I've never been a particularly tidy person. It's probably a kickback to my youth - my mother (who is a total neat nut) would on a regular basis force me to clean up my room.
The residues of a neat bedroom may be long gone, but I firmly believe that in its place is a total aversion to tidying and being forced to do something I haven't bought into.
Of course, growing up doesn't mean we no longer have responsibilities; nevertheless, we generally have greater choice in which responsibilities to accept.
Despite this being particularly true in entering the workplace, many of SA's economic participants may soon find another responsibility added to their already full work schedules: that of corporate blogger.
Everyone else is doing it
The whole idea of the corporate blogger is an interesting one.
In an effort to create a more human face, leverage technology of public interest and disseminate corporate messaging, several US companies have added a corporate blog site to their communications portfolio.
For some companies, the project has been a resounding success. Want to ask Sun Microsystems CEO Jonathon Schwartz a question? Just go to the company's blog site and communicate directly. Want to hear Michael Dell's thoughts on new trends? Simply surf your way to Direct2Dell.
How cool is that? Thoughts directly from the people who influence the market delivered to a computer screen near you.
These types of blog sites have, of course, created a lot of attention in their respective fields.
As a result, many of SA's marketing and communication people have followed their international counterparts and gone all starry-eyed at the possibilities this new - next-to-free - channel can offer.
Why you (perhaps) shouldn't
For someone who is unused to writing on a regular basis, the process of producing a "publish-ready" piece is time-consuming and frustrating.
Kimberly Guest, senior journalist, ITWeb
All the same, what companies and their communication executives should realise is that what appears brilliant in theory, does not always produce the desired results in practice.
You see, writing is not a skill that comes easily to all people.
Those of us who do it for a living will tell you - over several bottles of wine - the sad lament of writers block and being misunderstood. Our copy editors, who prevent us from looking completely illiterate, will tell you that even the best writers rarely submit copy that is free of errors.
Additionally, for someone who is unused to writing on a regular basis, the process of producing a "publish-ready" piece is time-consuming and frustrating.
With other tasks piling up in the background, the person who has been charged with regularly contributing to the company's 'fantastic new channel to connect with customers' could quite conceivably rush the job to get it out of the way.
The results will be disastrous. This I promise you.
What will customers think when they discover the CEO of a listed company cannot spell or string a sentence together? What happens when the resident techie discloses news of a system glitch before the PR people have had the chance to create the appropriate spin?
More importantly, what if customers don't like your tone/views/people?
About once a month, I force myself to bring order to the mountains of journalist debris that threatens the lives of the colleagues who are unfortunate enough to have their desks partnering my own. As it is my choice, I do this task properly.
However, if I were compelled by my employer to leave a clean desk at the end of every working day, I have no doubt that my irritation would have a negative impact on all aspects of my contribution to the company.
If you are convinced a company blog is the way to go, perhaps it is wiser to put out an invitation to those who are genuinely interested in doing so. For your own sake, make sure all works of art are passed through someone who understands the dynamics of the written language.
If no one is willing, then hire a ghost-writer. I have a sneaky suspicion this is what those with successful corporate blogs have been doing.
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