Should corporate bloggers go "internal only?"
Todd Biske asks a good question about corporate blogging: how do you build sufficient trust to allow for corporate blogging?
It's a good read. Working for a technology company that is very large allows me a level of freedom not seen by my typical peer. It is one reason I love working for Microsoft. Innovation has a place here.
Not every Enterprise Architect can write a blog. As an EA, I know a lot about company policy, strategy, and direction. I tell none of that to folks outside the company. On the other hand, most of the other folks who know the same information do not have a blog: Directors, General Managers, etc. In most companies, having someone know what I know, and still trusting them not to spill the beans in a blog, requires a level of trust that would be difficult to reconcile. Microsoft has trusted me and I take that trust seriously.
On the other hand, it is useful to be very open about Enterprise Architecture in general. I want to improve the craft of Enterprise Architecture through sharing and discussing good ideas. I want to nudge our industry in particular directions through tools, techniques, and good ideas. I can do a lot of that through working with my friends and collegues inside the amazing Microsoft machine. On the other hand, I find it valuable to water down the Microsoft kool-aid by taking advice, sharing ideas, and being generally collaborative with folks who work on other platforms and share other concerns.
It's a fine line. Many companies are not comfortable allowing their practitioners to walk it. I can do nothing about that except to provide a counterpoint: EAs can be trusted to share without screwing up. I hope it helps.