Gottfried, are some people paid to spin the discussion on an on-line-forum in a particular direction? Read the following NY Times article. The article focuses on spin doctors that counter negative criticism, but it is my guess that some people are paid to trash a company (or a particular stock). RC
October 14, 1999
Incognito Spinmeisters Battle Online
Critics
When a Company's Product Is Under Fire, One
Option Is to Plant a Defender in the Chat Room
By REBECCA FAIRLEY RANEY
The scene unfolds on the Internet every day: a pack of
outraged consumers takes over the discussion in an
online forum with heated criticism of some offending
product, perhaps a brand of stereo speakers.
Then someone asks, If
these speakers are so
awful, how could the
company have moved
from No. 10 to No. 2 in
the last year? After that,
the criticism in the forum
fades.
It would be fair to
suspect, in a case like
this, that the participant
who raised the question
that turned the criticism
around worked for the
company that made the
speakers. In fact, a small industry is emerging among
consultants who specialize in spinning online discussions to
favor the positions of companies and interest groups.
Shabbir J. Safdar and his business partner, Jonah Seiger,
regularly adopt pseudonyms and participate in online
discussions on behalf of some clients. Their firm,
Mindshare Internet Campaigns, in Washington, specializes
in running the Internet side of advocacy campaigns. It
offers the spin doctor service as part of the package.
You can read the rest of the article on the nytimes web site.
nytimes.com |
