OK, you know I wouldn't have put up the 10 best Fortune 500 blogs if I wasn't willing to put up the 10 worst.  And let me tell you, the following blogs need to turn off the lights and say "Goodnight, John Boy."  When it comes to blogging mistakes, these blogs know how to bang them out- from truly boring content, to lack of expertise of the blogger, to missing blog features, to bad design, to... well, you name it, at least one of these blogs has got it!  So, if you think I've been harsh on real estate blogs, just wait till you see what I have to say about the Big Boy blogs...

Check out more Fortune 500 blogs at Search Marketing's Review of Fortune 500 Blogs. Again, a special thanks to Easton Ellsworth for keeping such a great list of corporate bloggers (The Fortune 500 Blog Project.)

1.       Kodak's a Thousand Words

Multiple author blog about photography and company products (tutorials)

OK, I'll give the authors mildly educational.  But come on, you are a company built on images and graphically your blog looks terrible.  The pictures used as examples look completely amateurish (and not in the Flickr good way).  If the purpose of the blog is to educate people on how to take better pictures or use the Kodak products, couldn't you have actually taken some good pictures, stylized the blog design, made me say "wow?"  Because I am a developer, I read tutorials all day long and these ones need serious work.  Send these bloggers back to remedial copyrighting school as well as a few photography classes.

How to Improve this Blog: Note to Kodak - go back to the drawing board on this one- you have great, useful products, don't let bad bloggers kill this project - get your design team to stylize the blog and replace your bloggers with some passionate photographers,  graphics designers and copyrighters. Stick with the tutorial strategy (use more video too)- that will work, but you need better experts and a more graphically intense site design to represent your brand.

Read also: How to write successful tutorial posts

2.       McDonald's: Open for Discussion

Multiple author blog about corporate responsibility

I expected so much better.  Visually it looks like my son made this in craft class.  Let's just get the obvious out of the way - they need to run on a real blogging platform like Diachronics, B2 or WordPress.  Currently this blog runs on something called "Awareness."  Awareness' corporate site is Flash. Nuf said. On the bright side, Bob Langert's concept is great- I love the idea of the corporate responsibility blog.  There is a lot they could have done with this blog; unfortunately it fell flat as a soufflé in cupboard with way too much boring content.  It feels like each of the authors is being forced to write chained to a desk in a basement.

How to Improve this Blog:  The bloggers have some great topics, but they need to learn the basics of copyrighting- # 1: write killer post titles- the current ones put me to sleep.  #2 break-up the text into scanable sections with bulleted/numbered lists and images.  While I am sure that these guys are excited about what they do- it doesn't come across that way.  Overall the writing is alright (if you are writing a term paper), it just has to loosen up and be more interesting and personable.

Read also: Killing me softly with your blog

3.       Johnson and Johnson's JNJ BTW Blog

Multiple author blog about the company, advice and random musings by employees

When I hit the site I thought, "wow, this looks good."  But looks are deceiving.  The content is very disjointed.  It feels macro-psychotic because so many people are blogging about so many different topics that when strung together don't make a lick of sense.  One person is posting about how to be a good patient, the next about Jury Duty and some program J&J runs called baby Camp and the next about drug development.  This blog never really identified what its readership should be so it is blogging to everybody but engaging nobody.  Couple that with the fact it has all its subscription info completely hidden below the fold - I can't see how this blog has any readership.  Basically - the marketing/tech guy that did this should be shot from a cannon into outer space so he can't pollute the web anymore with his user unfriendly sites and the company needs to pick an angle for the blog so it can identify with readers.  Remember - the first lesson of sociology is: people like people who are like them- so use relatable authors blogging on relatable topics. 

How to Improve this Blog:  Seriously, they need a redesign and a marketing plan.  If you want a conversation with the consumer- you need to identify what your consumer needs first.  So, start with a fresh group of bloggers - each taken from a single product line of the company.  Let then talk about the products, the happenings in the company the interests of the kinds of people that buy the products.  Now that you have a plan- teach your bloggers basic copywriting techniques so you don't get a bunch of drivel and random stuff.  Oh yeah- hire a new web designer- tell them to put the call to action (RSS subscription) towards the top of the page in the right column under the about information.  While you are at it move the search there too.  AND FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE REMOVE THE BLOGROLL.   It is killing the site.  Why do you think this site only has a PageRank 3 after almost a year of blogging?  Blogroll anyone?

Read also: Avoiding the bi-polar blog

4.       Clorox's Dr Laundry Blog

I don't even know why they call this a "weblog." The framed in content that makes you scroll is anything but user friendly or search engine friendly.  Actually, nothing about this "blog" is user friendly.  Scrolling categories, scrolling blogroll, scrolling everything is just bad form from a web design and SEO standpoint.  Yeah, it has a cute idea, yeah the graphics aren't bad, but who cares if no one can find the site on Google or if user's don't find it an intuitive experience.   On the bright side, the writing is good and helpful, so at least there's that.

How to Improve this Blog:  Toss the design, keep the content.  Build the site without frames.  You could really use the same design elements but just build it without those ridiculous scrollers. Use an RSS to email feature instead of having consumers subscribe to raw feeds.  Also, move the RSS subscription and search feature towards the top of the page.  Oh yeah- get rid of the blogroll.  One more thing- you might want to identify Dr. Laundry with a real person- people like to interact with real people on blogs not cartoons.

Cartoon authored blog about insulation and energy

5.       Owens Corning's Pink Panther Blog

At first glance, this a cute blog, but the content is actually disengaging.  I mean, how many questions can there possibly be about insulation and energy?  That being said, this blog is really only slightly off the mark.  The Q&A's are actually pretty good, but you can't build a blog on Q&A's alone.

