Corporate Podcasts and Blogs: Exploring the Voices of Emerging Genres

This paper explores emerging web genres by examining the way corporate podcasting is represented in selected weblogs maintained by individuals, corporate employees, consultants, and corporations. Taking a qualitative approach, it first gives attention to selected blog entries about a corporate podcast that took place in January 2005. It then focuses on the case of IBM’s podcasting initiative and guidelines for its employees and the way they are represented in a range of blogs. It analyzes selected features of the blogs, taking into consideration participation frameworks and in particular production formats (Goffman 1979/1981). The paper concludes by discussing some of the implications these recent phenomena have for corporate communication.