Today, Part 1 of my two-part interview with the awesome social media team at Kodak. I was impressed with some of their blogging during this year’s Olympic Games, which prompted me to want to learn more about what they’re up to.

We’ll be talking about their blogging efforts, the role social media plays in their business, and how they’ll be incorporating social media into their future plans. My special thanks to Krista Gleason, Jenny Cisney, and Tom Hoehn for their friendliness and participation!

When did Kodak make the decision to make social media part of their corporate strategy, and why?

Krista Gleason: We launched our first blog – A Thousand Words – in September 2006 and have engaged in other social media since then including podcasts, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, flickr, and delicious. Our social media activities are part of our overall communications and marketing strategy. We use social media to connect with our customers – communicate, listen, interact, engage – and share information about our company and our products and services.

We wanted to have a presence in the blogosphere. It’s important for us to be a part of the conversation.

Tell me a little bit about the three blogs you have, and how and why each one is important to Kodak.

Krista: Kodak has three blogs. A Thousand Words features stories from Kodak employees on a variety of topics but with a focus on photography and imaging. Plugged In features stories about Kodak products and services. Grow Your Biz features stories from Kodak’s Graphic Communications business. Together, they reflect the breadth and expertise of our company – traditional (photography and film), digital, and print.

What kind of impact has blogging and social media had on your company culture? Your customer relationships?

Krista: Internally, blogging has opened up opportunities for employees to share their personal stories thereby helping to boost employee morale. Kodak employees are passionate about their work and their company and the blogs give them a chance to communicate that passion. We currently have over 70 employees who blog (including international bloggers) and new employees continually expressing interest. Externally, our blogs give customers and readers (from over 100 countries) a better understanding of Kodak – from how our products and services can help them do more with their pictures to how the company’s innovations are impacting our world. Our blogs also give Kodak a human face.

People can of course participate in our blog through comments but can also become the subject of our Picture Wednesday blog by submitting a photo to Kodak’s Picture of the Day. During the Olympics, for example, one blogger commented “I want that camera!” to a post about the panoramic feature on our cameras. We get comments like that often.

Jenny Cisney: There have been many online experts who feel that Kodak ‘gets it’ and customers who appreciate us listening to them. A woman on Twitter was having a problem with her printer and was so grateful when we twittered back with the solution to her problem.

How did blogging enhance the 2008 Olympic experience for Kodak, both as individual staff members, and for your company as a whole?

Jenny: Our blogs demonstrated to readers how Kodak products, services and technology were being used at the Olympics, from services for photojournalists, to printing accreditation badges, postcards and newsletters, to digital photo services for fans. It also showed how the Games and Beijing were captured using Kodak cameras. Photos and video taken on site were shared with tips on taking pictures when traveling. It’s all part of communicating how Kodak can help you “make, manage and move images and information.”

You also have a comprehensive series of podcasts; what drove you to explore this medium? Has it been successful for you, and what have you learned from it?

Krista: Kodak has its own production studio (albeit a small one) so doing podcasts is a great fit. We are pleased with the success of our podcasts (also available through RSS and iTunes). Our Pro Imaging podcasts (new this year) have been especially popular and are also featured on www.imaginginfo.com.

Podcasts are another great tool to communicate with our customers though probably consume the most time given the nature of production. But it’s something we feel adds value to our communications and marketing and we have a lot of fun putting them together.

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post, where Kodak talks about their definitions of social media ROI, and their words of wisdom for companies contemplating the social media plunge. Thursday I’ll recap what I’ve learned from Kodak, and some ideas for you and your business to explore!