In the News
Thought leadership online can be tricky, but essential for gaining respect and mind share
August 12, 2008 • BtoB Magazine • By Brian Muys
A true thought leader has to have thoughts. In their haste to embrace the new media vogue, many companies have made the fundamental mistake of initiating a blog merely for the sake of doing so or, worse, as a thinly veiled veneer for marketing purposes. Credibility is king in the blogosphere, and this large community tends to turn a sharply critical and unforgiving eye on those posters it deems overly self-serving.
Executive blogs often are a platform to discuss issues affecting an industry, and it’s critical for anyone seeking to gain mind share with the media, analysts, customers or other key stakeholders to share creative, if not provocative, ideas. While the blogosphere by design encourages healthy discourse in such cases, it’s important that the author be buffered from the inevitable spammers and, worse, those whose violently contrarian opinion may overstep the minimum necessary bounds of decorum.