CEOs warm to blogs

A growing number of American chief executives rate blogs highly as employee communication tools, though a majority of them remain sceptical about starting their own, a new study shows.

About 59 per cent of CEOs surveyed said they find weblogs, or blogs, useful for internal communications, while 47 per cent see them as tools for communication with external audiences, according to a study conducted by Burson-Marsteller and PRWeek.

Of the 131 CEOs surveyed, only seven per cent are actually blogging and many others say they are unlikely to start a blog themselves. But about 18 per cent of these CEOs say they plan to host a company blog over the next two years.

The survey indicates that chief executives see blogs as useful for communicating new ideas and news, providing an informal channel of communication and getting instant feedback.

Blogs are fast gaining popularity among technology companies and their workers. Many companies encourage employees to share new ideas in their blogs and get feedback from customers or users of their services. IBM plans to add blogging capabilities to the next version of its workplace collaboration software.

Leslie Gaines-Ross, a research officer at Burson-Marsteller, said in a statement: "Most CEOs are still in a wait-and-see mode when it comes to blogs, mainly due to time limitations and concerns about what they can say publicly.

"Even though there is greater awareness of the power of blogs today, CEOs may feel that employees expect them to be spending their time running the business."

Dinesh C Sharma writes for CNET News.com