Corporate Blogging Revisited

I’ve had some extra time to digest what Tim Bray had to say about corporate blogging. Since then, Robert Scoble also checked in with an opinion. While these two don’t agree on everything, one thing is spot on – start by listening.

So, I began this journey back in June to get Sabre into corporate blogging because I believe that for a company to be long term successful, they need to “part of the conversation”. And, in order to be part of that conversation, I had to find out what was being said. So, I use PubSub, Feedster, and Technorati to see where Sabre checks in as part of the conversation.

I listen for Sabre, Travelocity, and Sabre’s competitors Worldspan, Galileo, and Amadeus on PubSub. I usually get 30 to 45 hits per day and the conversation about Sabre is non-existent (unless I mention it in my blog). Galileo matches the astronomer, Amadeus the composer, and nothing is said of Worldspan. While there’s not a lot of chatter about the four GDS’, matches for Travelocity are mostly generic as it relates to travel web site. Occasionally, I’ll pick up on a customer service issue which I pass along to the Travelocity customer care team. Blind calls from Travelocity to people to resolve issues also sometimes become part of a feel good blog post. Those are goodness and contribution to the conversation. Looking back, I think I’ve had a four customer service issues – in the grand scheme, that’s not much.

In Feedster, the first mention of Sabre, the GDS, is on page 1 and it was a blog post I did on corporate blogging.

The first mention of Sabre, the GDS, in Technorati was on page 1 and it was a blog post I did on getting recognized.

Actually, both made me smile. Page 1, can’t let that go to my head – I digress, sorry.

So, it’s not a huge leap to come to the conclusion that I’m having a conversation with myself.

Back to what Tim had to say, it’s pretty obvious that for corporate/enterprise blogging to be successful, it really needs to be done with an outward view. Not sure we’re ready for that but I’m up for the challenge.

Any suggestions?