Archive for November, 2004

NAM’s blog is demonstrating the role an association blog can play in a public debate. Earlier, Pat Cleary let his opinion be known on a CNN report on manufacturing:

"Did anyone see ‘CNN Presents: Company Town’ last night? Anchored by Aaron Brown and produced by Emily Probst, it was a fairly one-sided and gloomy account of manufacturing and our purported decline. It was actually a strange hour-long program in that it had no voice over, just an occasional black screen with an ominous text message, with more hand-wringing, more crepe-hanging. Amidst the innuendo in this meandering tale, there was some ersatz expert from Harvard, of uncertain portfolio, who spoke in the tone of an undertaker and foretold the end of the middle class. For some reason, no one thought to contact us in the hopes of finding balance (remember balance?) along the way."

Today, he reports that CNN has responded to his message:

"Got a nice e-mail from CNN today concerning the piece posted below … It was actually a very cordial and measured note, saying that ‘presenting a fair and balanced story is tough’, but noting that they strive to do so in all projects they take on … Our problem with the piece was that it ignored the causes of manufacturing job loss, the 22% (non-wage) cost disadvantage we have with our trading partners which drive companies out of business and out of town quicker than anything else …"

I talked to my friend Doug Kurkul over at NAM about their blogging experience and will have some of their comments to share a little later.

What’s the point of having a blog at all if you’re not willing to wade into the deeper waters?

Since blogs were first created, they’ve been used, in some cases, anonymously. Blogs are not only easy to create — they are easy to create in such a way that the author remains completely anonymous. With anonymity, the thinking goes, someone can express opinions without fear of retribution or backlash in their personal life or in their career.

On the political side of the spectrum, one of the most heavily-trafficked blogs is run by Atrios, a Democratic activist with a huge following among supporters of that party. Not only do the blog’s comments draw literally hundreds and hundreds of active debaters, but it demonstrated some real fundraising prowess for candidates during the election.

For a very long time, Atrios was completely anonymous. It became a subject of real debate among bloggers, many of whom claimed that by refusing to reveal himself, Atrios was actually avoiding responsibility for the things that he says. Finally, last fall, Atrios revealed himself to be an economist named Duncan Black.

One of the options to consider in sponsoring or developing blogs is the option of anonymity. For example, you could have a member write an anonymous blog that allows him or her to post controversial opinions to provoke debate without fear of retribution.

The bigger question is: Should you?

I can’t really address this topic without pointing to the anonymous blog within our own midst, that sponsored by the Association Forum of Chicagoland and written by an anonymous association CEO, titled "View from a Corner Office."

I’m of two minds on this issue. First, I can see the value of gaining "real-world insight" from an association CEO’s standpoint, and understand how anonymity would allow that CEO to comment on internal issues with a much greater sense of freedom.

But second — is there a line to be drawn beyond which such anonymity stops being a shield and becomes an enabler? (I’m mixing metaphors. Sue me.)

Case in point: the Mystery CEO’s latest post offers some rather significant criticism of the CAE program, from both herself and a colleague who also remains anonymous. I’m not suggesting that this is not a debate worth having — I think it probably is a debate worth having. But I’m drawn to the same question political bloggers asked about Atrios: "Is the author using anonymity to escape responsibility for her comments?"

It’s one thing to post anonymously to talk freely about challenges (and solutions) faced within an organization and draw parallels for other people to learn from. I think that may be a commendable, if risky, goal (and I’m not saying it’s necessarily a good idea). But it’s another thing to use that same anonymity to provoke debates about serious issues facing the community as a whole without taking responsibility for your own opinions.

Does anonymity cheapen, rather than provoke, the debate? Wouldn’t opinions and comments on a topic like this be taken more seriously if readers knew for sure who was offering them?

I sure don’t have all the answers, but those are my thoughts — and I think associations should think carefully before sponsoring an anonymous blog.

Am I wrong?

