Advice from eBay’s new blogger-in-chief

So you think you want to become the human face of your corporation? Look before you launch

When Ragan.com caught up with eBay’s corporate blogger Richard Brewer-Hay, it was on a Friday at the end of what had been “quite a week,” he said.

Then he added that it had actually been quite a couple of weeks.

And as we talked to him, we realized every week has been quite a week since the April 2 launch of eBay Ink, the dotcom dynamo’s ambitious attempt to engage in a dialogue with its users, financial analysts, investors and the media through a “human face.”

Brewer-Hay’s first uncertain steps as a baby corporate blogger hold warnings and lessons and inspiration for others who would take a similar plunge.

After spending most of his career in PR at various technology startups or at agencies representing them, Brewer-Hay came to eBay in January as an outsider, brought in by the corporate communication department for his social media experience and for his editorial independence. But when the blog went live a few months later, Brewer-Hay’s status as an eBay newbie became a lightning rod for criticism.