IP Democracy: Finally, The Cable Industry Launches a Policy Blog

One of the cooler trends in the blogosphere has been the rise of corporate policy blogs, online outlets that allow companies and industries to enter the "conversation" when it comes to law, politics and society. In the telecommunications sector, Verizon, Google and Cisco have all served themselves well by launching useful, informative and, admittedly at times, self-serving blogs that nonetheless offer positions, insight and other interesting bits of information that only enhance the formation of communications policy. Motorola, it should be noted, has a terrific blog that should be on everybody's blogroll even if it doesn't deal solely with policy matters.

Left out of the conversation until now: the U.S. cable industry, which captures the lion's share of the multichannel video and residential broadband businesses. For a critically important communications business, and a potent lobbying force in Washington, the cable industry is curiously underrepresented in this most powerful arena of political persuasion.

But as of today, things might be changing. Cable has a policy blog, run out of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association. It's called Cable Tech Talk and is authored primarily by two staffers at NCTA, industry veteran and erstwhile writer about pop culture Paul Rodriguez and grassroots organizer and experienced political hand Michael Turk.

The goal of the blog is to provide "a place for serious discussion of telecommunications policy and the potential impact of changes to legislation and regulation." But NCTA CEO Kyle McSlarrow says in his first post that Cable Tech Talk will also look at stuff that makes life fun. Guest bloggers, such as cable CTOs, will also make appearances.

Cable's contribution to the dialogue is long overdue and congrats are definitely in order. One bit of advice to NCTA though: don't get cute by spinning too hard or too fast with industry propaganda. You'll get eaten alive by shrewd enemies and go-for-the-jugular bloggers. Play it straight and don't try to play mind games because it won't work in the rough and tumble world of blogging.

Posted by Cynthia Brumfield on January 7, 2008 11:25 AM to IP Democracy