Dealing with negativity from the blogworld
Bloggers write about a lot of things, a lot of products and a lot of companies, so what happens if a blogger writes about your company or product negatively? Should you respond or completely ignore them? According to Robert Cox, president of Media Bloggers Association, a New York based consultancy for consumer packaged goods companies, no company should ignore or intimidate a blogger, unless of course they are writing defamatory statements.
There have been several cases where bloggers have brought intense media attention due to their findings, such as in the Dell case where a blogger wrote about poor quality service and also in the Kryptonite bike lock case where a blogger uploaded a video showing how easy it was to pick the lock with a Bic pen.
While companies are being held accountable for what they promise to provide, the same goes for bloggers and publishers. Bloggers also need to be aware of the potential risk in writing negatively about a company, they must have their facts checked and double checked before bad-mouthing a product, as they can be held accountable for their words and its effects as well.
RichardatDELL said,
May 31, 2007 @ 8:19 pm
Hi Shalini
Interesting perspective on dealing with bloggers. As part of Dell’s social media team, I think dealing with bloggers comments needs to be part of an overall corporate strategy about blogs and how companies choose to operate in the new world of communications and online connections.
Worth pointing out that today there are 1 billion people online, 6 billion to go. There was a 350% increase in internet connectivity in Latin America between 2000 and 2005; 120 MM people online in China…less than 10% of the population; 93% of students in EU are online; and, 90% of Korea has access to broadband.
Seems to me companies have 2 choices: Join the conversation….
….or procrastinate and then join the conversation later on anyway….
In this respect dealing with bloggers becomes part of an overall strategy involved in joining the conversation, which we are learning about day in and day through direct2dell, studiodell, Ideastorm and responses like this.
Just a perspective you might find helpful.
Shalini Bahadur said,
May 31, 2007 @ 9:27 pm
Hello Richard,
A very good approach, I must say. By joining the conversation, a company is taking a proactive step, which is absolutely essential today. Communication is the best means of finding out what people think of a company and blogs and social networks are the best medium.