Don't be scared
Anil Dash of Six Apart gives us a great article titled "How to keep blogs from scaring the hell out of people." (thanks for the point Steve)
As Dash says: "A lot of folks who are blogging “experts” talk about blogs in a way that scares the hell out of normal business people."
Here are his tips for making the business case for blogs (emphasis is mine):
- Blogs are an established technology, having been around for years and used by everyone from the biggest companies in the world to mom-and-pop shops.
- Blogs work with the other technology you have. They’re not trying to replace email, or the rest of your website, they’re just giving your company a new channel to communicate in.
- A blog can be used anywhere that tools like email and IM are: Inside or outside the company, in one location or around the world.
- There’s no set rules about how to have a blog. You can start small, with a lot of control over content and community, and expand over time — don’t jump in with both feet if you’re not ready.
My take: In most corporate environments, I like the idea of starting small. Perhaps start a blog for your team as a test case. This gives you something tangible when you go to make your case. It also allows you to more easily identify a situation where a blog will be an effective tool.
One area where I take issue with Anil, is in his final point. Even at a small level, if you are looking for "a lot of control over content" you might want to reconsider blogging.
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