Over the top?: The GoDaddy Blog
GoDaddy CEO Bob Parsons has always been outspoken. But I have to question the purpose of his “personal” blog, which is closely tied to the firm. You can click to the blog from the very top of the GoDaddy home page, so it is certainly endorsed by GoDaddy. Granted, Bob Parsons owns most of the firm.
A lot of corporate CEOs have blogs. They usually blog regarding the industry, and this pays dividends. A CEO at a firm here in Austin uses his blog to talk regarding fresh software technologies. His blog ranks high in Google for a number of technology terms, which results in increased traffic to his firm’s main web site. Since the CEO is seen as an authority on emerging software technology it also drives fresh business to his firm.
But what regarding Bob Parsons’ blog? He talks regarding domain name issues, like when .us domain privacy was revoked. But many of his entries are regarding politics and society. The problem with any comment you make regarding politics or public issues is that no matter what you say, you generally irk half the population.
Among other things, Parsons has written his views regarding torture in the war on terror. That’s not exactly a soft topic. Perhaps his views draw people to his blog, but is he losing more clients than he gains? Even if someone agrees with Parsons on one politically-charged topic, Parsons is bound to eventually hit a sore point with that person if he keeps writing.
In a recent news article regarding CEO blogging, Parsons states that many executives fear speaking their mind. That’s probably true, but maybe they’re too smart speak their mind?
