How to manage a work blog?

June 4, 2009 12:28 PM

Is it possible to set up a multi-user blog where anyone with the password could write a draft, but it wouldn't be made public until, say, two other users approved the content?

My work is thinking of setting up an employee blog, where we could write about issues related to our field and share information with customers and our community. I am really excited about this and would like to see it happen. My co-workers and I are trying to come up with a proposal showing why this would be a good thing, and we would like to anticipate and address concerns management might have about this plan. The main problem we foresee would be understandable concern that someone could write something inappropriate or controversial that readers would take as our business' official stance on a matter. We thought of having a moderator who could approve everything before it became public, but we prefer the idea of a collaboration, where, for example, any three of us could sign off on a piece before it was published. If the blog kept track of who had given approval, I think it would provide good accountability. Does this sort of arrangement exist? We are not very tech-savvy--would it be difficult to set up?

I have also suggested that we keep the blog separate from our official website, and that we have a disclaimer specifying that the content is unofficial. My feeling is that most readers would understand that an employee blog would be informal, but we want to cover our bases.

Any information would be much appreciated! Also, if you have a better solution or any other advice on or experience with this situation, I would love to hear it. Thanks so much.

posted by ialwayscryatendings to computers & internet (10 comments total)

Isn't that essentially what happens when you ask an anonymous question here? You have a password. You can write the post. It doesn't get posted until the moderators approve it.
posted by onhazier at 12:39 PM on June 4

The simplest approach is to have a regular blog with articles edited behind the scenes in a wiki. Once a consensus has been reached that the article is in a publishable state, anyone (probably the original author) can then publish it on the blog.

There is a ton of wiki software. As long as it is kept internal, the main features you'll want to look at are price, the platform it runs on, and ease of configuration. Just make sure it provides for a 'talk page' parallel to each content page. The talk page is where you'd discuss the article and vote on whether to publish or not.
posted by jedicus at 12:45 PM on June 4

Another possibility instead of using a wiki is to use Google Docs. Each time a new potential article is created, the author would invite everyone as collaborators. At the top of the document, set aside a section as the voting and discussion section.

This has the advantage of being easier to set up, especially for the non-technically-inclined. It has the disadvantage that it could get unwieldy if you have a lot of users or a lot of documents. There are also potential issues with keeping company data on Google's servers, but I don't know if that applies since theoretically you're going to put it on a blog anyway.
posted by jedicus at 12:49 PM on June 4

Perhaps 'drafts' could be posted to the 'backpages' until they get 'voted up' (ala Digg) to the more accessible 'front pages'.
posted by run"monty at 12:58 PM on June 4

You can do this using a bog-standard edition of Wordpress, with some limitations. If you assign your writers the role of Contributor, they can write posts but they do not go live until they are approved by someone with the role of Editor or Administrator.

What this does not let you do is have system where any two votes (from writers with any role) for a post let it go live, but I'd be surprised if there weren't a plugin to allow this, and if there weren't, it would probably be a pretty quick hack for someone experienced coding for Wordpress.
posted by adamrice at 1:09 PM on June 4

TypePad allows this I think. You can create authors as junior authors who can draft but not publish.

http://www.typepad.com/
posted by davextreme at 1:10 PM on June 4

I can't specifically help with the problem of two other users signing off on the product of a third, but wordpress at least has multiple user levels. All of the regular writers could be lower-class users who can write but not publish. A separate account could be used for publishing which could only be controlled by one person, or everyone. It'd take special effort to log-in/log-out of the special account.

Another idea might just be to schedule the posts for a later time or date. That way you can have everyone sort through the queue and (optional additional technical hurdle) sign off in a special field that doesn’t get published.

There might even be a wordpress plugin that has the signing-off feature you want already, or someone could probably produce it for a relatively cheap price. Any way you go, I'd definitely recommend wordpress. I use it on a ridiculous number of sites and find it extremely easy to set up and relatively flexible. Many hosts even offer an easy installation version.

Good luck! Make sure to ask for help on the wordpress forums or irc channel (irc.freenode.net #wordpress) if you go with that software.
posted by TimeDoctor at 1:19 PM on June 4

I kind of shudder to think of a democratic approval system in this context - you really need a clear system and consistent standards for approval, and that generally requires an objective approval process by someone who fully understands the system, the standards, and the possible consequences of the various (and fascinating!) possible failure modes.

In the video game industry, and, increasingly, elsewhere, this is the job of an online community manager - it's what we do. If you're serious about this, you're welcome to memail me and I could put you in touch with some folks who do consulting.

I think it's a great idea, but the danger is that one misstep can sour the whole company on something like this early on, and that can close off a potentially valuable path. Doing it right from the ground up, and making the risks and benefits clear to everyone, is a safer way to go.
posted by restless_nomad at 1:53 PM on June 4

Evernote would work for this. You can have multiple versions of their note taking software on multiple computers or usb drives (everyone would need the password). Then it synchs automatically with the version that is kept online. Everyone with the password sees the same thing. You have multiple folders. When the collaborators all agree then one person in charge would "publish" the approved folder to the web.
posted by cda at 2:04 PM on June 4

You can configure Drupal to do this in less than an afternoon.
posted by Brian Puccio at 3:06 PM on June 4