Anyone who's been paying attention knows that corporate blogging is on the rise. This article points to some stats on that - apparently 45% of the biggest 1000 firms either are blogging now, or plan to do so soon. This is where the miasma of corporate standards is going to run smack into the fresh voice of unhindered blogging.

Should companies be ok with having people say anything on a blog? No, they shouldn't - but on the other hand, there's such a thing as going too far - listen to this so called expert's opinion:

Experts on business blogs say the best safeguards against harmful posts are to institute proactive controls.

"Nothing should make it to the public eye without at least one other set of eyes on it, in any company," said Matthew Oliphant, co-founder of the corporate blogging consulting firm BusinessLogs. "The best way then to run your blog publishing is like any other publishing house: You have post writers and editors, as well as an editor in chief and a publisher. Writers write; editors edit the writing."

Yeah, there's a plan - just treat blog posts like press releases and watch the interest fly in :) For good or ill, you're going to have to use a lighter touch. First off, you should have a policy you can point employees at: Sun has a good one here, for instance. Rather than filter everything upfront, you're really going to have to make judgment calls based on policy. More simply, hire good people and have some trust in them - but make sure to make them aware of the boundaries.