Brewer-Hay to calm the flames

This August eBay will launch eBay Ink, a blog designed to improve its image among its sellers.

The company chose blogger Richard Brewer-Hay to put a positive spin on recent changes to the site.

The blogger told Fortune he may interview eBay CEO John Donahoe. Donahoe announced the changes to eBay's fee structure when he took over the company, following the departure of longtime leader Meg Whitman.

The alterations have received mostly bad press, following a boycott by disgruntled eBay sellers.

Brewer-Hay will also "coordinate editorial content with those authoring blogs that support eBay, PayPal and Skype; not outside bloggers," according to Pro Blogging News.

This isn't the first time a firm has hired a blogger to improve public perception. Once upon a time, Microsoft tapped Robert Scoble to rub out its "evil empire" image. But in a classic (and dangerous) demonstration of blogger integrity, Scoble departed and later wrote that Microsoft "sucks."

Microsoft's Scoble experience suggests a blogger can only improve a company's long-term image if he or she genuinely believes in that improvement.