Questions about Staffing Blogs
At the Kennedy Conference on Tuesday, there were some questions about out community building efforts, most specifically about blogging. I'll recap a few of them here (not nearly as funny as the Apprentice, sorry), and then open it up for anyone who has additional questions. If you are new to blogging, just hit the button at the bottom of this post to add a comment and ask your question.
Some of the questions that were asked at the event:
How long do you spend on blogging?
***about a half hour a day. A good part of that is reading blogs. You need to read others' blogs and link to create your blogging network. Also, a lot of the posts are just links to things other people posted on. You don't need original prose every time ; )
How do you know what's OK to blog about?
***you have to use common sense. We don't have blogging regulations but we do have guidelines, which are basically "don't say anything stupid". We hire smart people here and are trusted to use your judgment. I've never had anyone from PR question what I have here. Bill Gates told us to do it, so that definitely makes it comfortable.
Other questions? About anything related to community building or blogging or staffing at Microsoft?
Comments
- Anonymous
May 12, 2005
How long do you spend on blogging?
***about 30 mins to an hour a day. I agree with you, most of that time is spent reading blogs, posting comments and developing a 'network.'
How do you know what's OK to blog about?
***definitely use common sense and remember any NDAs (non-disclosure agreement) that you might have signed. When in doubt, don't blog about it. I like the way you state the company policy though. :) - Anonymous
May 12, 2005
The comment has been removed - Anonymous
May 12, 2005
Scott-I was paraphrasing. It was a longer discussion than what I put here and the net is that it has a lot to do with corporate culture. I don't think that companies will change their culture so people will blog. So I explained that blogging isn't appropriate for all companies. I definnitely didn't go into the discussion feeling like all of the recruiters there would be allowed to blog. Regardless, the recruiters want to know about it. - Anonymous
May 12, 2005
Quick question. You mentioned it takes you about :30 minutes reading blogs every day. What RSS reader do you use and what are your top 5 blogs within marketing. Blogrolls don't specify priority, and as a marketer, I'm wondering which blogs you gain the most from... - Anonymous
May 13, 2005
Chris-I use bloglines because I like to read blogs outside of outlook. It dumps an icon in your systems tray or you can just log onto the site with a password and manage your blogs.
If you would prefer to read blogs inside Outlook, Newsgator is the probably the most popular. It adds a folder to Outlook and pulls new blog posts in there.
I guess I prefer bloglines because sometimes it feels like I'm living in my inbox and it's fun to get out a little ; )
You may also want to check out technorati to search for blogs. I think you can create blog lists in there as well, though I have just been using it as a search engine and to track people that are linking to me. - Anonymous
May 14, 2005
Thanks for the advice... - Anonymous
May 19, 2005
How does a staffing/recruiting blog help you to find candidates? - Anonymous
May 19, 2005
Ariel-I'm not using it to find candidates, I'm using it so they can find me ; ) - Anonymous
May 20, 2005
Thanks for getting back to me. Maybe a better question is how do you think a staffing/recruiting blog helps quality candidates to find you? And,what do you think specifically about your blog piques the candidates interest in obtaining employment with Microsoft? Thanks so much! - Anonymous
May 20, 2005
Ariel-they can basically find me using the keywords they are already using in a search engine. For example, key words related to marketing. I'm not specifically only targeting people that are looking right now. I'm making my presence known to those that may be looking in the future so they know exactly who to contact when they initiate a new job search. Also, I think that giving people an opportunity to get to know Microsoft employees can soften our image (they see the people versus the corporate entity) and providing info to people that are currenlty looking helps our candidates do a better job of self selcting and helps them better prepare for interviews. Lots of benefits there!