As the blogging backlash continues, it’s nice to see no less authoritative a source than the Harvard Business School suggest that businesses should blog. The advice provided by the venerable insitution is familiar, as are the authorities quoted, but to have HBR come down on the side of blogging lends a certain amount of credibility to the practice.

The article, appearing in Harvard’s online “Working Knowledge for Business Leaders” newsletter, suggests three reasons for businesses to blog: influence public conversation about your company, enhance brand visibility, and get closer to your customers. Quoting the likes of Debbie Weil and Technorati’s Dave Sifry, the article offers some fundamental information about blogs as well as advice, such as “Have a distinct focus and goal,” “feature an authentic voice,” and be “open to comment.” Regular readers of this blog will find this all fairly elementary, but shoving a Harvard Business School article under your boss’s nose when he dismisses blogs could tip the scales.