The Corporate Blogging Book by Debbie Weil (Penguin Portfolio); available on Amazon

The Corporate Blogging Book is now available in Mandarin Chinese on amazon.cn and also, I am told, in bookstores in China. I haven't seen the Chinese edition yet and am looking forward to it.

I'm planning a book / blogging tour of Beijing and Shanghai in October. I'll kick off the China Blogging Tour with Des Walsh at ad-tech Beijing on Oct. 16, 2007. Edelman is sponsoring the tour. Lots more details to come.

P.S. Who will be reading the Chinese edition of The Corporate Blogging Book?

According to eMarketer's article, The Chinese Tiger Roars Online (open access for a few more days), China's Internet population of 136 million is second only to that of the U.S. With an anuual growth rate of 30 percent, it's expected to soon surpass the U.S.

The article is about individuals whose blogs get noticed by recruiters. But it could just as easily be about companies. As I said to reporter Sarah Needleman:

"Job seekers who blog increase the odds that a potential employer will find information online that the candidate wants to be seen, says Debbie Weil, a corporate blogging consultant in Washington and the author of "The Corporate Blogging Book," which was published last summer.

Everybody has an online identity whether they know it or not, and a blog is the single best way to control it," [Debbie] says. "You're going to be Googled. No one hires anyone or buys anything these days without going online first and doing research." — Wall Street Journal (April 10, 2007)

Penguin Portfolio has sold the rights to mainland China publisher, Publishing House of Electronics Industry. The Mandarin Chinese edition comes out in 2007 (tentative date: May or June August or September 2007).

Download Chapter 1 in Chinese.

A big thanks to Raven Lu Li, who works for Accenture China, for translating Chapter 1 the book into Chinese. 

Friend and colleague Philippe Borremans notes that writing a book about corporate blogging "is not an easy task." In fact, he calls it "daunting." He writes:

Debbie also asks the right questions and answers them. She is not a blind believer but knows how to filter the correct information on the topic from her multitude of sources. Of course she also talks from experience.

Her online presence is very strong and her blog is a "have to read" for people in Marketing and Communications. She doesn't hesitate to cover difficult topics such as the loss of control in online communications, legal pitfalls and questions if all CEOs should blog (of course not)." - Philippe Borremans

Read the whole review here.

Thanks to Raven Lu Li, who lives in China and works for Accenture China, for translating Chapter 1 of my book into Chinese. We're hoping to interest a Chinese publisher in the foreign rights to the book. Raven has some contacts at Tsinghua University Press. Anyone have other suggestions?

New! A Chinese edition of The Corporate Blogging Book

Update: Penguin Portfolio has sold the rights to mainland China publisher, Publishing House of Electronics Industry. The Chinese edition comes out in 2007!

Download Chapter 1 in Chinese.

I was interviewed in Sky News' London studio on Friday 20 October 2006. Wow… what an experience. I arrived, was led to "make-up," had gobs applied (but rather skillfully). Then an assistant led me up to the gleaming blue and red news desk and sat me down next to the two correspondents who were anchoring Sky News' morning segment.

"Er, what do I do now," I whispered into the assistant's ear. Just look at the woman next to you when she starts asking questions, he advised. She smiled at me reassuringly once or twice but continued on with updates about Iraq, seamlessly alternating back and forth with the news anchor, a man, to her left.

All of a sudden he switched gears and launched into: "Blogging… it's all the rage: pop stars are doing it, politicians are doing it… and now companies."

Then she swiveled around and looked straight at me: "So tell us, Debbie, what is corporate blogging?" And within three minutes we were done. Kinda fun really.

This came in an email today.

Hi Debbie, I was early for a lunch meeting and decided to walk into a bookstore to kill some time. I really had no purpose in the bookstore, so I started to think of some books that I wanted to skim through. Yours was one of them.

I was only going to skim your book, soak up the info, then put it down and head off to my meeting. However, I got so engrossed in its contents, I was unaware of the time. I nearly missed my meeting and immediately jumped up from the lounge chair to go and purchase your book. I just couldn't leave it behind.

What a tremendously beautiful book you've written. It was certainly needed in the market. Every blogging book I've seen focuses on the mechanics of launching a blog. Yours is the first that focuses on the strategies of launching a blog geared to a corporate crowd. I now have a great blogging book to refer to my corporate clients.

