Yesterday and today, the blogosphere has been a-buzzing with the latest Wal-Mart social media faux-pas. Short version: the much-heralded Wal-Marting Across America blog turns out to be… not a grassroots blog by a couple of independent RVers, but rather a Wal-Mart sponsored blog written by paid bloggers (one of whom is a photographer for the Washington Post) and created by the firm’s PR agency Edelman.
Ouch, blecch and all those other nasty words. I’m not going to go into an analysis of Edelman’s second (or third depending on what you count) social media strike with the same client. Others have done a brilliant job of this already. So if you haven’t already, read about transparency and honesty and what WAS Edelman thinking ? on these great blogs:
- John Wagner, one of the first out of the blocks with What was that we were saying about transparency? followed by Washing away in a tide of ‘how could they?’
- Biz-Hack, tracking the developing story
- Kevin Dugan, Will Edelman Walk the Talk?
- Shel Holtz, Edelman and the one-sided conversation
- Todd Defren, Strike Three for Edelman
- Toby Bloomberg, Defending and Defining The Blog Culture
Suffice it to say that Edelman’s reputation has taken a deserved hit and they should be embarassed. Publicity and high profile hires to the contrary, they just don’t seem to "get it," and also seem determined to prove that at every turn. One thing for sure, they should be taking a long hard look at their social media practice. Will they? That’s Richard Edelman’s problem, not mine.
What can we learn from this latest fake blog? Toby’s post above, which talks about the importance of the blog culture, and a separate post by blog buddy Mary Schmidt Why Sci-Fi is Relevant to Business (and Life) got me thinking.
Mary’s post covers a bunch of things we can learn from science fiction. To her list, I’d like to add one more "rule" that drives the ethos in much of the science fiction I really love, from Star Trek, Foundation and Doctor Who to Farscape and Stargate, and can also be considered a key rule for working in the blogosphere. To sum it up: don’t f*** with the natives, don’t hurt the humans.
Starting with the Three Laws of Robotics created by Isaac Asimov (Wikipedia):
- A robot may not harm a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
- A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
- A robot must protect its own existence, as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
and the Prime Directive of Star Trek, which "dictates that there be no interference with the natural development of any primitive society, chiefly meaning that no primitive culture can be given or exposed to any information regarding advanced technology or alien races. It also forbids any effort to improve or change in any way the natural course of such a society, even if that change is well-intentioned and kept completely secret." (from Wikipedia),
science fiction understands some fundamental principles about human nature and culture to which we should pay attention.
Even shows like Stargate, Doctor Who and Farscape which aren’t quite so hands off as the Prime Directive understand quite clearly that you have to fit in with the culture and do your best to not let your technology, or values, overly color where you are or what you do. And more than anything, first, do no harm.
And that is what we have to do with the blogosphere. Because the blogosphere isn’t a thing. It’s people. When we lose sight of the people, when we stop respecting the people, we make stupid mistakes. We think that because, yes, there are stupid people in the world, all people are stupid. They won’t penetrate our fake blog (flog). They just wanna shop at Wal-Mart. Wrong.
We need to understand that our Prime Directive, if we choose to engage with bloggers, either on their blog or our own, is to be honest. About who we are, why we’re doing what we do, and who is paying the bills. It’s okay if you have an agenda. People expect, and respect, that. I’ve done a number of blogger outreach projects for clients, and I always identify my interest in the project. Why wouldn’t I? Doesn’t make the story any less interesting, and it respects the intelligence of my correspondents.
And that’s the lesson, my friends. Respect. For differences. For opinions. For the culture. When we have mutual respect, we have a conversation. Without it, it is just vocal chords moving, bits and bytes shifting.
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me thrice.
Jees, I don’t know. Whaddya you think?
Tags: Wal-Mart, science fiction, Edelman, fake blog
Really helpful post.
This must be the week that Asimov’s Three Laws come to mind. I found them helpful in expressing some thoughts too.
Thanks for enlarging the conversation about respect for differences!
Our take is similar to yours (http://www.agencynext.com/2006/10/15/cant-buy-me-love/) but we also think that big business attempting to co-opt the blogosphere is doomed to failure.
Cant buy me love
This post is gonna sound a little gleeful, although I dont intend it to be. Why start with a disclaimer?
Well, try this on for size. Edelman PR so big, so powerful, so hip, so blognoscenti with Rubel chillin with RocketBoom and bein…
From Richard Edelman’s most recent blog post: “The smart company will listen first, then speak, and listen again…It recognizes the simple truth that in a world lacking trust in established institutions such as business, government and media, the most trusted source for information is a person like you.”
If Edelman truly believes that, why would they try to pass off a fake blog? I feel torn and disappointed after reading this news about the Wal-Mart road trip blog. I have a ton of respect for Edelman and their use of social media. For the most part, they really seem to get it. Rick Murray recently visited Robert’s classes at Auburn to talk with us about his work with the me2revolution. This blog stunt seems to go against every principle that the me2revolution stands for. If we can’t trust the “people” like us to be honest and respectful and real, then the blogosphere has no real value aside from entertainment. And even then, being fooled is not very entertaining. I hope to hear something from the Edelman camp soon on this subject. It’s a mistake that I have a very hard time accepting from an organization so intune with the concept of social media. Edelman IS a smart company, one of the smartest in their industry. I hope that this time they will listen, and when they speak, make it count.
I think Edelman is a victim of their own success and reputation. “If we’re doing it, it must be: a. right; b. smart” since we’re the “experts” and we’re so smart. Um, yes, and now we’ve seen yet another example of how smart people do stupid things and why I have a problem with the term “expert” (in any context – all too often when the “expert” speaks, people turn off their brains and don’t do their own thinking.)
Don’t follow the leader this time
In social media, as in other pursuits, try to avoid becoming a case study. In this case, a prominent public relations firm joins its well-known, but not always well-liked, client in a “what not to do” moment. In a medium…
Thanks for all the comments.
Alex, I agree that big business shouldn’t try to co-opt the blogosphere, but that doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t play. Just that they need to play by community rules. Will they? Some seem to get it. Others haven’t. Time will tell.
The folks at Edelman aren’t any smarter or savvy about social media than the rest of us. Clearly. Everyone makes mistakes, and hopefully we learn from them. When we do or if we don’t, we deserve what we get. And so will Edelman.