A few weeks ago, I spoke on a panel at WordCamp Dallas where we discussed the concept of business and blogging. Three years ago, this would be breaking all precedents of marketing and PR, but slowly companies have figured out that the best way to cultivate a loyal customer base in the age of social media is via transparency.

Direct2Dell demonstrates a company that has figured out that conversation with customers is a valuable trust and brand builder. Sun Microsystems CEO Jonathon Schwarz successfully blogs in an ongoing conversation with Sun customers. Zappos Shoes is fanatical about their communication.

These are just a handful of corporate blogs that exist today. It’s increasingly difficult to find companies that do not have blogs and those companies would likely tell you that they don’t regret it one bit.

The old style of marketing and communications said that there were such things as “internal memos” where a company could say or do something internally and pretty much ignore what happened outside and chalk things up to being “internal”.

Realistically, though, the conversation about a company’s brand and reputation is going to happen anyway. Simply ignoring it doesn’t make it go away. Facilitating that conversation in such a way that builds trust and confidence in the brand is crucial.

Today, it is ever more impossible for companies to not be “out there” and be successful. Podcasting and video are great new media tools to put a human, approachbale face on a company. The next key , of course, is to actually be approachable.