There are quite a number of Exony bloggers and on average a new one starts each week. This is great for the bloggers and great for the company but I've noticed that the first couple of articles usually contain content thats a little too "open". As we don't yet have a corporate blogging policy I would suggest that new bloggers bear the following points in mind:
- Anything that's on the internet is public and the correct Google search can find what you've written in a second.
- Don't talk about new features until they are announced publicly. Even Microsoft bloggers are completely silent until a formal announcement has been made - we didn't hear about Visual Studio Team System until the Tech-Ed announcement, nor did we hear about the Express Editions until Tech-Ed Europe.
- Strategy and road-maps are best left to the marketing team.
- Once a feature is out in the open (e.g. press release) blogging about it is probably good publicity but be aware that your words can be twisted by unscrupulous people. Write carefully.
- Prospective customers might use your blog to decide on a purchase. If you write badly with spelling mistakes and poor content then they are likely to assume the whole company is run the same way.
- Exony is valued on it's IPR. Don't give it away.
- You are running a community - your readers. Treat them with respect.
- Full text feeds please. I don't generally read anything that can't be downloaded to my aggregator and read off-line.
- Linking is good. What better way to show us what you're reading? It brings relevant content together and provides a better picture.
- If in doubt, I'll be happy to take a look at your draft before you post it.
For additional guidelines, I recommend the Sun Policy on Public Discourse.