NIRI Seattle - April 8, 2008 Chapter Meeting

To blog or not to blog?

Many companies have embraced the idea of giving employees an unfiltered voice as a means to keep in touch with customers, suppliers, and the media. In March, Starbucks launched MyStarbucksIdea.com at their annual meeting, a blog designed to provide for interaction and idea sharing between Starbucks' customers and the Company. However, a recent lawsuit filed against Cisco Systems over one of its employees' personal blogs could spur companies to rethink how they participate in blogs. To be sure, it's still the exception, not the rule, for companies to have rules governing blogging; and among those who do, the rules vary widely.

Have blogs have hit mainstream corporate America or are they mainly used by consumer products and technology companies as a means of reaching out to potential new customers? What are the benefits of blogging? To get answers to these and other questions you may have, please join the Seattle chapter of NIRI (National Investor Relations Institute) for a timely discussion on blogs at our April 8 luncheon program. Our speakers will discuss securities, intellectual property, and employee considerations with regard to blogs, blogging policies, application of disclosure regulations for corporate, industry, and personal blogs, and the successful implementation of a corporate blog.