I was a guest speaker earlier today at the March luncheon meeting of the Minnesota Association of Government Communicators (MAGC) in Eagan. The other guest speaker was a Rhetoric professor from the University of Minnesota named Dr. John Logie. We spoke under the subject title of "To Blog, or Not To Blog". Dr. Logie gave an interesting brief history on the origins and current status of weblogs. I followed him with my standard discussion of how I use my blog as a communications tool.
I've given this lecture before, but never with an academic, so that was an interesting twist. Dr. Logie stressed the importance of blogger allowing open comments on their blogs. I don't do that with this blog. Never had. I'm not saying I never will, but there are some issues with allowing anyone the ability to say anything in response to one of my blog posts – and then giving them the ability to post it right on to this sight. That sort of communications environment takes much more time to moderate than I have available, so that's one of the reasons I don't do it like that. If you want to hear more of my thoughts on this subject, check out this link from fellow MAGC event attender Griff Wigley.
This was the first time that I've spoke to a group of communications experts about my blog. I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Professional communications people haven't been very quick to adopt the blog as an institutional communications tool. I think its fair to say that as a profession, institutional communications professionals, are a little suspicious of bloggers outside their organizations and a little fearful that bloggers inside their organizations (like me) might say something bad, wrong or inappropriate in a blog that gets everybody in trouble.
Now I'm not saying that can't happen. It just hasn't happened to me yet. But the same thing could happen in with any communications tool. The blog, as a communications tool, connects with people at a personal level so while it carrys a high risk to offend, it also carries a high return if I can "connect" with a reader.
It was an interesting speaking gig. I'd do it again if they asked me.
