In Fortune Magazine–a YEAR AGO

Robert Scoble works for Microsoft. He doesn’t have a big title. His office isn’t a suite. In fact, there’s not a window. He’s called a “Software Evangelist,” and his job is to work with outside engineers.

I guess the only unusual thing about Robert Scoble is that he has a blog, Scobleizer, and that blog is 25th of the 33,000,000 blogs indexed by Technorati, the seach and blog measurement firm. What Scoble has done for Microsoft is more than any ad campaign, website, or PR work has been able to achieve previously. He has given Microsoft humanity–a face that folks aren’t mad at.

On his blog, Scoble talks about his life, comments on tech gadgets and products throughout the tech world, including, but not exclusive to, his own company. He talks about his wife and about other blogs he reads. He also talks about little things that happen at Microsoft.

His value as a customer ambassador shows when problems occur. At times like that, he’s a human face, a regular guy that people already know. For example, in 2005 when Boing, Boing the number 1 blog began criticizing Microsoft for a security bug in it’s MSN Spaces service, Scoble just agreed. He took the message back to Microsoft and kept a running conversation going on his blog about it.

‘MSN Spaces isn’t the blogging service for me,” he wrote. Nobody at Microsoft asked Scoble to comment; he just did it on his own, adding that he would make sure that the team working on Spaces was aware of the complaints. And he kept revisiting the issue on his blog. As the anti-Microsoft crowd cried censorship, the nearly 4,000 blogs linking to Scoble were able to see his running commentary on how Microsoft was reacting. “I get comments on my blog saying, ‘I didn’t like Microsoft before, but at least they’re listening to us,’” says Scoble. “The blog is the best relationship generator you’ve ever seen.” His famous boss agrees. “It’s all about openness,” says chairman Bill Gates of Microsoft’s public blogs like Scobleizer. “People see them as a reflection of an open, communicative culture that isn’t afraid to be self-critical.”–David KirkPatrick, Why There’s No Escaping the Blog, Fortune Magazine

Scoble was authentic–the real deal. He gave Microsoft humanity and gave customers honest communication. He’s approachable. He’s credible, He’s there to complain to for thousands of fans and customers each day. Scoble let his audience know that Microsoft was listening. In the hands of another, the result might not have been the same.

Choose carefully who writes your blog. Make certain that the person understands his or her role as ambassador and conduit is as important as that of writer, community builder, and conversationalist.

This person should be able to live the brand, be your company’s brand in the eyes of your customers. That’s what your customers will see and believe.

The person you’re looking for has an energetic and curious passion for finding out about your products down to the smallest detail, a knowledge of the industry, a respect for customers and for competitors, and a writing voice that shines through with warmth and personality.

Hey that sounds just like me.

Liz Strauss