Did you hear about the flack Dell got when it delayed responding to negative posts and getting some information up to the blog—such as the battery recall for their "burning" laptops?   How about MacDonalds’ having taken heat for not clearing negative comments to its Open for Discussion blog  responding to crticism for including a HumVee toy as a Happy Meal item, part of a promotion with Hummer maker GM. Comments appeared a day later.

Shel Holtz brings up an often overlooked point about corporate blogs - if comments are not responded to quickly a company’s blog could wind up doing more harm than good.

"It’s easy to see why corporations wouldn’t want to dedicate a full salary, benefits, and other associated costs to an employee who will do nothing but blog. (Although it’s not unheard of, either, as in the case of Stonyfield Farms.) But when a business is unable to respond quickly enough to meet the minimum requirements that have emerged as a standard for responding in the blogosphere, the company’s blog could wind up doing more harm than good.

Shel then mentions something I have not heard said before - at least not like this:- if your corporate blog is not watched on the hour (for comments - to answer them) you might find the blog becomes part of the  problem instead of a solution.

"For those who are counseling their companies and clients to blog, it’s important to explain the commitment as well as the rationale. If the organization isn’t willing to make that commitment, an alternative means of ensuring comments are addressed effectively are not available, it’s probably better to hold off on blogging until the organization grasps the benefits in terms of the expense of time and resources. It’s just not worth it having high-profile bloggers lambaste you for censorship when you really just haven’t had the time to get to it. "