Whether it’s the no-nonsense directness of legendary CEO Jack Welch, the point-by-point simplicity of financial guru Suze Orman, or the change-the-world idealism of Apple’s Steve Jobs, effective communicators exhibit powerful mastery over their messages.

Yet in the age of new media and the Internet, getting one’s point across requires mastery of both the message and medium. Thanks to blogs, texting, instant messaging, and social networking Web sites, leaders have more options than ever before for reaching large audiences.

Who exactly are the grand communicators of the digital age? The pimple-faced founders of Facebook? The 30-something search-engine geniuses at Google? Try Bob Lutz, the 77-year-old vice chairman of global product development at General Motors (GM). Lutz stunned the business community in 2005 when he ventured out into the blogosphere, exchanging his podium for podcasts and memoranda for message boards. Launched as the social media initiative of GM’s Global Communications Group, Lutz’s FastLane blog marked the first time an executive of a nontechnology Fortune 100 firm began blogging as a means of corporate communication.

Like other blogs, FastLane features commentary, product news, podcasts, video clips, photo galleries, user feedback, and twittering. Visitors to the blog— mostly car enthusiasts, members of the press, and GM employees—find information about auto shows, new vehicles, manufacturing breakthroughs, and more. With trademark informality, FastLane defines itself as “your source for the latest, greatest musings of GM leaders on topics relevant to the company, the industry and the global economy, and—most of all—to our customers.”

Although the blogosphere is generally upbeat, blogs can become caldrons of conflict between adversarial groups. As a consequence of the blogosphere’s reach and informal style, inartful comments may be published instantly on blogs and disseminated worldwide in seconds, creating severe headaches for public relations teams.

One such headache occurred in 2008 when off-the-cuff comments made during a closed-door session with journalists spread like wildfire across the blogosphere. Vice Chairman Lutz stated that hybrids didn’t make “economic sense,” adding that global warming was “a total crock.” Critics seized on the moment to advance their crusade against the automaker. Lutz likewise took to his FastLane blog to respond.

“An offhand comment I made recently about the concept of global warming seems to have a lot of people heated, and it’s spreading through the Internet like ragweed,” wrote Lutz in his February 21, 2008, FastLane entry. “My opinions on the subject—like anyone’s—are immaterial. General Motors is dedicated to the removal of cars and trucks from the environmental equation, period.”

The vice chairman urged the public to ignore his personal musings and to focus instead on the company’s push for clean transportation. “We’re going to keep working on it—via E85, hybrids, hydrogen and fuel cells, and the electrification of the automobile.” Lutz took the opportunity to praise GM’s new electric car. “The Chevrolet Volt program is occurring under my personal watch, because I—and others in senior management—believe in it. I fully expect that it will revolutionize the automotive industry.”

GM’s ongoing support for FastLane shows that executives at the top automaker see blogging as a legitimate form of corporate communication. And no surprise: FastLane is an information center, marketing tool, crisis management instrument, and customer feedback system wrapped up in one. If Lutz is any indication, the corporate blog is here to stay. Where else could an outspoken vice chairman fi nd so versatile a megaphone.

Questions

1. Visit FastLane online to identify the blog’s various communication channels and their channel richness.

2. Is the information posted at FastLane appropriate for a blog? Why or why not?

3. What unique communication benefits do blogs offer to GM executives?