Can Corporate Bloggers “Fit In” With A Community of Real People?

I was recently invited (via Twitter) to participate in a MIMA Summit blog carnival by discussing one of three questions. Of course this is a blatant attempt at viral marketing, not unlike what I did when I coined the term "searchbaiting" and blogged about it.

The question I selected was posed: “Corporate Blogger: Angel Or Demon? Is It Possible To Both Speak The Voice Of The Organization And Also “Fit In” With A Community of Real People?” I might add that this was posted in ALL CAPS – poor blog form, MIMA we can do better.

I put this question to Jill Serbousek. She is the Vice President of Business and Marketing Strategy for Medtronic's Spinal and Biologics Division. She also runs what I think is the first corporate medical device blog I know of, InsideSpine.com . She is an employee of Medtronic and a spinal patient. She underwent spinal surgery herself for repair of a herniated disc.

OK, OK, the ability to comment on InsideSpine is disabled, but for a good reason. Medtronic is in a heavily regulated industry and by necessity needs to stay on the correct side of the FDA. A free exchange of comments could be interpreted as a violation under certain circumstances.

Jill agreed that it is possible for a corporate blogger to fit in with a community of real people. “However, taking the high road is critical. And, keeping postings within compliance with our rules is [very] critical.”

The blogging community can be fairly hard on corporate bloggers. Jill shared that other blog sites link to InsideSpine for the content. She tries hard to keep it real, keep it educational, and stay focused on the topic.