Blogging on the Benefits of Blogs

Last week, two bloggers sounded off, go figure, on the benefits of blogs. Nancy E. Schwartz, author of the Getting Attention blog, in light of an article she referenced on how blogs have helped MIT communicate about the recent departure of its dean of admissions, discussed the benefits of blogs in times of crisis. Sean Stannard-Stockton, author of the Tactical Philanthropy blog who was among a handful of bloggers recently invited by the Council on Foundations to cover its conference, presented his viewpoint on the role of the blogger.

See their comments below:

“Consider launching staff blogs (by staff members who are most public facing — or should be), member-to-member, donor-to donor, volunteer-to-volunteer or a mix thereof blogs for your organization, before it’s crisis time. Then you’re good to go with a strong channel if/when a crisis arises and you need to get the word out quickly.”

— April 30: “MIT Admissions Staff Bloggers Respond to Dean of Admissions Scandal -- No Better Crisis Communications,” Nancy E. Schwartz’ Getting Attention blog (www.gettingattention.org/my_weblog)

“To me, the best kind of blogging is informed, opinionated, personal and conversational — not just in tone, but in actually being part of a larger community of diverse opinions. The worst kind of blogging is ill-informed soapboxing. Political blogs have both types of bloggers. I hope that the philanthropy community can cultivate an online culture that revolves around my first set of standards. I think we’re on the way there.”

— April 30: “Philanthropy & Blogs,” Sean Stannard-Stockton’s Tactical Philanthropy blog (www.tacticalphilanthropy.com)