Conversational Agoraphobia: What\’s Holding Business Blogs Back?

In a recent private conversation, a well-known blogger and I were discussing the problems that can arise when the people in charge of a business blog are too focused on maintaining a sense of total control.

My colleague expressed a Zen-like principle. To paraphrase, his point was: “Credibility comes by releasing control over the conversation, because you gain credibility when you listen, and when you speak authentically.”

This, of course, runs completely opposite to prevailing corporate culture which often mistakes “credibility” for authority or power.

The problem is, if you significantly control or constrain a public conversation (beyond filtering out spammers, of course), you’re demonstrating power and you may even gain a certain amount of authority. However, you’ll only lose credibility in the process…

(Read the full article at The Right Conversation…)