How to Improve this Blog: Again, not a fan of a cartoon answering questions.  Seems a little hokey.  Energy and insulation are actually great topics.  Talk about how home ownsers can save money and energy by insulating their homes.  You could very easily turn this blog into a hot topic by covering more environmental topics like saving energy.  Tutorials with step by step images onhow to install insulation in various settings might also be helpful.  Focus on who you want on this blog- general consumers, do-it-yourselfers or contractors.  I think using real people (an environmentalist/a contractor/ a family man that likes to putz around the house, ect) to build content for this blog and having one section that offers answers from the pink panther is a better approach.

Read also: Google hates your blogroll

6.       Delta's Under the Wing Blog

Multiple author blog that covers everything from aircraft information to things to do in places you can visit while flying Delta.

Another macro-psychotic blog.  The writer's aren't bad (could use a few copyrighting classes), but they seem to have chosen too many angles for this blog.  They have someone talking about the company, someone talking about recycling aircrafts (corporate responsibility), someone else posting about the making of the Delta In Flight Safety Video and whole bunch of others talking about what to do in the various places Delta Flies.  It just feels kind of slapped together.  Visually, it's pretty unimpressive as well.

How to Improve this Blog:  They need to redesign the site completely to give it more visual interest, add a call to action in the side bar (special offerings - delta miles signup), move the search to the top, add an RSS to Email Form and then pick an overall theme.   They could go the corporate route- talk about the airline, it's history, new plane purchases, corporate responsibility, interviews with employees on what it's like to be a pilot or a flight attendant, etc.  Or they could go the travel route by covering all the things to do in the various place Delta flies to.  I love the idea of continuing with actual employees writing this blog- but they should definitely give these people some training on copywriting.

Read also: Traffic driving blog titles

7.       Johnson Controls Your Energy Forum

Multiple author blog that covers green energies and technologies

I don't even know where to begin here.  This is a disaster.  But let's start with the bright side: they chose a hot topic - green and sustainable energy.  I mean Al Gore won an Academy Award with this topic - so why can't an energy company with all it's collective knowledge and resources on the topic put together a great blog on that topic?  Who knows, but this blog is totally boring form the posts, to the writing to the look.  Oddly, this blog only displays one post on the home page instead of 5 or 10 and you can't get to the previous posts without clicking on a category.  So, in terms of usability- this blog fails miserably.

How to Improve this Blog:  Start over!  The design should feel fresh and clean - you know, convey the message of green energy... I rarely give specific design advice but using earthy tones and a very web 2.0 look with a lot of transparencies would make this blog feel fresh.  Move the search and RSS subscriptions options to the top of the left column.  Use more images in the posts and definitely make sure at least 5 posts are on the homepage.  They should use "read mores" to break up the text and improve article views.  Also, increase the base font size (it's very small on larger resolutions) and tweak the writing slightly so it is more interesting and packs a better punch.  Titling posts better would also improve readability.

8.       General Mills' Real Baking with Rosie

Single author blog that give baking tips and recipes

This is just a weird blog.  Not really sure this is hitting the mark for the market.  Rosie Levy basically blogs about baking, giving tips and recipes.  The site just feels plain and boring.  It feels more like a personal site than a business site.  I just don't "get" it. 

 How to Improve this Blog:  I think the concept might actually work, but you need more than one author.  A couple of higher profile chefs and bakers might be nice.  Clearly they would have to change the name and branding, but an idea like that would have a better chance at growing a larger readership.

9.       Cox Communications Digital Straight Talk

I can't really tell how many people author this blog that offers views and news on the many issues affecting broadband providers and consumers.

Yeah, Cox completely missed the point of a blog.  This blog has no humanization, covers really dry, boring stuff like products, legislation, research and press releases.  It really isn't engaging and feels more like it is meant for investors than consumers.  This just feels like old school website marketing not a blog.  They can't even announce a new TV show launch with passion... Just totally boring.  They had so much to work with and they completely squandered the opportunity.  I mean, this is a cable provider - how could it have gone so wrong?

How to Improve this Blog:  Conceptually they need to go back to the drawing boards.  Hey Cox, you are a company built on video and images- put some on our blog.  Hire a blogger or professional copywriter to spice up the content.  There is no better way to get people talking than start talking about their favorite shows.  Maybe get a real tech in there to talk about common satellite or Internet troubleshooting.  As always, I will say it needs an RSS to email subscription, but it could also use some sort of call to action for consumers.  Basically, this blog needs a pulse or a death certificate.

Read also: The 6 signs of blog death

10.       Graco Baby Blog

Multiple author blog covering all things baby and most things you don't care about.

As a new mother, I have read a great many baby blogs, many of which blow the socks off the Graco Blog.  They talk a lot about babies, show pictures of babies, write letters to babies, post jokes about babies, but what is really missing is that this is a corporate blog.  They have completely forgotten that new mom's like myself want reviews of products, recommendations of what product would best suit my child at this stage of development.  I actually use a lot of Graco products and would be interested in finding out more about them. 

How to Improve this Blog:  This blog is way too personal.  The bloggers are just blogging about their kids which are cute- but this is a business blog that should have a direction and a purpose.  They should get product managers to talk about the products, a pediatrician to post from time to time and talk about development stages or even an obstetrician to talk about various stages of pregnancy.  There is so much you can do with a baby blog- all new parents need resources and that is exactly what this should be.  You could even do tutorials on how to plan for trips with a baby, how to orchestrate a 2 year old's birthday party, etc.  Please do something that has value to the consumer...

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