Blogging and brand management

Following on from my blog on Tuesday - In blogs we trust - an article in The Guardian reports on the increasing threat of blogs to businesses and their carefully crafted brand imagery. See Firms in the dark over blog threat by Dominic Timms. One of the main conclusions from the study conducted by The Angel Blog is that 60 per cent of PR executives interviewed believed that web blogs by unhappy employees or exasperated customers can damage corporate reputations, but 58% said businesses were insufficiently aware of the threat. Alternatively, see businesses must 'wake up to blog threat' by Holden Frith of The Times.

Some quite important work-related news emerged over the last few days. First of all, it has been suggested by the Confederation of British Industry that many firms have lost faith in the employment tribunal system following regulation changes and too many now settle cases they could have won - Firms 'avoiding work tribunals' (BBC News) . Secondly, new sexual harassment legislation, aimed at tackling discrimination in the workplace, has come into force. In brief, the European Equal Treatment Directive has extended the definition of sex discrimination to cover any act that leads to intimidation or degradation (BBC News).

Two new work-related blogs to add: the tales of a New York escort - A New York Escorts Confessions; and, an aircraft controller at Wheelie's.