There has been a lot of news lately here in Austin created by John Mackey the CEO of Whole Foods. It began with open attacks on his blog against the FTC who it appears is trying to block the Whole Foods acquisition of Wild Oats. Things quickly went down hill when it was discovered that Mackey has posted comments anonymous comments about both Whole Foods and Wild Oats on public message boards.

 

At a time when I'm constantly talking with folks who are thinking about starting their own business or company blogs this can't be encouraging news. However, I think it only serves to reemphasize the points I've made all along about what you should and shouldn't blog about.

 

I love blogs because they tend to have a much more personal feel to their writing. More personality comes through due to the more informal nature of the medium. But, there's a fine line between being personal and real and making inappropriate comments that are instantly public. These days it's not just blogs. If you're in any type of high level position ANYTHING you put in writing could become public in the future. Too few people think about that reality when they send an everyday e-mail. It's just too easy to forward that e-mail.

 

Think before you write! Whether it's your own blog, and e-mail or any type of communication it's important to think it through. My general rule is to not write anything I wouldn't want my mother to see. (I found out recently that she actually reads my blog so it's a good thing I've always followed this rule) Also consider the worst case scenario. If I were to write something disparaging about one of my colleagues and they were to read what I wrote what would happen? It's too easy for this to happen, so it's probably best not to write it in the first place.

 

Blogs, e-mail and online forums are all incredible ways to communicate. We shouldn't stop using them because we're afraid of them. We just need to use some common sense and be respectful (even if we think we're anonymous).

 

Happy Networking!

 

Scott Ingram