Alright – full disclosure, I am a vegetarian. I have been one for over a decade, so McDonalds’s doesn’t really do much for me. I have no real positive affinity to the golden arches, so I come into this post with a more negative view about McDonald’s than the millions of overweight American who love the fat filled goodness that lies between Ronald’s tasty buns.

I am passionate about blogging and the power of corporate blogging, and that is why I am making this post. When I see one of the largest companies in the world stepping into the blogosphere I am going to have an opinion about it.

Enough disclosure - on to the post…

McDonalds has once again entered the blogosphere, this time (hopefully) with better intentions than its ad agency contrived Lincoln French Fry Blog. The McDonald’s Corporate Responsibility Blog is intended to open dialogue with McDonald’s customers and shed light on all of the great things that McDonald’s is up to.

The blog is authored by Bob Langert, the Senior Director for Corporate Social Responsibility at McDonald’s. Looks like a nice enough guy, and fairly health (from the neck up anyway). I wonder how often he eats at McDonald’s. Bob?

The navigational categories on the blog are Balanced, Active Lifestyles, Community, Environment, People Policies & Programs, Responsible Purchasing, and Ronald McDonald House Charities.

Just from those categories, this blog shows the potential of going one of two directions. The first is to be a PR factory for McDonald’s, where they spend a lot of time tooting their own horn about the wonderful things they do. With the size of McDonald’s, I would hope they have a lot of horn tooting to do. If they cannot come up with a wonderful story about their company on a daily basis, there is something wrong.

But telling people all about why McDonald’s is so f-ing neato is totally the wrong thing for Mickey Dee’s to do. It will come off as insincere, and it avoids the biggest issue of them all. Why is McDonald’s still leading the pack in selling fast food that decreases the life expectancy of its regular eaters?

It is the big ass, stinky elephant sitting in the middle of the room, and if the McDonald’s blog does not attack that issue head on, then their attempt at “transparency” is a sham.

So what will the McDonald’s blog do in the end? Will they recognize that their mass-produced, low quality food is killing its regular customers, or will they keep pointing around the room saying “but look at this great thing we did?”

I hope the former, but I would bet on the latter.

So if you are out there Bob Langert, let’s see you recognize that big ass elephant. Even better, leave a comment and let me know that you are actually “joining in the conversation.”

Remeber that your name and reputation are on the line here Bob, don't let McDonalds drag you through the grease trap.