Dell, yes, as in Dell Hell, has launched a corporate weblog called one2one. According to PR Week, the Dell blog will be authored by multiple employees. It includes video and text, del.icio.us and digg seeding tools but no full-text feeds.
More importantly, Dell really failed to get the blog going the way that they could have. This was a golden opportunity for the company. They could use the blog to engage the community in a genuine conversation on the critical issues that have dogged them for years now as well as the good things they are doing. (Recent pictures of a Dell computer blowing up at a conference in Japan were recently the rage in the blogosphere and now the media.) However, they chose not to.
Also absent is any mention of Jeff Jarvis and his difficulties with the company. We're still talking about this. At a minimum, if Dell were serious about using their blog as "an online meeting place where we welcome our customers around the globe…one at a time" (their words, not mine), then it would have been great if they started with one of their most outspoken critics. A blog interview with Jarvis would have said reams about their willingness to be open to criticism. Instead, the Dell blog reads like a corporate brochure.
Dell could still turn it around if they hurry, but I fear this lack of candor will really set them back. When I read the one2one doctrine, their heart seems like it's in the right place. Their actions don't speak that way. Perhaps it might have been better for them to have stayed silent. Cmon Dell. We know you're bigger than this. Join us. Be real. Walk the talk.
Technorati Tags: Dell, Dell Hell, Jeff Jarvis
