Tom Murphy’s take on the app store PR flack-o-rama is pretty right on. He captures the essence of the issue perfectly. He notes:
That said this does raise a couple of interesting issues:
- To be credible participants in the social media sphere should PR firms (who have been ensnared in many of these issues since the Interweb emerged and in the real-world before that) publicly state that they eschew these kinds of activities? [This was proposed by the Anti-Astroturfing campaign three years ago]
- Where do PR industry organizations such as the PRCA stand on this kind of activity?
- What does this mean for all the “social media gurus” who claim that the ”crowd” will rid the ills of the world – if the crowd is in fact armies of marketing people posing as teenagers (though I’d imagine real teenagers would spot the sweaty 30-something imposter)
These are the right issues, and draw a bright line to a clean conclusion – it’s bad behavior that injures the profession. Yes, I’m sure there is more to the story. Yes, there is another side to be told. But I’m deeply skeptical the facts will change substantially and the end will be the same – sock puppetry of the worst sort.
Know who you are, act as you know, do as you’d want others to do – rules apply to the real and the virtual alike.
Technorati Tags: astroturfing