Jonathan Schwartz is on the cutting edge of technology, but not hairstyles

For an Advanced PR Writing class, we were assigned to analyze a Fortune 500 company's blog. I chose Sun Microsystem's CEO and ponytail aficionado Jonathan Schwartz's blog. It is an interesting foray into blogging by one of the most tech savvy businessmen in the world. His blog is frequently read and cited in the media (here, here). However, I should note that I am an avid reader of Mark Cuban's Blog Maverick, which is the end all, be all of tech business CEO blogs, IMHO, and I cannot help using that as a reference in my analysis.

Overall impression: Clean layout. Not too cluttered, but enough graphics to grab my attention. Written in a conversational tone with lots of links. First impression is positive.

Ease of finding - 10: Popped up immediately on a Google search for "sun microsystems blog" and it is front and center on the Sun homepage. Sun seems to have invested quite a bit in their blog.

Frequency - 9+: Jonathan posts relatively regularly on his blog (roughly once a week). The material is fresh and he doesn't seem to "force" blog posts. He only posts when there is actually something interesting to mention. I put the plus because Jonathan's blog is just the tip of a massive iceberg that is Sun Microsystem's blogging network. Currently, there are 4,297 blogs on the network. Any employee can set up a blog about any topic with just a few clicks. It's pretty remarkable and shows Sun's commitment to community involvement in technological innovations.

Engaging writing - 7: Jonathan writes in a conversational tone, but he does not deviate from specific topics regarding the acquisitions and mergers of Sun. Granted, this is the bulk of his work, but it would be a more effective blog if he strayed from the topic and discussed issues more broadly and possibly personal issues. It is well written and gives a good insight into the rationale for many of the company's actions, but he fails to humanize himself or upper echelon of Sun's management.

Focused - 9: Jonathan gives a great insight into the actions of the mergers and acquisitions of Sun and he stays focused on that issue pretty diligently. As I just stated, he could easily veer off topic a little bit and improve his blog.

Relevant: - 8: Jonathan's blog gives great insight into Sun's corporate actions, but again if you want insight into the future of the industry or the daily life of a tech CEO, this blog is not relevant at all. However, it is very relevant for the shareholders and investors of Sun. This is a great place to understand the major steps the company you are investing in is taking. Jonathan does an excellent job of instilling confidence in Sun shareholders.

Honest - 7: I love the rationale Jonathan gives for Sun's actions, but he fails to address the drawbacks of his actions. He gives an honest account of the positives of their actions, but it would be a more effective blog if he gave recognition to people that disagreed with the company position and alleviated those concerns. Part of this is due to the fact that Jonathan does not want to present a company that is divided to its shareholders. This might cause insecurities (pun intended).

Interactive - 10: People comment frequently on Jonathan's posts, but most of the comments are by employees. As I said earlier, it is simple to create a blog on the Sun network. This interactivity shows the commitment that Sun has to OpenSource and having the entire internet community help foster innovation.

Responsive - 8: Jonathan does not respond directly to comments, but after looking a little bit he does comment on other blogs. I feel that most of the comments on his blog are positive and don't nessesitate a response.

Overall - 68/80: Again, I think that Jonathan's blog does a great job of reflecting Sun's commitment to being a transparent company, but I think that if he wants to reach out an audience besides shareholders, he should broaden the range of topics and types of posts a la Cuban or this satirical blog. Also, get rid of that effing ponytail. You look like a tool.

Here is the wiki of Fortune 500 blogs.

C'mon, Bubba. You're better than this.

NBC's Chuck Todd details how Bill Clinton completely underestimated the 21st century media. I know Clinton hasn't run a campaign since 1996, but he should be well aware of the internet's influence on the political scene. Lest he forget, it was was an internet "gadfly," Matt Drudge, which broke the Lewinsky scandal in 1998.

Todd outlines a series of events in the 2008 campaign that Bill could have easily avoided if he had an understanding of the new media. The one most striking to me is when Bill brought up Hillary's sniper fire comment weeks after it had mostly died in the media. This "YouTube moment" shows a critical feature of 21st century media: The news cycle has shortened considerably. At the point of Bill's speech in Indiana, Hillary had made an appropriate response and the media was already talking about "bitter" and Carter meeting with Hamas. Hillary's trip to Bosnia was still in the mind of voters, but it was fading with the lessened media coverage. (Bill also didn't help the cause by numerous factual errors in the speech). When the news cycle has passed. let sleeping dogs lie.

C'mon, Bubba. You led this country through its largest economic growth since WWII and you are the best public speaker this country has seen in decades. Please, learn from your mistakes and don't let yourself be dragged down by the same medium that tried to take you down in 98.