De-bunking the Blogging Work Dilemma

Fred Wilson yesterday wrote a great post ‘Do You Ever Do Any Real Work?’  He makes some great points about how blogging can create real value for the organization you are a part of.  Not only is it free PR but it brings discussion to the forefront and often brings the social media community, many who could argue are the market-makers of our industry, into the conversation.  Just see his points about the traction the discussion around Union Square’s latest investment Boxee that has taken place since his last post.  Now, of course, there are only a handful of Fred Wilson’s out there.  Those whose blogging weight carries a really high value.  But like with everything else, there is a long tail and I personally think there value to the corporation you are part of, if you blog and of course, your blog topic is in some way related to your comany or your job function’s topic.

I love posts like Fred’s because it continues to de-bunk the theory that you are being unproductive is you blog, the hypothesis that you are cutting into work time, hurting the company image, etc.  The conversation still takes place. In fact, I had this conversation with several teammates at SnagAJob just this week.  I remember when I first started blogging, I read a tip that went something like this: “be sure to blog in non-work hours, set your publish time outside of work hours too to dismiss any notion of impropriety”.  I’ve heard less of it lately but it is still there.

It all comes with respect and balance.  Respect your company.  Respect your co-workers.  Understand that your writing affects both your personal and company brand no matter how many disclaimers you put up.  And also have your priorities balanced so that you aren’t missing your obligations and deadlines.  The more bloggers and social media professionals out there, the more the blogging work dilemma will be de-bunked.