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There's been a lot of "trend" talk in relation to the blogging (and microblogging) phenomenum but, for now, one thing seems very clear: the impact of the online conversation is continuing to grow. For many businesses, the widening influence of social media means that getting to grips with these new channels is no longer optional, but now a fundamental part of connecting with important audiences. As a result, companies are increasingly taking a serious approach to social media tools such as blogs.

There are lots of great reasons to start a corporate blog to give a platform to your expertise, to reinforce brand values, even to test out new ideas but overt promotion shouldn't really be one of them. The medium of blogging today is about building networks, developing dialogue, and forging closer relationships, not just externally but with internal groups as well. Maintaining a blog undoubtedly requires planning, time and commitment and, like any customer relationship and knowledge management tool, blogging is best viewed within the context of a long-term strategy. The return on investment, however, may be much deeper long-term relationships with your customers and stakeholders.

So, what does a corporate blog look like and who best to write it? The purist's definition of a "classic" blog would argue that it should present the personal voice, views and interests of the author, in an informal, conversational tone; offer frequently updated content (generally accepted definition: posting more than once a week); include links to other bloggers or websites, and provide a mechanism for creating a dialogue with readers.

Many of these grassroots principles still pertain when it comes to the corporate blog; however, like much in the online world, the blog is constantly evolving and taking on new forms. The growth of collaborative publishing as a whole has led to extensions of the original blog concept, and we're now seeing the emergence of "group", "multi-user" and "aggregate" blogs. For businesses, the group blog offers a different kind of platform for direct communication, authored by multiple employees. One example is PolicyBlog, Verizon's technology and telecommunications policy blog, written by senior members of the corporate communications and public affairs team.

One of the guiding principles of the corporate blog can be to promote trust between the company and its audiences, and also create a real sense of connection. The employee (or employees) best suited to fulfill

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