Corporate Blogging :
Corporate Blogging Two articles discuss how Wal-Mart has engaged in corporate blogging. Edelman, a well-known public relations firm, admitted that it is responsible for blogs that had appeared to be independent supporters of the Wal-Mart brand. The president and CEO of Edelman apologized for not being more transparent and took responsibility for the blunder. It was also revealed that a “Wal-Marting Across America” blog, supposed written by a couple traveling across the country in an RV which they parked in Wal-Mart parking lots, was in fact written by Working Families for Wal-Mart. Corporate blogging, however, is not rare, and other major corporations such as Sun Microsystems, General Motors, IBM, and Wells Fargo have used them in recent years. Sony created a “flog,” or fake blog, to promote the PSP with a false amateur hip-hop artist named “Charlie” supposedly penning it. While some have tried to hide their corporate associates, others are very open about their ties, to the benefit of the company. These blogs are being praised for making impersonal institutions seem more personable. Dell and McDonalds are given as examples, as they both have discussed difficult issues (such as a recall of Dell batteries and obesity). The articles confirm that corporate blogs will continue to grow in use because they allow companies to reach consumers directly and in a more human way than typical marketing.
“Brody Ruckus” :
“Brody Ruckus” Another article discusses Internet opaqueness but concentrates on “Brody Ruckus,” a phony college student with a Facebook profile created by Ruckus, the legal peer-to-peer downloading network. Not only was a fake profile developed by Ruckus, they also stirred Facebook buzz by posting that if he made 100,000 Facebook friends, his girlfriend would have a three-some with him and another woman. After more than 300,000 members befriended him, Facebook discovered that Brody was a fabrication and deleted the account. Ruckus, who still had access to the emails of all “Brody’s” friends began spamming them about Ruckus products. Like with “flogs”, it is not difficult nor is it uncommon for businesses to deceive people through “guerilla advertising” which shields users from knowing corporate connections.
Privacy Breaches :
Privacy Breaches Privacy online has become a significant issue as well. AOL recently apologized after user search log data for 658,000 subscribers was accidently released to the public. Much of the search terms were very sensitive including things like “how to tell your family you’re a victim of incest” and “surgical help for depression,” claimed one article. A similar mishap occurred in 1999 and 2001 when AltaVista released a smaller data set of users’ search results. MySpace experienced a security breach in 2006 that gave users access to other users’ private pictures and postings. The hack made it possible for users over the age of 18 to view profiles of users under 16, a concern for social networking communities have been under fire for bringing child molesters in contact with youths. Xanga.com experienced extensive criticism when they permitted children under the age of 13 to sign up for their services, violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. This act cost Xanga.com one million dollars. Hershey Foods and Mrs. Fields Cookies were also subject to fines for violated the Act by collecting information from children without parental consent. Mrs. Fields’ sites gave birthday coupons to kids on their birthdays and recorded their name and address and other information as a part of the promotion. Hershey’s sites asked that kids have their parents fill out information but were fined because it was not clear if children actually had their parents do this. It was one of the first cases which made the method of parental consent a company uses on its site an issue.
User-Generated Content :
User-Generated Content Yet another significant online problem corporations are facing involves user-generate content. Malibu rum held a contest wherein YouTube users posted videos in the hopes of winning a $25,000 prize. The winner was named without public mention of finalists and contestants began speculating that the contest was rigged. Malibu denied these claims and reinforced that the selected winner did in fact win fairly. Chevy too encountered issues with user-generated videos when they introduced a website encouraging visitors to create their own 30-second commercial for the 2007 Chevy Tahoe. The plan to make these viral ads circulate the web worked, except that video creators were taking jabs at the S.U.V’s. gas guzzling habits. A Chevrolet spokeswoman said that she anticipated “critical submissions,” and a Renegade Marketing executive echoes that user-generated advertising has its risks. Jet Blue, Chrysler, Mastercard and Converse have also promoted the public to create their own homemade advertisements, but other companies, like Pepsi-Cola, remain cautious of user-generated materials.