my-secretary-does/).

The companies in question are, let's not forget, for the most part, companies that would encourage their staff to 'network'. I would have thought many are also companies that want their staff to pick up the latest ideas.

This question about why employees should be allowed or encouraged to blog is surely the same. Especially in the world that you and I work in, I would say it is pretty wise for our employers to care more about their staff's output than their input. A good three hour day is surely better than a bad seven hour one. And if we can find an insight or an answer using blogs, why should that be any less valuable than doing it with pure intellectual firepower, or finding it in a book?

Can blogging help staff be more productive and more insightful? In my experience it can in many ways. It can on the base level by helping formulate thoughts; a level up by allowing them to be validated (or knocked down) by people both inside and outside the company, and more importantly than that by allowing people to extend and explore networks. Without blogs I would never have read Hugh McLeod, Russell Davies or Richard Huntingdon.

Does that idea that non-colleagues should be able to pump your ideas up seem alien?: absolutely but I see no version of the future where these corporate barriers don't break down considerably. Of course this doesn't extend to proprietary information or staff secrets, but again, if companies have to spell that out to their employees, then I start to wonder: is it the new guidelines or the age-old ones (about responsibility) which need to be 'enforced'.

Does Conchango like bloggers? and if so why? I would say it does, and it does precisely because it enables people to be more productive and insightful - and that it is valuable, whether learning more about consumer, technology (especially SQL Server) or business. The side effects of enabling blogging: of showing potential recruits and customers what we're really like, should be seen as an added bonus.

I'm sure your question was rhetorical (at least in part). It's interesting that I've also never met anyone who understands blogging without actually having tried it. Perhaps that is part of it too.

Thanks, in any case for getting me thinking about (and regurgitating) all this again.