Blogs have certainly been around for a while, but only in the past year or so have they truly started to catch on at a corporate level. The type of communication possible with a blog is much more interactive and personal than press releases, allowing companies to reach out to customers and investors. The trend has exploded in the technology sector, but it has been slow to grow outside of that.

Still, the first companies to start blogs also understood the advantages the most; everyone else just jumped on the bandwagon. With that in mind, it’s interesting to look at the aviation industry – Randy Baseler’s excellent Boeing Blog has been going for some time, and his discussions of products – Boeing and Airbus – is fair, relatively unbiased, and insightful. Despite frequently criticizing his chief competitor’s products, his justifications are based in fact and don’t sound preachy.

That’s the big advantage of a blog – Boeing is able to explain their design decisions, and criticize those of Airbus, in a medium that doesn’t read as yet another paid advertisement. Southwest Airlines recently became the first airline that I’m aware of to launch a blog, following a slightly different format. Each entry is authored by a different employee – making frequent updates more likely – and so far the entries have been on vastly different topics. It’s showing an even more personal side to an airline that already puts customer service first.

It will be worth watching to see which airlines and manufacturers start blogs over the next year and which do not. Those that do seem to have a better understanding of their customers, shareholders, and employees, and that almost always translates into business success.