Blogs have become a standard communication method across the web. To this day, a few friends of mine are starting their own online presence and testing the waters. Blogging has been long associated as a personal activity, a way for one person to connect with friends, family and colleagues. However, over the last few months, business entities have started to realize the potential a company blog can offer.

A company blog can offer another level of communication with customers or vendors, one that can provide a more intimate level with company insiders. The value of a corporate blog also comes with some risks, but these risks can be mitigated with education and a clear policy for employees involved in blogging for the company. It has been interesting to see more companies engange in blogs and the natural progression they have taken. A progression driven by the experimentation by each company to find the proper balance of communication.

To look even further into the role that blogs are playing within a company, Backbone Media, Inc conducted a survey with 518 corporate bloggers. The results are not too surprising if you are familiar with the environment, however, they can be an eye opener for those executives who like to control all communication channels, specially those where customers/users are part of.

Corporate Blogging Survey 2005

With all of the buzz around corporate blogging, we wanted to understand the real value of it for companies. Why would a company want to start blogging, who should blog, what makes a blog successful, and how can a company use this type of website to make a positive impact on business?