“If you want to control the message, buy an ad. If you want to have a rich (but risky) dialogue, consider a blog.”

That’s the advice from Mark Kingdon in an article appearing today in ClickZ.  Kingdon focuses on the potential for blogs in supporting a brand, noting that consumers are talking about brands in their own blogs, raising the possibility that “if businesses don’t create their own conversation forum, their brands, products, services, and reputations might be co-opted by others.”

Great brands, Kingdon notes, have always involved users. He points to the enormous success of the Harley Owner’s Group, which helped revitalize a brand that was all but dead. Kingdon then discusses his own company—Organic—and their thought process around starting a blog.

Should we control who posts? Should all posts be public? If so, do we need an editorial board to review them? If we edit the postings, does the forum lose its credibility and honesty? Should people outside the company be allowed to post? Can people post anonymously? What if someone inside the company critically reviews a prospective client’s online experience? Is there any liability?

If the purpose of the blog is a free, open, and candid exchange of opinions, then it probably shouldn’t be heavily edited or censored. We have to ask ourselves whether the benefit of showing how we think outweighs the risk to our brand. Remember the early days of F*&@#edCompany, when every move was a matter of public record? Who wants to return to that?

Kingdon is inviting comment on corporate blogs. It should be an interesting conversation.