How many times have you heard the phrase 'Just Act Natural'? Usually the phrase is associated with you entering a situation that you:

a) aren't prepared for
b) aren't supposed to be in.

Now think about how this term applies to corporations and blogs. Many times, those of us in the social media space just say to a corporation; have a conversation with your customers, open up, or "just act natural". Easier said than done though.

The majority of social media gurus are independent and usually don't deal with the structure (read: restrictions) of the corporate world. We attempt to understand what it's like inside the crystal palaces but sometimes it's difficult. The thought of openly talking to their customers is as foreign to them as working 40 hours per week at a 9-to-5 job in an office is to me.

Some corporations have an established relationship with their loyal customers, take Southwest Airlines for example. Southwest blogging makes sense. Halliburton blogging does not.

I've had the opportunity to speak to a number of corporations recently and they're struggling with this topic. Can they act natural? Some just can't. The alternative is faking it, which never works out well in the blogosphere.

Where is this going? We'll see, I'm going to use a series of post to further flesh out this topic....