Why companies monitor blogs

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AstroTurfing. Yahoo - stop handing out email addresses

The use of blogs as a replacement for surveys has to be tempered with the notion of AstroTurfing. AstroTurfing is wrong doing in the form of public relations. It is the attempt to fool the analysts into believing that there is grass roots support for a product, service, or candidate when that support or need can not really be demonstrated. The technique involves one person with talking points creating many email addresses and registering those as separate personalities (handles). Often a conversation between personalities that are actually the same person or public relations firm is established to simulate some kind of a debate or collaboration. This might or might not suck in a prospect for what ever is being sold.

We see AstroTurfing in many different areas. It was perhaps first invented for the selling of sickness, a book being written by that name, and the drug industry being the benefactor. The technique also involves creating multiple web sites which appear to be from different companies but in reality are from the same company or person. The best example of this involves art glass work. Sometimes electronic surveys are created to "vote truth tellers off the island" but of course when the promoter holds 50 email addresses each getting a vote, that kind of poling is swift boating in its purist form. Until companies like yahoo stop handing out email addresses like candy to children, this kind of identity crime will continue. The solution for Blog operators is to verify identity by say memberships that require if not payment at least something as secure as a visa account number to which charges can be assessed for propagandizing (and child molestation for that matter).

Posted by: mighetto   Posted on: 01/03/06 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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