ExxonMobil is changing its approach to communicating its position on energy policy issues by directly engaging with key audiences using new online channels like blogs and RSS feeds. It is rewriting its issue content to change tone and voice, pushing out key facts and messages, and identifying credible voices both for and against its positions to engage in online debates. It will establish a corporate blog to share information on its technological advances and explain their relevance through posts by ExxonMobil scientists and business perspectives. The company will also monitor and participate in online conversations on Web 2.0 sites to help manage the discussion as it evolves.

2. First, Change the Way We Talk APCO re-wrote all the issue/policy content, changing tone and voice

3. Second, Push Out Our Message Using RSS and other feeds to push key facts and content out into the debate

4. Third, Open New Channels -- Blogs Identifying and engaging the most authoritative and credible voices online: scientists, legal experts, advocates, economists, and journalists – many of which are critics

5. Third, Open New Channels -- Blogs A strange thing happened to me last Friday: I participated in a conference call that put humble bloggers like yours truly in a conversation with Ken Cohen, the Vice President of Public Affairs for ExxonMobil, the largest publicly traded corporation in the world. Consider this quote: “We believe climate change is a serious issue and that action must be taken.” Last year, that might have been said by an environmentalist in testimony before Congress — or maybe not, because discussion of the issue in Congress was controlled by Republicans who were more interested in what ExxonMobil had to say on climate change. But those words were actually spoken today by Ken Cohen, ExxonMobil’s vice president for public affairs. Exxon is a company run by good business economists. They are unapologetic about their stance that profits matter and markets work. I applaud them for that. They are also realistic enough to know that perceptions matter. With the obvious writing on the wall that climate policy is coming, they have clearly made the decision that being in on the conversation is better than being the whipping post.

7. Fifth, Manage the Conversation We are being asked to help track and manage the conversation online as it evolves, particularly in Web 2.0 community sites