Well, some, anyway, if a report through the New York Times is to be believed. Some presidents of colleges in the United States are turning to blogging for the same benefits that businesses and corporations are finding them beneficial. These include giving an air of transparency with their students, being able to break down barriers in communication, and perhaps in a more pragmatic sense, perhaps improve their popularity.
Unfortunately it also brings down the same legal warnings as well. Â
It is this kind of exchange that prompts Cotton, the lawyer, to urge caution. If trustees are dissatisfied with a president, Cotton said, blogs offer a president’s adversaries ready ammunition. A casual comment taken out of context, a longstanding problem not addressed, or a politically controversial position can all torpedo a president, he said.Â
The article is quite fascinating and further goes into how some college presidents are dealing with potential legal pitfalls (turning their blogs into fluff pieces), how some presidents deal with the benefits of transparent communication (passing the buck), and also, how many filters some of these posts have to go through to make it on to the blog (the marketing department might be one of them).
