Warren Buffett (left, from Slate) was probably the first big-time executive to really "get" blogging. That's really what his annual letter to shareholders is Read them in turn, going backward in time, and see if I'm right. It's a pre-blog blog.

Jonathan Schwartz, COO of Sun, understands this. His blog entries are longer than most, often being fairly-detailed position statements on Sun's view of issues, but his is a true blog, which aims to participate in and prod ongoing discussion.

One common result of this is to make Sun's strategy seem transparent. This is a very controversial corporate value in our time -- most companies try to make their thinking as opaque as possible. But I really believe it can be a very positive value.

As Moore's Law makes change go faster-and-faster, customers are often paralyzed in their decision making. They really don't know if the decision they make today will be rendered obsolete tomorrow. And there are many such decisions being made by folks with big salaries today, people who remember the guys who bought Unisys mainframes or stuck with Peoplesoft after Oracle's first merger approach.

The fear leads to timid decisions, going only with the giant in hope of finding protection. But that's not always where success lies. One thing giant corporations like Microsoft, Wal-Mart and Southwest Air all have in common is they were once small fry, too. Giants are as apt to take their eye off the ball as anyone.

So Schwartz' blog tries to show that his eye is squarely on the ball, that he sees the threats, and opportunities, and he's in it for you, the customer. To the extent that he's really telling customers the truth in his blog, he builds his credibility, and Sun's as well. If he is hiding something, or it becomes clear he's just put out FUD, his credibility falls, and so does Sun's.

Welcome to the world of journalism, Jonathan.