A very thought provoking post from Shel Holtz contributing to the ongoing debate on the authenticity of blogs.

Read the comments and you will see the whole issue laid bare.

At its heart is the same issue that faced Monty Python in their 'Crunchy Frog' sketch. Does a blog labelled as being from the CEO or a senior executive have to be penned by them or can it be 'ghost' written by a member of the Corporate Communications team.

I am all for honesty but I think a dose of reality is needed here. We know the Trade Description Act means we have to honest and truthful. Food labelling has to list all the ingredients. As the Monty Python sketch was highlighting sometimes the marketing spin is such that even the public do not expect there to be real frogs in chocolates - even with the bones in to ensure it is really crunchy.

Can a CEO's blog still claim to be from them personally if the Corp Comms team have helped write it or edited it? The answer is yes but then the question is one of degree. Full fat milk contains only 5% fat so at what percentage does a blog become Full CEO? Now that becomes another debate....