SHOULD chief executives blog? The late adopters had better decide soon, because the World Economic Forum is encouraging blogging by bigwigs as part of its annual meeting this week in Davos, Switzerland.

Some 800 chief executives or chairmen will be there among 2,400 attendees when the talking starts in earnest on January 24th. They are due to be joined by two dozen heads of state or government, assorted social entrepreneurs, lesser politicians, academics and global bureaucrats, a smattering of royalty, a few oddballs, and an icing of celebrities.

The encouragement to blog reflects the theme of this year's forum, "The Shifting Power Equation".