Over at The Energy Collective--one of Social Media Today's sister sites--there's a great example of a corporation embracing social media in a thoughtful way.

David Hone, Climate Change Advisor to Royal Dutch Shell, has added his blog to the mix of posts from energy industry insiders, environmental activists, technology advocates, and policy makers. David writes about the politics of carbon regulation and the likely evolutionary path of traditional energy companies like Shell in world struggling to adapt to a potential climate crisis.

Check out his first two posts: "Do oil and wind mix?" and "Contemplating Copenhagen and the USA."

It's a promising beginning for Shell. Of course, they are doing the obvious things right here. Hone is transparent about his corporate affiliation and writes with complete authenticity. This is not corporate messaging, but rather a peek into a small part of the internal dialogue of a company via the perspective of one representative, who comes across as smart, practical, human, and decent.

What promises to make this an effective outreach for Shell--and other corporations considering similar programs would do well to take notice--is that they've shown great wisdom in selecting Hone as their ambassador. He brings credentials as a board member and Vice Chairman of the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) and through his work with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. And though he may be performing an important public relations function for Shell, he does not hail from their PR or Marketing ranks.

Consciously or not, Shell reached out to The Energy Collective community with one of their own--a believer in science, a businessman, and a creative problem solver. As a result, it seems likely Shell will minimize any flaring-up of historical antagonism between environmental activists (a vocal contingent at TEC) and oil companies, and focus instead of real, substantive discussion.

We'll drop updates here as David Hone's and Shell's relationship with The Energy Collective unfolds. Or watch for yourself at http://theenergycollective.com.