Truth, Justice & The Social Media Way
A while back I posted on the imminent danger of misguided corporations trying to "cheat" in Social Media channels. The post was called, "Boneheaded Moves of the Future" and went on to predict that somebody would try to cheat the system before the end of 2006.
You could argue that the Edelman/Wal-Mart flogging flap qualified, but a) that example is old news and has been well-documented, and, b) I prefer to take a look at a more pure example of corporate malfeasance (i.e., no agency middlemen are readily apparent).
Imagine my horror to find the one-and-only SUPERMAN to be the latest & greatest example of Social Media abuse!
(I know what you are thinking, my fellow geeks. "No. Please. Not Superman." I feel your pain.)
I saw this post by Howard Greenstein at the Social Media Club blog and --- stomach churning --- clicked the link that led to a YouTube video that detailed the nefarious plot. Check it out.
Apparently Superman's handlers at Time-Warner created THOUSANDS of fake YouTube accounts... which were then used to subscribe to the "supermanreturnsdvd" channel that had been posted to the site. The majority of these THOUSANDS of newly-minted account-holders had never seen the trailer that they "favorited," nor was there any evidence that they were actual YouTube users (no "friends," no other "favorites," etc.). By being able to claim 8,000+ "subscribers," though, Time-Warner is able to claim that the "supermanreturnsdvd" is among the top-ranked channels on YouTube.
Superman fans are peeved --- but that's to be expected. More to the point: anyone who believes in Social Media's long-term ability to "change the debate" ought to be royally P.O.'d. If corporate spammers can blithely abuse the system, the genie could be stuffed back into the bottle. Social Media's credibility as a content engine and influencer depends on unadulterated authenticity.
Truth. Justice. It's the Social Media Way.
Tags: time+warner, superman, supermanreturnsdvd, youtube, social+media, flog, socialmediaclub, howard+greenstein
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Comments
You know -- you'd never find Spider-Man sinking that low. He's already demonstrated the value of transparency.
Posted by: Ike | November 29, 2006 01:35 PM
It's disappointing but inevitable that there will be a fair amount of abuse of social media, especially from the larger organisations who perhaps cannot grasp the nature and purpose of social media and try to shoehorn advertising plans into the 'new craze'. But this has always been the case with the PR industry in general and it's up to PR agencies themselves and institutes, such as the CIPR to regulate this.
Posted by: Stephen Waddington | December 4, 2006 06:11 AM