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“There are two kinds of people in the world,” said Clint Eastwood to Eli Wallach in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. “Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig.” I see two camps in the world of corporate social media and blogging. Either you shoot straight, making the conversation consistently relevant and pragmatic for your audience, or you get your hands dirty. Anywhere in between and you are in the 5th Dimension. Last year, Ford Motor Company went for the latter--and stumbled. FordBoldMoves.com (no longer active) was the carmaker’s noble effort to episodically document its turnaround while facilitating an open web conversation with all comers. The site drew well, the dialogue grew robust and Ford tried for candor--but as respondents began telling Ford to stick various ideas up its tailpipe, out came the editorial detergent. I was on the project, so I know first-hand. Compare that with what is surely a model corporate blog--Jonathan's Blog--from Sun Microsystems' CEO and president Jonathan Schwartz. Just as Sun is all about open source and standards setting in software, Jonathan, a self-described "inveterate communicator," stands for engaging the marketplace and redefining corporate transparency. Yesterday, I wrote about CMOs disconnected from the voice of their customers; Jonathan’s example can light their way. His key ingredients are the quality of his information and the integrity of his voice; this is a permeable, osmotic, aquarian blog. Whether talking about Sun’s recycling initiatives, conversations or industry insights, Jonathan gets it and delivers it without a loaded gun. Keep letting in the sunshine, Jonathan--it's the true bold move.
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