Your book also gave me a great outline for a book that I plan to write on corporate podcasting. That's my specialty. I noticed that you only mentioned it as a cousin to blogs, so this gives me an incentive to get the manuscript finished.

Thanks again for writing your book. If I can help you in any way with podcasting, do let me know. You've got a fan.

- Leesa Barnes, podcasting expert and president of Toronto-based Caprica Interactive Marketing 

Note: Leesa tried to post her review to my Amazon page but was told she had to make a purchase for $30 first. First I've heard of that. Kinda obnoxious. She posted her review instead on Toronto's cool Chapters Indigo bookstore site. It should appear there shortly.

Thanks Leesa! 

This is the UK version of the book (yes it has a different cover), published by Piatkus. Now being dispatched (as they say) from Amazon UK!

If you’re in the US, you can find it in your nearest Borders or Barnes & Noble. Or order from Amazon or 800-CEO-Read.

Writes Robin Crumby, Managing Director of Melcrum Publishing Ltd, from London:

“Thought you’d like to know that your book was spotted in Borders in Fulham. You’re famous!”

Well not famous. But… an internationally published author - ?

Cool to be quoted yesterday in Randall Stross’s Digital Domain column in The Sunday New York Times Business section (July 30, 2006). Stross interviewed me at length for the article and mentioned The Corporate Blogging Book “which Portfolio Hardcover is to publish this week.” He began by positing that CEOs tend to avoid high-risk activities like sky diving and rock climbing… and blogging. But why?

He goes on to cite Sun Microsystems Fortune 500 CEO blogger Jonathan Schwartz (the only F500 CEO blogging publicly). Schwartz’s comments on his blog in the wake of Sun’s most recent quarterly earnings announcement are a “tonic,” writes Stross.

“Tonic” is a great descriptor, I think, for the effect of Schwartz’s blog entry. What Jonathan writes isn’t earth shaking but it’s a spirit booster and we all know that does have an impact on our perceptions of a brand and, ultimately, on the market. Jonathan blogged (and prompted 57 comments from readers in return):

So I thought I’d add some color to our numbers, and put some of our competitor’s comments into context…” - Jonathan’s blog 7/25/06

Even more revealing - and appealing - is what Jonathan blogged late last night (well after the NYTimes article was published):

“I had lunch with Tony Blair today. (And yes, I have been waiting all afternoon to type that.)” - Jonathan Schwartz on his blog (7/30/06)

He sounds like an excited kid who isn’t too cool to admit that being a F500 CEO gives you access to famous people and historic moments.

Randy manages to make me more controversial than I am by concluding his column with this quote:

Ms. Weil, the author, spoke with me last week about the reluctance of Fortune 500 executives to share their thoughts on a public blog, and could find no acceptable excuse for their silence.

“They should come down from the mountain and communicate in their own words — without handlers,” Ms. Weil said. “For what they’re paid, is that too much to ask?” - Randall Stross in The New York Times (7/30/06)

In fact, I said something to that effect. Then we crafted the quote together to make it sound good, er, edgy. I don’t think that every CEO should necessarily blog. Not unless he/she has something interesting to say and is a reasonably good writer.

P.S. Randy took many of his points for the column from my chapter on CEO blogging in The Corporate Blogging Book.

Technorati: the corporate blogging book , ceo blogging , ceo bloggers , corporate blogging , debbie weil

What more could a girl ask for in one day? Well, Adrienne Schultz, my wonderful editor at Penguin Portfolio, shipped me a sample of the book cover - hot off the press (see left). It looks great. Wow, it’s a real book!

And Zane Safrit, CEO of Conference Calls Unlimited and a prolific blogger, sent me flowers (in the photo)! Zane is one of the CEO bloggers I profile in the book. My favorite quote from him:

“Blogging helps me articulate and refine ideas in a linear fashion… ideas I may be thinking about for our company. So blogging improves my ability to communicate with my employees.”

And a nice kudo from Kirkus Reports

Read today’s review of TCBB from Kirkus Reports - Business & Personal Finance.

“Smart, witty and accessible.“

Oooh, I love it. What can I say?!