The corporate blogger needs to be ever mindful that their entries are not perceived to be “clog”. Take a look at another entry by a skeptic of corporate blogging: BogeyLounge’s Blog or Clog.

You may have caught’s Brian’s post regarding the new “souped up” version of Technorati. I have always assumed that Google would buy Technorati, and today I got a hint that I might be on to something.

Almost a year ago I starting using a service from Google called Google Alerts (Beta). Google Alerts are email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) based on your choice of query or topic. The service is STILL in Beta as I get alerts on news items from 2002 sometimes. Today I got something very interesting and very different – a link to a Technorati Tag relevant to my alert. Previously I created RSS feeds to my Newsreader from Technorati Tags that interested me, but now I have another option – Tags to Email. Not sure how valuable the email is as it does not really tell me if there a new items tagged since my last query as my RSS feed does… But it is interesting they are including it now.

The beta version of the updated Technorati service looks very promising. (Technorati is one of the top tools you should be using to track mentions of your company, products and people in the blogosphere. As of today, they claim to track 11.3 million sites and over 1 billion links.) In addition to faster performance, the new version aggregates related Flickr and Buzznet posts right alongside current blog mentions. Very Web 2.0.

The Dallas Morning News reported today that EDS has launched a corporate blog www.eds.com/blogs.

According to the story the site’s authors are EDS Fellows, the company’s top experts in industry and technology. Fellow Jeff Wacker is leading the effort. A core group of six or seven fellows will be posting on the site on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

TopazPartners blogged on another blog by Dana Blankenhorn regarding rules for corporate blogging. He agreed with Dana on everything but one point:

“1) Have an outsider do it. An insider has better things to do and they’re too close to the story.”

Topaz suggests that it is important to have an insider write to get the depth necessary to create interest. We recommend both. Clearly it difficult for an outsider to completely understand the various issues that would create valuable and interesting entries. If you can afford a managed blogging service you can have the best of both worlds – the day to day entries/content that readers demand and periodic, but indepth, entries from company insiders. So we agree with Topaz and Dana…

James Cherkoff has an overview piece on blog listening as an ideal way for companies to monitor what’s really going on in the field, before issues break into the press.

A snippet:

“While consumer power is not a new thing, the passion that the blogging community creates and the speed at which communities build definitely is. The design fault which led to Kryptonite’s problems was a long-standing one which it had been quietly dealing with on an individual basis. It only became a problem when a video demonstrating the fault was posted on a blog. As a result, corporations in the US have started to pay attention to how relations with these online groups of highly motivated, super switched-on consumers can be best handled.”

[via Cherkoff's blog, Modern Marketing]

…that many blog readers are skeptical or even concerned about the “businessification of blogs”? Read Max at Eleven to understand one such point of view.

Several of us are headed to Las Vegas in July to play in the WSOP (World Series of Poker) Main Event, but in the meantime there are more than 30 other events at the WSOP. Phil Gordon took a DAT recorder to WSOP and started recording his play at the table, observations of the event and interviews with players and celebrities. I took the podcast feed to my iPod and have listened each day in the car. It is very interesting.

Now for most of you it might be a little boring to hear about poker, but consider doing something similar for your marketing or sales staff the next time you are at a trade show or conference. You can make your team members who could not make it feel like part of the team. Also, consider Podcasting your next sales kick off – prospect and customers might get a kick out of some of the features. Just a thought.

Podcast: 1. Your next sales meeting (for those who could not make it, or those hard-chargers who love to hear you talk). 2. Your next sales presentation (for prospects who won’t meet with you). 3. Your next production marketing meeting (to give the sales people an inside look at what is going on). 4. Your next fight with your wife (just kidding).

David Hornik, at VentureBlog, picks up the VC pitching by podcast idea and is taking mp3 elevator pitches as well. Tag them at del.icio.us with ventureblogpitch or hornikpitch or augustpitch.

We don’t get the Sydney Morning Herald, but evidently Scoble does. The piece is on corporate blogging and quotes Scoble:

“It’s seems like a really simple thing, but in this jaded age a lot of businesses have lost that human edge. Blogging may be what gets it back.”