Corporate Blogging Redux

Since I started doing this back in October, the experience has been fantastic – on both a personal and professional level.

I thought I’d take this post to step back a bit, describe the journey, and answer a few questions I’m continually asked.

So how did all this start?

A couple of things came together at the same time.

First, EMC’s thinking and strategy had evolved to the next level (e.g. information infrastructure, information strategies, being an informationist, etc.) and we thought some sort of blog would be cool to get the ideas out there, and engage people in a dialog.

Second, we saw other corporate blogs out there, and I felt we could do a better job in terms of tone, content, intellectual depth, etc.  You can be the judge as to whether we have been successful in that regard.

Third, it just sounded like plain fun.  And I never turn away from something that sounds fun.

Do you write all your own material?

Yes, I do.  There’s nobody behind the curtain.  Occasionally, someone will “guest blog” for me, but I clearly acknowledge the source.

That being said, I think I’m sitting pretty close to nirvana as far as having a good perspective to write things about.  Not only do I get a great panoramic lens on EMC, but I get a great cross-section on the industry, customers, etc. 

I feel fortunate in that regard.

Do you have to have someone review what you say?

Not really. 

I have to use good judgment, of course, and part of that good judgment means showing things to other people if there might be a potential issue. 

So far, no real blow-ups, which is good.  And no formal review process, which is also good.

Hope I can keep it up!

How popular is the blog?

Surprisingly so.  I’m tracking at a rate of about 15,000 hits a month.  Hard to sift through backwards to unique page views, filtering out crawlers, etc.  I had no idea it’d be so popular.

I have a few distinct audiences I seem to be reaching.

Of course, there are many EMC people who are regular readers.  And there are more than a few journalists these days who turn to blogs to help them do their job.

One pleasant surprise is that I’m meeting more and more customers who’ve read the material and want to discuss. 

Wow.  It’s a lot better interaction when we’ve laid the groundwork; we can use our time to discuss specifics rather than concepts.

I also seem to be at the periphery of other on-line communities that talk about VMware, grid, SOA, information management, and so on. 

And, of course, when I started criticizing NetApp, I got a fair amount of traffic from inside NetApp on that.  No direct response on that one, yet.

However, Dave Hitz did take exception with my comments on iSCSI, which ended up launching a very lively debate throughout the storage tech blogosphere, which was kind of fun to watch.

I had no idea I was stirring up such a hornet's nest.

Your writing style is different – where did you get it?

People have told me I write like I speak.  I don’t know whether that’s a good thing or not. 

It’s a long story about how I came to my speaking style (the thousands of presentations I’ve done, etc.) so I’ll spare you.

If nothing else, it’s authentic, and that’s good.  I’m not trying to be something I’m not.

You’re a pretty vociferous EMC fan, why aren’t you more unbiased?

Sorry, folks, that would mean that I’m trying to be something I’m not. 

I work for EMC.  I think the company is doing a bunch of wonderful things.

I don’t mind calling EMC out in public when we’ve made a bad call, but that’s about it.

Why do you keep beating up on NetApp?

Because they’re trying to be something they’re not, and it can hurt customers. 

I believe that a significant component of their marketing strategy is based on misdirection. 

I think when customers end up with bad outcomes based on vendor misdirection, that’s wrong.

I think they should be playing to their strengths, not their weaknesses.  They've got plenty of strengths.  I wish they stop trying to be something they're not.  It hurts customers.

Interestingly enough, Dave Hitz’s recent blog entry talks about “honesty” as a core company value. 

I agree with him on the necessity.   I just hope someone in NetApp marketing gets the memo.

How do you handle comments?

The intelligent and thoughtful ones I post, and try and add commentary.

The ones that aren’t of a broad interest, I try and respond via a personal email, if they’ve left a valid address. 

The mindless assaults on my intelligence, ethics, genealogy, etc. I just delete.

What has been your biggest surprise so far?

The role that search engines play in people finding things online. 

Almost all of my new readers come in through one search engine or another.  In retrospect, that’s obvious, but the degree was a surprise.  Write about good stuff, and you'll find your audience sooner or later.

Maybe I should be writing more about Britney Spears or Paris Hilton, or maybe VMware.

Who is your management hero?

My current management hero is Cesar Milan, the star of the cable show “Dog Whisperer” where he shows you how easy it is to take care of rowdy dogs if you think like a dog.

Don’t laugh, I’m very serious. 

Watch the show, and see how much of what he does applies to the real world and working within corporations.  I've learned more watching that show than in all the "management training seminars" put together.

You’d be surprised how far “calm, assertive energy” can take you.

What happens from here?

First, we’re trying to get more EMC thought leaders to join the party.  Yes, it’s work, but the rewards far outweigh the investment, IMHO.

Second, I’d like to expand the scope of the site.  I’d like to have forums some day, and a search capability as I’m building up a pretty big repository of content.

Third, I hope I can keep the pace up.  Given that this is not my day job, sometimes other things have to come first.

But I’m going to try.

Comments

[Tracey Reuck]

I just wanted to give you some feedback that your blog was something I stumbled across a couple months ago and I liked it so much that I added to my RSS reader. Your insight into EMC and the entire industry is "right on". You provide a much needed perspective on the bigger picture and the evolving EMC. Thanks!

[Jeff Paul internet Business Ideas]

After using his products I wonder why he’s being called the bad guy. If he was one then he wouldn’t share his secrets with the open public. His products are the result of his hard work and dedication.