Along with all innovative technologies comes a recipe for disaster. The birth of the internet. A marvelous invention that revolutionized the armed forces, changed the way we do business and unites people all over the world. The birth of the internet. An invention used to promote hate crimes, sex videos, gossip, pornography and cults. First came the good, then came the bad…
And then came blogs. A way for people to post personal opinions for the world to see, freedom of expression and a great tool for marketing research. And then came blogs. An open means of publically humiliating yourself, others, companies and friends. First came the good, then came the bad…
And then came FLOGS. Perhaps one of the most famous incidents of flogging can be attributed to Wal-Mart. Let me pause for a second for those who have yet to hear the term “flog.” A flog is the new world for fake blogs. According to Wikipedia (yes I know this site is not always reliable, but in this case it gives a great definition,) a flog is a fake blog or “a marketing tool designed by a professional advertisement company to promote a product in a fashion one might find on a fan site or in regular blog entries.” Wal-Mart, one of the biggest corporations in the U.S. faced public humiliation when it was discoverted the corporation had been flogging on the internet. In fact, the flog is now extremely difficult to track down, as Wal-Mart is deleting all available evidence of its existence. Learn about it and other fake blogs here.
So what is the problem with flogs? I mean, who cares if a Wal-Mart employee is told to write positive comments about the company and post them on the internet? SO WHAT! First of all, Wal-Mart has thousands of employees, so one opinion is not magically going to change America’s opinion of Wal-Mart. Secondly, companies promote themselves on the Internet all the time. Why does it matter if someone promotes their company anonymously? Or under a pseudonym? The Internet is one of the few facets in our world in which people are capable of being completely evasive, nondescript and secretive about their identities. Everyone knows this.
I guess what I am saying is that I feel Wal-Mart received a ridiculously unfair amount of negative publicity for this incident. I see nothing wrong with promoting a company, and if that promotion happens to be via the internet, then consumer beware. Everyone knows that when it comes to the Internet, nothing is set in stone.
Check out this example of a parady blog: a fake blog written to entertain.
And then came blogs. A way for people to post personal opinions for the world to see, freedom of expression and a great tool for marketing research. And then came blogs. An open means of publically humiliating yourself, others, companies and friends. First came the good, then came the bad…
And then came FLOGS. Perhaps one of the most famous incidents of flogging can be attributed to Wal-Mart. Let me pause for a second for those who have yet to hear the term “flog.” A flog is the new world for fake blogs. According to Wikipedia (yes I know this site is not always reliable, but in this case it gives a great definition,) a flog is a fake blog or “a marketing tool designed by a professional advertisement company to promote a product in a fashion one might find on a fan site or in regular blog entries.” Wal-Mart, one of the biggest corporations in the U.S. faced public humiliation when it was discoverted the corporation had been flogging on the internet. In fact, the flog is now extremely difficult to track down, as Wal-Mart is deleting all available evidence of its existence. Learn about it and other fake blogs here.
So what is the problem with flogs? I mean, who cares if a Wal-Mart employee is told to write positive comments about the company and post them on the internet? SO WHAT! First of all, Wal-Mart has thousands of employees, so one opinion is not magically going to change America’s opinion of Wal-Mart. Secondly, companies promote themselves on the Internet all the time. Why does it matter if someone promotes their company anonymously? Or under a pseudonym? The Internet is one of the few facets in our world in which people are capable of being completely evasive, nondescript and secretive about their identities. Everyone knows this.
I guess what I am saying is that I feel Wal-Mart received a ridiculously unfair amount of negative publicity for this incident. I see nothing wrong with promoting a company, and if that promotion happens to be via the internet, then consumer beware. Everyone knows that when it comes to the Internet, nothing is set in stone.
Check out this example of a parady blog: a fake blog written to entertain.
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