That CEOs increasingly risk disaster by going online under fake names to do and say things they can't get away with in real life is not news. But in this item all about these ever-more-frequent episodes, there's a very interesting quote from a Yale professor:

“We have the most protected, covered, cautious and public relations-barricaded generation of leaders in history,” said Jeffrey A. Sonnenfeld, a professor of corporate governance at Yale. Today’s tightly controlled, artfully packaged executives, he said, “want to release and spout off, and they somehow think this is a forum where they’ll be held less accountable.”

Two important things for you to consider if you're in Corporate Public Relations: One, your CEO probably has a lot he or she would like to say but can't within the current system; and, Two, he or she ought to be encouraged to talk freely but his or her identity can and should be disclosed.

It's a matter of authority. A CEO who openly identifies himself or herself as such not only has more potential weight within the blogosphere, but avoids running afoul of ethical and legal problems. Consider, for example, whether or not the featured CEO in the news item (link above) could have said everything he did say as himself… consider whether or not his comments might have been even more compelling if readers knew his identity?

By the way, the practice of pretending to be not who you really are online apparently has a name now. It's called sock-puppeting. I learn something new everyday.

If you're interested in learning how your CEO can blog under an authentic identity, call or email me.

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