The Wells Fargo - Wachovia merger blog

US bank Wells Fargo is taking its experience with social media into unchartered territory (for the banking industry) with the launch of a new blog designed to keep customers up-to-speed with progress on its merger with Wachovia.

The Wells Fargo - Wachovia blog will feature regular contributions from five team members - including CEO John Stumpf - and invite feedback and queries from the general public.

Stumpf himself set the ball rolling on 2 January with an opening post explaining the bank's objectives: "Here we'll share news and information, and you can "join the conversation" and let us know along the way how we're doing and what we can do better to make the transition as smooth as possible."

Laudable stuff, but don't expect a warts-and-all free-for-all.

Another of the site's lead bloggers is Matt Wadley, a member of Wachovia's corporate communications department. Matt promises that the blog won't just be another channel for corporate PR.

All the same, the information spun through this channel is likely to be tightly controlled. If the three-year integration project starts running into problems don't expect to hear it here first.