Got an email this morning from Shawn Lea, vice president for strategic communications with the Mississippi Hospital Association. She sent me examples of two great blogs sponsored by MHA:

Operation Healthy Vote. This "temporary blog" was tied to the election, and used as part of the association’s grassroots election program. Prior to the November election it pulled together lots of resources and links related to campaigns and policies affecting MHA’s members.

Cover Mississippi. MHA also has an ongoing blog affiliated with another of its projects dedicated to providing coverage to uninsured citizens of the state. There’s a wealth of information here on health insurance research, policy and news.

I talked to Shawn about the blogs and MHA’s implementation of the concept. Here’s what she said in an email:

"I would like to tell you it was strategy, strategy, strategy. But, in reality it was laziness, laziness, laziness. Blogs are FREE. They are very search-engine friendly. And they make my job easier. Before blogs, I would have to post all of that information in an irritating ‘links’ or ‘news’ section that no one would probably read anyway. With a blog, you can give a snippet of the story and send them to the whole link. I created the sites myself so didn’t have the money or time for databases or fancy coding - I used the blogs as a kind of Breaking News section."

One of the best reasons I’ve heard for using blogs! Shawn makes a point of updating the blogs once a day (or did, for the election blog), and is in the process of developing a career-oriented blog for healthcare professionals. (She also keeps an eye on the overall blogosphere, and sent this link to an article she wrote for the association’s members bringing together a list of health-related blogs).

A well-defined blog targeting a specific audience is an easy way to get your message across. What other association blogs are out there? Let me know.

See your house from space.

The ability to comment on posts within a blog is one of the ways that differentiates blogging from other forms of communications. Allowing readers to comment on your posts is a way to build up the "conversation" aspect of a blog. It’s a way of saying, "Here’s what I think … what do you think?"

Dialogue between frequent readers can build up interest in the blog within your constituency, drive readership toward your posts, and perhaps more importantly, enable those within your industry or profession to grapple with (and debate) issues of real importance to your community.

That said, not all blogs allow commenting, and not all are conducive to commenting. If you’re hosting a news-gathering type of blog, with little in the way of actual commentary, then you may not get very many comments even if you make them available. And you may find comment management becomes such a chore that you need to turn it off if the comments themselves are not adding constructively to your dialogue.

What’s comment management? Well, it’s one thing to turn comments on (something pretty much all blog software allows). But you’ll need to keep an eye on it for a number of reasons:

Comment "spam" is prevalent. Spam is not just for emails anymore. Lots of spammers clog blogs with random messages (and links to their websites, natch) with the help of automated systems. You’ll need to watch your comments and learn how to use, and take advantage of, the growing anti-spam tools being built into most blog programs.

You’re not offering free advertising space. You don’t want companies trying to reach your audience to use comment space to advertise their wares any more than you would want them to use listserves for the same reason. Keep an eye on comments so that you can delete blatant ads (and if necessary, block repeat offenders from commenting).

Remember your antitrust guidelines. Associations have special need to be mindful of antitrust law and watch comments that may violate guidelines. (You don’t want a member to post a comment asking about pricing or talking about boycotts, for example.) Set up some brief but friendly guidelines for commenting, and follow them. Try not to scare people away with harsh legal language, though.

The key component of all these thoughts, though, is "watch your comments." You’ll need to monitor comments and stay on top of them on a frequent (at least daily) basis. Most systems can be set up to send you an email when you get a new comment with the contents of the comment for easier management.

Some of you might ask, "What if someone posts a comment detrimental to our membership or (god forbid) complaining about our organization?" Well … regarding that, look for a post to come later tentatively titled "In Praise of Controversy."

And finally, feel free to comment right here! (A few of you already did, but, unfortunately, I lost your thoughts when I changed the commenting system last night. I’m trying to work around some of the limitations of the free Blogger service with some third-party services.) Disagree with me? Have a question? Heck, just click the comments link below and see how easy it is to start a discussion.