Business Blog Wire

Folks, I just mentioned the great employee blogger policy at Hill and Knowlton’s corporate blogging community website.  I can’t let today pass without mentioning another exemplary business blog policy: that of Sun Microsystems, Inc.  This is another big business that seems to understand what safe and enjoyable work blogging is all about.  Some highlights:

• Sun encourages its employees to blog!  Don’t make blogging sound scary to your employees; tell ‘em how fun and rewarding (not to mention lucrative) it can become!  Not only that, but Sun doesn’t demand to read each worker’s every post before allowing it to enter public cyberspace.  This lets each employee feel comfortable and confident in posting appropriately about his or her work for Sun.
• Obviously, Sun warns the blogging employee not to divulge company secrets.  This has always been good business practice and a way to avoid serious financial and legal problems.  Also, note the recommendation to err on the safe side of the fence and refrain from posting about something that could potentially compromise corporate integrity.
• Sun says, don’t assume that a simple disclaimer will shield you from liability if you say something on your blog that gets the company in trouble.  Some work bloggers think it’s okay to say whatever they want as long as there’s a blurb somewhere on their blog to the effect that "no language on this blog should be interpreted as official company statments."
• … And more special goodies that you’ll just need to read Sun’s full blogging policy to find out about. 

Note: I’m not saying you should copy Sun’s blogging policies verbatim.  Don’t!  But please, do study them and consider what ingredients you should mix into your own special corporate blogging salsa.  I hope this post helps some business blogger out there feel more confident about his or her company’s employee blogging rules.

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