Finally, understand the mechanics and know your tools

Part of being a better blogger isn't just about posting the right content, but working the Web and understanding the blogging ecosystem. Make sure you get the right URL and pick a catchy blog name. Promote your blog on Technorati and make use of RSS feeds with services such as FeedBurner so that others can find your blog. Mention the blog's URL in various corporate publications, in your e-mail signature and in discussions with other bloggers. Look to see who is linking to your posts and what they are saying. Most blogging tools have a "trackback" feature that reports on this automatically. Have links to your blog or blogs on your corporate home page to drive traffic to them.

Above all, don't reinvent the wheel and be tempted to write your own blogging software. There are too many great products already out there. "[Don't] even think of building the blogging platform yourselves. It's a waste of time and money. Use open-source software like WordPress.org or license Movable Type and customize it to your heart's content," said Debbie Weil, author of the forthcoming The Corporate Blogging Book: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know to Get It Right and a fellow of the Society for New Communications Research. She also likes content management systems that have blog templates, such as Lotus Domino, and licensing software from Sun Microsystems Inc., SocialText and iUpload.

Steve Nelson, executive vice president and co-founder of Clear Ink, an Internet marketing and professional services firm, said writing blogs made him better informed and and gives him a stake in creating cyberspace mind share. "If you have specific expertise or interests that you track, your [blog] posts and commentary on that subject become available to those who don't track that topic closely." And correspondingly, your own decisions become better informed as well.

You can read more of these comments on our blog here: http://www.computerworld.com/blogs/node/2517