Companies may not effectively respond to issues happening in the world of blogging for several reasons: they may not be aware that blogs exist, or they might be aware of blogs but discount their importance. Kryptonite Locks is a bit of a unique story in that the company was aware that blogs existed, but it simply chose not to respond to bloggers for a variety of reasons. In 2004, Kryptonite, maker of top-selling locks, suffered at the hands of a blog. A blogger discovered that it was possible to pick a Kryptonite lock with nothing more than a standard Bic pen.

After the blogger blogged about it, the issue was quickly picked up by Engadget (www.engadget.com), a popular gadget and geek blog with a reader base of more than a quarter million readers a day (see the article at www.engadget.com ). The conversation about the issue quickly spun out of control. Worst of all, Kryptonite had no idea what was going on until it was too late. In short order, The New York Times and the Associated Press had picked up the story and there was no turning back for Kryptonite. Kryptonite’s business was hit with a class-action lawsuit (www.kryptonitesettlement.com/), and the company engaged in a massive lock exchange program (www.kryptonitelock .com/inetisscripts/abtinetis.exe/templateform@public?tn= product_exchange_faq), which will likely cost it an arm and a leg. The question for us isn’t whether or not Kryptonite’s locks were easily compromised; instead, the question is, “How would this situation have looked if Kryptonite had responded in less than an hour, on the blogger’s original blog, on Engadget, and on its own (if it had one) blog?” Kryptonite’s crisis-management team was completely unprepared for the realities of the new blogosphere, where one blogger can identify an issue with the product, talk about it, and tell more than 20 million people about it in less than a week.

Kryptonite’s representatives said that they were more than aware of the furor happening in the blogosphere, but they were too busy responding to customer e-mails, sorting out the lock exchange program, and figuring out what exactly was wrong with the locks to respond. It’s difficult to blame a company for decisions made during a time of crisis after all, making difficult decisions is part of being in crisis mode. While your company is, realistically, unlikely to encounter an issue of this magnitude, the ability to nip issues in the bud within minutes or hours is a powerful motivator for tracking what the blogosphere is doing or saying. If all you do with blogs is listen to what is happening and respond appropriately, you have already gone a long way toward establishing a successful blogging strategy.

WRAPPING IT UP

Leveraging the power of blogging for your company involves more than just reading blogs, tracking blogs, and writing a few posts here and there. The first part of this article covered the foundational aspects of blogging: what it is and where it came from, the conversation and why it’s so important, and the power of blogs for your business. Next, we’ll cover how to get started with blogging in your business, including examples of two Fortune 500 companies who are truly innovating in the blogging space Disney and General Motors and we’ll look at the best ways your company can use blogs both externally and internally. This isn’t to say that this article will provide a comprehensive list of every possible way you could or should use your blogs. At the end of the day, you know your company better than I ever will. However, these next articles will provide core principles for successful blogging, the mindset required to implement blogging successfully, as well as all kinds of ideas. I encourage you to do something different. Yes, each of these examples has worked for companies in the past, and they may well work for you. But don’t do the same thing everyone else does. Figure out what is best for your company and chase after that even, and especially, if it’s new, exciting, and scary. You won’t regret it.

HOW YOUR COMPANY CAN USE BLOGS

“Make sense now?” June asked. She had explained everything in her typically thorough and occasionally patronizing manner, as though she were dealing with a child. “I get it,” Arnold said. “We could use a blog to engage our customers in a conversation. Plus, we could pick their brains for ideas for new business.” “Well, if you want to put it that way,” June harrumphed. Arnold leaned back in his chair. “After all, how well do we know this town? All those new developments along the interstate who lives there?” “Just remember, Arn, that this is a conversation we have to give them something of value.” Arnold leaned forward in his chair. “I bet there are pizza shops, schools, gas stations, all sorts of places that need signs up there. They don’t know what they’re missing. That 20-foot banner we did for Bratz Daycare they told me their business is up 30 percent.” June responded, “Yeah. Those are the kinds of stories that would be great for the blog. We could provide ideas for them on how to improve their business with some serious signage. How inexpensive signs can be and how color makes a big difference in grabbing those people driving by. We could let them know what works and what doesn’t work.” “What doesn’t work? Why would we want to tell them that?” Arnold asked. “And all this story-telling… wouldn’t this be giving away some of our business intelligence?” Once June stopped laughing about his “business intelligence” comment, the pair sat down to hammer out some rules for their blog.

Part 2 of “Blog,” a short story by Joe Flood N ow that you know the blogging basics, it’s time you figured out exactly how your company can use blogs and what those uses will mean for your business. This part of the article provides the hands-on, rubber-meets-the-road, chicken-hits-the-skillet kind of information I’m sure you’re champing at the bit to know. As I mentioned early on, a blog is really a tool meant to achieve an end and, as such, it is meant to support you, your business, and your business’s goals and assets. Having a blog without a goal is a lot like walking a penguin through Central Park sure, it’s interesting, but it probably isn’t helping anybody. And as with any brand new tool, you need to figure out how to use a blog. In the next few articles, you’ll see how you can use blogging by including some creative and innovative tactics employed by companies both large and small to leverage blogs for their own strategic well-being. The only thing limiting your use of blogs is your ability to dream up new ways to use them.