SI: The New Sony Blog

[Christopher]

Several years ago, Sony SVP of Corporate Communications Rick Clancy (now retired) launched a bold new initiative for Sony Electronics USA – a blog. When the blog debuted, very few consumer electronic companies had an official online presence. It was a bold gamble; social media was still in its infancy and many companies were still learning how to understand and harness the power of online communities. Throughout the life of the original Sony Electronics Blog, it saw many updates from Rick, who embarked on endeavors such as visiting 42 SonyStyle stores within a 40-day period to meet with people who came into the shops, the malls and the cities where the stores were located to get firsthand consumer feedback about Sony, the stores, the products, technologies and the brand. Rick covered trade shows like the gadget bloggers would and offered insight to the inner workings of Sony.

The first version of the Sony Electronics blog was a true success and kicked off a new direction for the innovative Japanese company and its presence online in the USA. They took that gamble a step further by interviewing Sony Insider when our site was only a few months old, giving us an opportunity to be officially known. I will always be thankful for that conversation. The original blog evolved further with the addition of new communities within the main blog, providing the VAIO, SonyStyle, and Backstage 101 teams with their own unique outlet to share their endeavors and helpful information.

The content and appearance of the first version of the Sony Electronics blog evolved greatly over time, and after Rick retired, VP David Migdal took over and continued on with Rick’s original dream and brought in an array of guest bloggers to provide content. And after Social Media Evangelist Sukhjit Ghag was hired, it seemed obvious that the older appearance and somewhat limited functionality of the original blog no longer aligned with the modern world. And in no way is that an insult towards the first version, but the system they started with simply was not keeping up with modern blogging software. I knew it, Sukhjit knew it, and so did many others. It was time for change.

Enter the new Sony Blog.

Sukhjit, Sony Corporate Communications (including Senior Manager Marcy Cohen), SonyStyle, and the Sony Electronics design team launched a new version of the Sony Electronics Blog a few months ago called the Sony Blog. It brings together the voices of Sony Electronics, VAIO, SonyStyle and other aspects of Sony under one roof. The new blog is based on WordPress and looks incredible – we know that Rick would be proud of this evolution. We sure are proud. We love the high quality images and videos, as well as the more consistent updates. Sony even has a new forum that consolidates the vast topics associated with Sony in one place – it’s easy to use and is quite active.

I have observed the evolution of Sony’s social media presence over the last decade and it has grown faster than ever in the last six to twelve months, especially with the hire of Sukhjit. Sony has an incredible presence on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc that no other consumer electronics manufacturer has even come close to achieving. With this latest effort, Sony is making a true difference with informing consumers, and these moves signal a new era in marketing and consumer relations that will one day be taught in schools.

Read more about the new Sony blog here at Gina’s informative posting.

View the full article