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3 people asked me this during last week: Ami C of Deloitte, Jim S of Shared Insights and Elizabeth C of Yahoo.

“Are you going to blog about this?”

Now, normally I dont think much about it, but it really got me thinking.

I was asking them all the same question – “What is your view on the market for communities? Is this another cry wolf situation or is this for real this time?”

 There are a few folks like Barry of Shared Insights and Mike of Impact Interactions that have been in the community industry for over 10+ years, so I was trying to get a consolidated view of the market potential.

Back to our question: – Is there such as thing as “off the record”? What are your options knowing that someone is a blogger?

1. You can put up a front and really say the kosher thing. This works for some people some of the time, but those of us who have been interviewed several times know that this does not work all the time.

2. You can put it all out and really say what’s on your mind and leave the rest to consequences. The problem is of course the Internet has a LONG memory. E.g. Apparently Webex Diane D said a few things off the record to Nate that he posted on his blog. She took in all in stride apparently.

3. Make sure you really know the bloggers background and profile before engaging. Not the best approach but an option neverthless. Mention to them when something is off the record and when its okay.

So what would you do? If you know someone blogs frequently and often, what would you do when you are taking with them?