Well, I wish it were the really inside skinny, but it’s all I’ve been able to uncover. (See bottom for One juicy bit…). Intel CEO Paul Otellini has written an internal blog since December 2004. His blog had a brief moment of fame in the blogosphere when an excerpt was leaked in the San Jose Mercury News in February 2005 shortly after the launch. [16-page PDF of the excerpt here.]
Most notable in the copy-pasted excerpt was this early entry by Paul:
While this is intended as an internal blog, I recognize that it
will become public-welcome to the Internet! As a result, please
recognize that I may be a bit limited in my comments and responses to
protect Intel, and that we may exercise some editorial privilege on
your comments for the same reason. I want to be clear on this up front.
This is the price of entry to this blog.
– Paul Otellini’s blog: Dec. 14, 2004
What Otellini writes about
Since then, Paul’s blog has been well hidden under wraps on Intel’s intranet. I spoke with Tom Beermann in Corporate PR today who told me that the blog is still going strong. Paul posts “every week to 10 days” and writes about “issues important to Intel and the industry, where he thinks
it’s important for employees to hear the voice of the CEO.” His posts are generally about 500 words long.
Comments are allowed
Yes, comments from employees are allowed. Tom didn’t know how many have been left. “It depends on the topic,” he said. “Some posts get several dozen comments.” As for who is interacting with the blog, Beermann says it’s a wide range, from “manufacturing to marketing” folks. Those responding to the blog “are not senior managers,” he said.
Blog will continue
Will Paul continue blogging? Yes, says Beermann. “He enjoys the interaction and plans to continue.” Oh, and he has no plans to make the blog public. Nor have there been any further copy-paste “leaks,” as far as Beermann knows. “
communication.”
One juicy bit…
A few weeks ago, I met two senior-level Intel executives at a private party on the West Coast. One, in marketing, told me she regularly reads Paul’s blog and will often make reference to it in her team meetings when she’s trying to inspire everyone with a bit of top-down vision from the CEO.
The other flatly said he never reads Paul’s blog and could care less what “Paul has to say about Katrina.”
So there you have it. A sample size of two. Covering the spectrum of what I suspect are common reactions from Intel employees to Paul Otellini’s internal CEO blog. It’s great… vs. who cares.
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