Over the last two years, blog comments have emerged as an important topic among corporate communicators. The thought of them often deters executives from signing off on an employee blog, internal or external, for fear someone will trash the company or insult fellow employees (ahem, lawsuit).
One failsafe is the elimination of anonymous comments; forcing readers to sign-in and attach their names to comments. The reasoning is that under the “anonymous” guise someone will leave nasty, unconstructive comments. Identifying yourself, the argument goes, will prevent such comments—and perhaps prevent real juicy comments.
Right now on Ragan.com there anonymous comment debate is playing out, although no one is actually talking about it directly. Several articles Ragan has published on the communications aspect of both the Republican and Democratic National Conventions have drawn hundreds of comments.
Most comments are constructive, others not to so much. The majority of the commentators, constructive or not, identify themselves as “anonymous” or else with a first name, nickname or initials. And most of these comments are well-written, thoughtful, mini-articles—if sometimes off topic.
So do anonymous comments advance the conversation, or dampen it?
I think they do; in general people are more candid and therefore more willing to share a workplace story without fear of ramification. The level of discourse is heightened.
That said, there’s some pretty nasty commentary in between, but hey, that’s reality. Would Ragan prevent the angry and deconstructive comments if it made readers identify themselves? It might lessen them, but take a look at the comments to the previous PR Junkie post; among the harshest came from a reader who gave his first and last name.
Of course, the very thought of this kind of free-flowing conversation might scare the pants, or skirts, off your bosses. If that’s the case, check out a free giveaway on this topic—grant it you have to take a five question poll in order to download it—that Ragan and the Toronto-based company PollStream created.
The download is an overview of both the pros and cons of allowing anonymous comments; good stuff to include in a pitch for an employee blog.
The poll is about anonymous comments. So far, it’s drawn over 500 respondents—the most ever for a Ragan/PollStream poll. Find the poll on Ragan.com (it’s called POLL-arized), or on the homepage of MyRagan.
It doesn't, Colin. Here are four reasons why:
1. This story has yet to gain traction. People are talking about it, and...
Comments (3)
Actually, I work in Philly and am a proud Eagles fan. So, you might have meant it as a burn, but I took it as a compliment.
Hey! I'm always up for a lively debate, especially one centered around consumption of the happy juice! I'm not much of a beer drinker, but just pick a place that serves a decent wine beyond the "charming" (cheap) house merlot or chardonnay, and I'd be glad to join you.
Posted by Jon | September 5, 2008 12:14 PM
Posted on September 5, 2008 12:14
You said it, Phil. And I'll cut a deal with you, let me moderate that sit down--and drink--between you and Jon, and I'll make my appeal to the keeper of the Ragan purse.
Posted by Michael Sebastian | September 5, 2008 11:14 AM
Posted on September 5, 2008 11:14
I like free stuff. Including free speech.
Though the debate sometimes gets heated in the comments section, it is always, as Bill-O himself put it, "lively".
To not sway into the murk of politics during convention season is impossible. From a communications standpoint, there is plenty to take note of from the past week. The political tacking by both sides is fascinating.
I suppose I could do a better job of staying on topic and I apologize for calling you an Eagles fan Jon. Calling Jon an Eagles fan was the most effecient way of calling him a hypocrit for blasting folks who live in annual disaster areas.
I don't know Jon and I'm positive we could sit down and laugh over coffee. On second thought, perhaps I've had too much coffee. How bout a beer?
Would Ragan like to sponsor Me and Jon's beer? The only thing sweeter than free speech is a free beer.
Posted by Phil | September 5, 2008 11:06 AM
Posted on September 5, 2008 11:06