That doesn't mean that you have to post every comment that you receive, and you should be careful when dealing with people who will drag you into controversial areas.

"If you are transparent and the negativity is unwarranted, your readers will stand up for you, too. If you deserve the criticism, or [if] it is a misunderstanding, you will have a chance to clear it up," said Kami Huyse, principal at My PR Pro in San Antonio, who writes the Communications Overtones blog.

Craft your corporate blogging policy now

Some companies don't have any policies and let their employees post what and when they want. Others have more formal procedures, such as not posting about future financial performance for publicly traded companies. If you have a policy, make sure it covers both what is posted on the company-owned blog as well as what your staff posts across the Internet. Any potential blogger should "ask what is acceptable and stick with that. Don't violate any laws or standards," Huyse said. "Your employees are probably already blogging or participating in social networking sites like MySpace at a personal level. So if you are concerned about that, you should have a clear policy that spells out what will be tolerated."

Part of crafting the right policy is feeling out your boss on blogging, and getting his or her approval before creating that first post. And think about your future bosses as well. Meryl K. Evans, who is a blogger and professional writer and editor, asked: "When you go on that job interview, do you want the interviewee to have read the [blog] entry?"