HOME OBSESSIONS - Media/Comm - Writing - Education - Music FAQ HEROES CAREER BLOG - RSS CONTACT This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. arch emisou panton
	Phil's Blogservations Friday, August 26, 2005 Posted by philgomes 11:57 PM The Effects Of Regulation On The Blogosphere The Effects Of Regulation On The Blogosphere I've been yelling for a while now that companies, their employees, and especially agencies need to wake up to the regulatory ramifications of corporate blogging. But, of course, no amount of yelling I could do could possibly match what's going to happen with a gajillion PR pros forward this Reuters article around over the weekend. But lawyers see possible legal pitfalls for companies looking to join the blogging phenomenon. What, for instance, would happen if someone at a publicly traded company unwittingly divulged confidential financial information or a trademark secret on one of these Web diaries? We need to think about this. Hard. Like I wrote a while back (when I was of my since reformed, strongly anti-comment bent): Can you imagine using "But we were just trying to be open and approachable" as your excuse to the SEC when your company's blog postings, comments, and regulatory filings just don't seem to jibe? I hate to harsh your mellow, but that's what could be at stake. Update: Moving from regulation to litigation, the folks at Calblog — in two posts today — have a great set of links to get everyone up-to-speed on the SEObook/TrafficPower lawsuit. | HOME | OBSESSIONS | FAQ | HEROES | CAREER | BLOG | CONTACT Note that the views expressed on this site do not necessarily reflect those of Phil's employer, its business partners, its clients, or anyone or anything that doesn't come from Phil's demented imagination. Hell, to be perfectly honest, even Phil disagrees with what he thinks sometimes. This site has virtually no redeeming qualities whatsoever. Clicking on a link doesn't automatically send a 1/2-cent donation to UNICEF. You can't buy, sell, auction, swap, find a date, win friends, influence people, cross the chasm, or decode the human genome using this site. You won't get free email. You won't win a free video game console. This site will not end world hunger, foster peace in the Middle East, help you smell better, teach you how to swing dance, or move the global economy from petroleum to hydrogen fuels. You'll learn a lot about this site's master, though, which amounts to a haphazard collection of strange and useless facts that pretty much won't help you at all.	ABOUT THIS BLOG This is the blog of Phil Gomes, SVP with Edelman Digital and senior advisor to the Society for New Communications Research. This blog not only discusses PR and media matters, but Phil's everyday observations about a variety of topics. Phil currently resides in Chicago, IL. EMAIL phil[at] philgomes.com View my page on PROpenMic SYNDICATE Feedburner ARCHIVE YAHOO! IM SKYPE WISH LIST PITCH POLICY MY PHOTOS www.flickr.com Photostream RSS Enter your Email Powered by FeedBlitz COMMENT AND TRACKBACK POLICY Comments and trackbacks are unmoderated, though I will delete the patently offensive ones. Any comments and trackbacks are the opinions of the individual writer of those comments and trackbacks, and not those of Phil Gomes, his employer, its clients, or its business partners. If you have a bone to pick, bug the people who wrote the comment or trackback.