OMT division blog (and “institutional” blogging)
The Organization and Management Theory (or OMT) division of the Academy of Management has a blog. And orgtheory’s very own Brayden is the editor (chair/or something equivalent). The latest post is an interview with Jane Dutton, University of Michigan.
It’s great to see the OMT division blogging. I know there are active discussion boards and email listservs within the Academy of Management, though I believe this is the first AOM division with an official blog (though I haven’t checked, probably some dormant ones out there). I’ll definitely be linking to any interesting content.
So, for what it’s worth, I think there are two keys to blogging nirvana — these points came up in my comments during the AOM blogging session that Chris Marquis and Andy Hoffman organized in Montreal a few weeks ago: 1) lots of semi-interesting content (with an emphasis on lots), and 2) “voice” and having an angle.
I don’t think “institutional” blogs/bloggers are in any way hampered in terms of ensuring lots of content, but I do think that institutional blogs definitely are a different type of animal altogether when it comes to voice. Institutional bloggers are obviously acting in a role, and this role tends to set boundaries for the types of things these bloggers can and do post about (for example, probably no ferret posts — hmm, that’s a good thing, perhaps orgtheory needs an institutional affiliation), there are expectations in terms of professionalism, tone and voice, understandable problems with any type of evaluative content or strong opinion, etc.
For the above reasons many institutional blogs often turn into message boards (listings of conferences, special issues, links to papers, advertising etc), which obviously serves an important purpose (and as readers know, we also do our fair share of this type of posting). But I think it is also important to, somehow, build in some mechanisms (or whatever) that allow for voice and perspective, some kind of unique angle. (Undoubtedly the new OMT blog will find novel ways to do this.) So, what are good examples of successful institutional blogs (perhaps ASA’s Contexts)? Which institutional blogs do you follow regularly and what specifically makes them successful?
In addition to having good material and “voice,” blogs need to be routine. Maybe not everyday, but I can’t think of a well read blog that doesn’t update at least once or twice a week.
The Contexts blogs certainly have a following. Econlog is the official blog of the free market oriented Liberty Fund organization, and it gets a fair amount of traffic. The leading print media have bloggers who are “official” yet maintain their voice (e.g., Andrew Sullivan at the Atlantic magazine, or the Freakonomics blog).
fabiorojas
August 31, 2010 at 1:48 pm
You’re right, your comment highlights that there is huge variety in institutional blogs — almost making this post superfluous (other than plugging the OMT blog).
teppofelin
August 31, 2010 at 3:03 pm
Thanks for linking to the blog Teppo!
I agree with your points about voice and consistency. That’s certainly something we’re going to try and incorporate on the OMT blog. Although I doubt we’ll have the rate of posting that you see on orgtheory, we plan to have regular updates. As for voice, we hope that much of it comes directly from OMT members. Our hope is to draw as much as possible from OMT scholars by highlighting new research or getting their thoughts on current events and other relevant stuff. Consider this an open invitation to OMT readers to approach me or the students about adding future content!
The interview with Jane Dutton is really fantastic, by the way. The interview follows the award that she and several other Michigan faculty received at the Academy this year for their contribution to positive organizational scholarship.
brayden king
August 31, 2010 at 6:37 pm
Nice work, Brayden. The BPS division is interested in setting up something as well.
The HBR blogs are closer to what Fabio has in mind. They don’t quite have the same freewheeling tone of orgtheory or O&M, but express definite points of view.
Peter Klein
August 31, 2010 at 9:25 pm
More updates on the blog: a chat with the new division chair, Royston Greenwood; Jerry Davis on winning the George Terry book award for Managed by Markets; and why organizational theorists should watch Mad Men.
brayden king
September 3, 2010 at 2:14 pm
Great posts. (And a big congrats to Jerry on the award!)
teppofelin
September 3, 2010 at 3:13 pm
Thanks for the props, comrades! I told my daughter that I’d buy her a horse if the book sold a million copies, but at the rate it’s going she may only get a couple of cans of dog food. (OK, we vegetarians have no sense of humor.)
Speaking of institutional blogs (and humorless vegetarians?), we’re trying something new at ICOS this fall. ICOS is Michigan’s hyper-interdisciplinary organization studies center (www.icos.umich.edu). We have a long history of posting downloadable video podcasts of our talks, so if you’ve ever wondered what Fabio sounds like (http://www.icos.umich.edu/lecture-2009-02-20), or Yuval (http://www.icos.umich.edu/lecture-2009-01-09), or John Meyer (http://www.icos.umich.edu/lecture-2008-12-05), you can put them on your iPod and have them always. (Warning: don’t listen to Meyer while operating heavy machinery.)
We have now added a blog feature to each speaker’s page so that listeners (live or virtual) can post comments and questions, and speakers can respond (or not). You have to register to post, but we’d welcome interlocutors from beyond Ann Arbor.
Jerry Davis
September 3, 2010 at 7:07 pm
ICOS blog — fantastic. (I remember listening to ICOS presentations online as a doctoral student, a ray of sunshine in my pathetic little, dungeon/basement office/cubicle. OK, fine, it wasn’t that bad.)
teppofelin
September 3, 2010 at 7:43 pm