The blogosphere is ginormous. Tons of new blogs are born daily and lots drop dead, too. So why waste space here talking about yet another new blog from someone?

Well, this one, launched today, is from the leading provider of online college courses in Massachusetts and one of the biggest in the nation. Called UMassOnline, this online education consortium co-exists and operates in conjunction with all the traditional campuses within the University of Massachusetts system. A first of its kind for UMassOnline, this blog, unlike all the others Dave and I have been associated with, will  likely be more widely, actively, and vocally scrutinized by people who make their living scrutinizing things and offering their critique. Contemplating this at the start of this project gave Dave and me the heebie geebies. Dave and I aggravated our fair share of professors while in college. Dave terrorized Amherst and I led a life of academic depravity on Commonwealth Avenue.

We were wrong to feel that way. Unlike all the many blogs and bloggers we've been associated with for corporate clients, the UMassOnline faculty and staff were more interested, more receptive, more participatory, and more comfortable with the presumed risks than anyone we worked with previously. For the first time this blog effort not only had a tremendous champion in the marketing department, but it had the strong endorsement of the institution's CEO as well… and the CTO… and… it's a long list of important people.

Here's what they understand at UMassOnline that isn't that well understood in the corporate world yet: It is better to give your constituencies a place to voice their issues than to block them, go deaf, pretend no issues exist whatsoever and that everything is perfect, and to maintain total control as the authority figure in charge of everything. While a lot of companies today still fear the implications of an open conversation outside of their control and moderation, UMassOnline more easily welcomes it, wants it. Sure, there are some rules of behavior. But this is by any standard a big, bold, wide-open, global, online community. And I think we can all learn something from that.

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