Welcome to the blogosphere, Sony

by Josh Bernoff

Today Sony Electronics entered the blogosphere.

Sony's blog is written by Rick Clancy, head of corporate communications for Sony Electronics. I know Rick pretty well, having worked with him when I was a TV analyst and he is the ideal choice to blog for Sony.

First of all, he's a straight shooter -- not something you take for granted with PR people. Look at the first post: Sony No Baloney.

Second, he has something to say. Rick has been at Sony a long time. He understand the company and all its parts. This should make for interesting posts.

Third, he has authority. Everything important Sony Electronics says goes through him. If Rick wasn't Sony's top blogger, whoever was would have to go through him anyway.

That said, it's going to be interesting. Sony is a huge, global company in transition. There are big successes, including Sony's line of Bravia TVs and its backing of Blu-Ray, which I (and Forrester) think is going to beat HD-DVD in the movie race eventually. There are also challenges, including what I believe will be a slowing of demand for big expensive TV sets.

While the blog doesn't officially address the larger corporate parent (the blog is for electronics, the parent Sony company includes Sony Pictures and Sony Playstation) it will inevitably attract commentary on the Sony parent company. With the charismatic Sir Howard Stringer, the first westerner to head Sony, continuing to transform the electronics giant, the blog will become a lightning rod for Sony-bashers and Sony-lovers alike.

Sony's blog is using moderated comments. The sister Playstation blog had over 500 comments on a recent posting. I can't wait to see how Sony Electronics' buttoned-down style interacts with the wild west of the blogosphere in a Japanese-founded, multinational company run by a Welshman. This should be fun.

Rick already knows what it's like to deal directly with analysts and reporters. Now he'll get to deal with regular people in a more personal way. The first post is a good sign -- it's personal, not too corporate. Now we'll see if he can keep it up.

Tags: Sony, bernoff, Forrester Research, Groundswell

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Comments

[Jake McKee]

As a former self-admitted Sony Whore, I applaud the effort. That said, I think the Sony blogger(s) will have a long, long way to go to convince anyone that they're not completely and totally disconnected from the reality around them... what I call the Sony Attitude. You know it well, we've seen it for years: "We're doing it so it must be right, regardless of how many people laugh at us and how few units we sell".

I've railed on the ridiculous Sony positions before, and they've all but lost my (previously highly loyal) business.

Thanks for the heads up though, maybe they can turn my head. Hopefully with better products and a radically improved attitude.

[Larry]

Can you give me information regarding the new Sony DSLR?

[Rick Clancy]

To Jake and others, I'd say check out the new VAIO all-in-one PC with its floating-glass 22-inch HD display just announced today. You can find it along with other product news at www.sony.com/news. We also have some news coming in the weeks and months ahead in the personal audio, digital imaging, electronic book, Blu-ray, Internet video and other fronts. Please stay tuned and feel free to post comments on our new blog at www.sony.com/electronicsblog. It's one way we are trying not to be so "disconnected" as you put it. Thanks.

[Jake McKee]

Rick, I can appreciate that perhaps there's some new products coming that don't completely and totally miss just about anything that consumers are actually wanting. But I'll have to see quite a bit for a quite a while before I overcome being burned for so long.

[Ginny]

Sony is my favorite brand, whenever i need any electronics or computer related products I always prefer Sony products at my favorite shopping site CouponAlbum(http://www.couponalbum.com).

[Rick Clancy]

BTW Ginny,

As a Sony fan and shopping enthusiast, my colleagues and I would certainly welcome any feedback you have on our e-commerce site at www.sonystyle.com or on the Sony Style stores if you've visited any of them.

Thanks.