Another small step forward in corporate communications. The company has, for months, expressed interest in blogs - like others, trying to understand the affect this new media will have on its fortunes and how to use a blog as a tool for its own, pardon the pun, devices.

However, the blog - called JNJ BTW, as in ‘by the way’ - is similar to others in that one person is largely responsible, at least for now. That would be Marc Monseau, who naturally works in J&J’s corporate communications department. Others may post, but only after being approved.

“Everyone else is talking about our company, so why can’t we? There are more than 120,000 people who work for Johnson & Johnson and its operating companies,” writes Marc. “I’m one of them, and through JNJ BTW, I will try to find a voice that often gets lost in formal communications. Like any conversation, there are certain ground rules that will be followed on JNJ BTW and you should read our comments policy to be familiar with what we will do here.”

In other words, this is unlikely to be a freewheeling affair. Rather, it’s an attempt to put an informal veneer on select messages that J&J wants its employees and the outside world to hear in a very controlled way. No surprise, right? Just one company’s attempt to embrace new media for help in cutting through the clutter and, if necessary, to fight back.

Hat tip to HealthCareVox