Astroturfing: the Perils
In jumping from blog link to blog link yesterday (or was it the day before?) I came across this Behind the Buzz blog. I think the link started for me from David Meerman Scott’s blog.
The Sept 12 Behind the Buzz blog by Rachel Clarke is a terrific example of why NOT to astroturf. (Plant phony positive comments about your company under the guise of a concerned or interested consumer; see Wikipedia for more.) This blogger sniffed out the suspicious blog almost immediately.
And if I may digress here for a moment, in true blogger style, I used to find these same kinds of inauthentic essays from students back when I taught some English 101 classes at the community college. Writers look for the “signatures” of writers and of styles that are embedded in the writer’s language.
And Rachel, on the Behind the Buzz blog, is apparently a pro at finding those signatures.
So, even if you’re tempted to phony-up some blog comments, don’t go there. It’s just not nice, and beyond that, you’ll get caught. Notice how Rachel so easily followed the trail home on the astroturfer!
2 Responses to “Astroturfing: the Perils”
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I think even if the IP address had not been so obvious I would have still put up a warning on the comment, it was just far too corporate.
Thanks Rachel. Words to the Wise!
And that brings up another aspect that I think is so Important to note.– You put up a “warning” not an accusation. A fine, but firm, difference. And in keeping with that unwritten blog etiquette of “be nice”.