If you don't blog, you can't work at crayon...

There, I said it. The post title probably sounds a little harsher than it actually is, but here's the thing...the culture of a company is its heart and soul; it's perhaps the one aspect of its DNA that is non-negotiable.

Over the past 2 years, I've played my part in trying to build the company (or at least the workplace) of the future. Part of our essence is the belief/philosophy that we walk our talk; we live in the heart of the storm; the epicenter of change....etc.

We've experimented ourselves with different types of formula - looking to balance or counterbalance marketing services experience with "social media insider" expertise, amidst a start-up atmosphere.

The fact remains...some things can be taught and others cannot; some things are natural and other things are forced; some things are either in you or they're not.

Over time, we've crafted (work in progress) our own internal checklist of what constitutes a crayonista. Some of it is attitude. Some of it is aptitude. Now - using people like Tony @ Zappos as inspiration (everyone within Zappos is on Twitter), we've decided what is mandatory and what is optional.

Here's one of the mandatories: if you aren't already blogging, don't bother applying for a position at crayon.

Sound harsh? Perhaps. Will exceptions apply? Of course, but they will be few and far between and will be considered under exceptional circumstances.

• I wonder what your reaction to this is?
• How many people within your organization are charged with "social media", but - themselves - are not walking the talk?
• Do you agree or disagree with this position?
• What gates or checklists do you have in place in your organization?
• What gates or checklists do you wish you had in place in your organization?

I'll also mention 2 additional points:

1. Shameless self-promoters need not apply (just because you have a blog doesn't give you a sense of entitlement; your content needs to be original and quality; if you're blogging to get speaking gigs, good luck with that...) In addition, blogging as an empty shell is probably lower on the prioritization list. I guess it comes down to the difference between going through the motions and actively engaging/participating in the "conversation"
2. We've thought about several other "gates" as well e.,g. people need to be actively tweeting. Like Zappos, this is something we feel strongly about...but I'm just not sure I want to put this on the same level of importance/pedastal as "blogging", which is truly a marquis representation of this new conversational model.

Thoughts?