RSS feeds and Corporate Blogging Book

I read an interesting article on RSS feeds. Most people don't use them and most people don't know what they are. Sounds a bit like blogs in some senses.

Did you know when you subscribe to my blog, you are using an RSS reader? And it si so easy, you don't even have to know anything. And if you have not done it yet, do it now. Just enter your email address in the box lower down on the right here.

I read a great book on the weekend called the, "Corporate Blogging Book" by Debbie Weil. The subtitle is, "Absolutely everything you need to know to get it right." Debbie is one of the pioneers of corporate blogging. She is not only an advocate but she explains the pros and cons of corporate blogs.

A section from the book:

"Blogs are a key enabler of this new way of talking with customers, employees, the media and other constituencies. Packaged, filtered, controlled conversation are out. Open, two-way, less-than-perfect communications with your customers and employees are in." "Listen, learn, debate, be willing to change, admit mistakes, be equals, with your children, be fair to others with whom you have an adversarial relationship. Acting like a dictator will get you nowhere."

She has top 20 questions about corporate blogging and in one of those she talks about the three most important things to know before starting blogging. One of her points is savvy bloggers read other blogs. My advice is the simplest way to do this is to subscribe to them. See instructions above. (One of my goals is to get over 1,000 people subscribing to my blog in the next three months, so please do it for me.)

One concept that she talks about is citizen journalist and citizen media. Blogs are a new media and it is run by the citizens.

"The word PR will be gone; the word blog will be gone. Your employees will be your ad agency and your customers will be your back-up ad agency"

by blogger Halley Suitt.

The book also has good examples of blogging policies.