Are Your Lawyers Blogging Yet?

Does your firm permit or prohibit lawyers and staff to
blog?

IBM’s unofficial "blogger
in chief," Christopher
Barger,
condenses the
benefits of blogging as follows:

“This is a way to get our expertise out there, not by shoving it down people’s throats, but by just starting conversations.”

What’s the context?  While other companies have fired employees
for blogging, IBM encourages it. Employee blogs—available outside
the firewall—lend humanity and personality to the otherwise-monolithic
IBM, and help the firm’s marketing and branding efforts.
Says a branding consultant:

“The broadcast model of a centralized voice saying this is our one voice out to the world isn’t realistic anymore.”

Isn’t the risk that people will "leave the reservation,"
becoming totally unbuttoned and unglued?  Well, do they act that
way in the office, at their desks or in meetings?  Why should you
assume a personality transplant comes with a keyboard and a blog platform
on-screen?  (My wife reliably reports she sees no such effect with
yours truly.)

Better yet, give employees guidelines:  IBM’s were
developed collaboratively, using an internal wiki, in all of ten days.   Arcane
they are not:

• Try to add value; correct your mistakes; don’t pick fights.
• Respect copyright.
• Identify yourself truthfully.
• Take responsibility for what you say.
• Don’t reveal trade secrets or mention customers without their permission.
• &c.

None of this should come as a surprise.  Lawyers
are nothing if not information junkies (near the top of all professions
in their use
of Google); given that, how much longer does it make sense for your
firm to attempt to bottle up the conversation? 

Be bold; share your expertise; have the nerve to start a conversation.