Blog Rolling

"Fortunately for PR professionals," writes PR Week, technologies including blog search engines and tagging "allow companies and agencies alike to monitor the dialogue regarding their organizations." One product "allows companies to compare evocations of its name versus the names of competitors." A "marketing intelligence" executive said savvy companies see "blogs as a way to create stakeholder goodwill." The PR firm Edelman recently "released a directory of the most influential bloggers." The directory (only available to clients) also "gives advice on blogger behavior and jargon." Edelman's Rick Murray warned that companies face risks when "attempting to communicate with the blogosphere -- you will do yourself harm."