Wal-Mart has had its ups and downs with blogging and marketing to the net-savvy customer in the past – well, more downs than ups. So, when I heard that Wal-Mart employees were starting a blog, I was skeptical to say the least. After all, here was a company that paid a family to live in a trailer in Wal-Mart parking lots around the country and blog about their experience….

But this blog is, for the most part, a straightforward project. It does seem a bit of an extended advertising arm, but what corporate-sponsored blog isn’t? (Except this one, of course…cough cough…) The blog mostly goes over what’s new and cool at the store, namely gadgets and video game stuff. I’ll admit, I am kinda wanting to get a Wii Fitness program now (and I thought all those games of Wii tennis would have canceled out the extra slice of pie or four I had over the holidays).

Corporate blogs are going to be more and more common, but I think a balance must be struck -some amount of honesty, and real opinion and attitude must be present, or the increasingly intelligent consumers online will at these sham bloggers alive.

I was half expecting a pop up of one of these when i clicked on the Wal-Mart blog link: