In yet another sign of the digital times, Mercury Racing has added a blog to its web site. The subject of the first installment, “First Pair of Production 1350s Shipped,” is something I’ve covered thoroughly on the speedonthewater.com, the high-performance arm of boatermouth.com, since the 1,350-hp turbocharged engines were introduced in February 2010 at the Miami International Boat Show.

OK, the loud noise you hear is me slapping myself on the back.

Joking aside, I’ll be interested to see how this latest electronic venture works out for Mercury Racing as the company’s blog is interactive, meaning visitors can comment on it. For sure, it will present a moderation challenge for Rick Mackie, Mercury Racing’s media person. To his credit, Mackie is a calm, even-handed guy who I believe is well-suited to the task of blog moderation. The trick will be tolerating respectful criticism from visitors to the blog, as overly sensitive moderation will land it in the realm of the infomercial. And that’s death online.

The other key to success of Mercury Racing’s new blog, and any blog for that matter? Frequent refreshment, and ideally that means daily. Nothing kills a blog visitor’s enthusiasm more quickly than finding the same news day after day.

My take? Mercury Racing can pull it off. Stay tuned—I certainly will.