If your company, or any of its employees, is blogging, then you better have some rules. A blogging policy is a must.

Here are some tips to consider when establishing a blogging policy:

  • No anonymous post must have the authors name with a link to their email
  • A statement expressing that the blog and its contents are the views and opinions of the author only and not necessarily those of the employer
  • Corporate confidentiality and privacy policies must be adhered to with links to each contained in the blog footer
  • Each employee should have the prior consent of their immediate manager for maintaining a blog
  • Mutual respect for the company, its customers, and employees is critical and should be reflective in all writings
  • Potty language is a no-no; develop a style guide or sheet outlining the tone or feel a blog should adhere to (e.g. professional, corporate, conversational, avoiding jargon, etc.) 

Here’s a list of some blogging policies found and compiled by Forrester’s Charlene Li (see Blogging policy examples):

Charlene also offers this “Sample Blogger Code Of Ethics” that could be incorporated into a blog policy:

  • I will tell the truth.
  • I will write deliberately and with accuracy.
  • I will acknowledge and correct mistakes promptly.
  • I will preserve the original post, using notations to show where I have made changes so as to maintain the integrity of my publishing.
  • I will never delete a post.
  • I will not delete comments unless they are spam or off-topic.
  • I will reply to emails and comments when appropriate, and do so promptly.
  • I will strive for high quality with every post – including basic spellchecking.
  • I will stay on topic.
  • I will disagree with other opinions respectfully.
  • I will link to online references and original source materials directly.
  • I will disclose conflicts of interest.
  • I will keep private issues and topics private, since discussing private issues would jeopardize my personal and work relationships.

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I’m off to Chicago to address the annual Ragan Web Content Management Conference tomorrow morning on the subject of “Measuring the Value of Web 2.0”… and then off to Paris for client work. I'll have further insights on both tomorrow and over the weekend.

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