Petro-Canada Launches Blog
Kudos to Petro-Canada, which has launched a blog called Pump Talk focused on “Sharing Ideas on Gas Prices and Fuel Efficiency”. It’s so encouraging to see a large Canadian company get into the blogosphere. Maybe it will encourage other companies to take the leap as well.
In explaining why the blog was launched, Petro-Canada says:
“PumpTalk is designed to be informative, interactive and interesting. There are many industry issues worthy of discussion, but we have decided to start by focusing on three main topics – gas prices, fuel efficiency and how the industry works. The topic authors are not necessarily experts, but rather Petro-Canada employees who are interested in the subject matter. We’ll also introduce more videos and share anything interesting we find along the way. “
The blog is being written by three Petro-Canada employees: Sneh Seetal, Jon Hamilton and Michael Southern with Corinn Smith acting as blog editor.
Kate Trgovac (aka My Name is Kate), whose counts Petro-Canada as a client, has a long post on Petro-Canada’s move. “Personally, I am so proud of Petro-Canada for really wanting to engage with customers around this incredibly thorny issue. We all *know* that social media (blogs, etc.) is the way to go, but I think it takes a lot of courage for a company to actually put themselves out there.”
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POSTED IN: Blogs
3 opinions for Petro-Canada Launches Blog
Carl Mercier
Sep 7, 2007 at 11:05 am
Will this lower the price of gas? No.
Will this change something about the current oligopoly? No.
Do they REALLY care about what we have to say? No.
Will it change my opinion about oil companies? No.
Jon Hamilton
Sep 7, 2007 at 10:28 pm
Let me state up front, I work for Petro-Canada and am one of the Pump Talk blog authors.
Lower the price? No. That would certainly generate interest though.
Oligopoly? 20 gov’t studies in 20 years say otherwise.
Do we care about what you have to say? Yes. That’s why we launched the blog. We all want lower gas prices, but there are many good reasons we pay what we pay. We hope to provide that voice that’s missing from the discussion. And the more tips on how we can all use fuel more efficiently the better.
Change your opinion? We’ll have fun trying.
AndrewK aka docGUI
Sep 7, 2007 at 10:38 pm
“Will this lower the price of gas? No.”
Is that a fair thing to ask of a blog? Nope. But if they are going to offer up tips on conservation or efficiency it might save drivers some dough.
“Will this change something about the current oligopoly? No.”
Is that a fair thing to ask of a blog? Nope
“Do they REALLY care about what we have to say? No.”
The Jury is still out on this one. Perhaps if the blog becomes popular Canadian concerns will at the very least be reflected in their marketing message.
“Will it change my opinion about oil companies? No.”
I doubt that’s a realistic goal. A dialog with stakeholders and consumers might be though.
P.S. Is that first link in this post “http://www.mapleleaftwo.com/petro-canada-launches-blog/%0A%0Ahttp://www.pumptalk.ca/” intended?
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