social media: April 2009 Archives
Last week I spent some time in my campaigns class helping students think about life after graduation.Identity, online and off, was a topic. The main goal is to be "findable" online, which is easier for someone with an uncommon name and much more difficult if your name is "Smith" or "Johnson." One student said she shares a name with an adult film actress. What to do?
There are no magic answers here. But everyone can proactively manage this problem. Use your name consistently. If it's common, think about using your middle initial or nickname. Secure relevant domains. Create a Google Profile. Participate intelligently in the social web. And register for services that can help create "breadcrumbs" that lead back to you.
I counsel clients to sign up for Twitter, or other services, even if they have no intention of using them. At least you know other parties can't use your identity.
If online identity is a concern to you, take a look at knowem.com. This service can instantly check if your preferred name is available on 120 social media websites. For about $65, the service will sign you up for all of 'em. That's right, every one, from Aviary to Zooomr (If you're not familiar with all of these services, you're not alone.)
For an additional $20/month, the service will continue to sign up for new services as they launch. (Please note that I have not evaluated this service.)
It might be overkill for most individuals, but a quick scan of the list will show some services that you probably should consider. Of course, you can sign up without paying a third party. The takeaway is to a) think about who you are and want to be; b) take steps to identify and protect this name; and c) build the infrastructure of participation so the web is working for you, not against you.
Just remember: you can't opt out. The online conversation will continue and grow. So stake your place in it, and manage your online identity.
Aristotle, the father of rhetoric, taught us about the three great appeals: logos, the logical appeal; pathos, the emotional appeal; and ethos, the appeal of reputation.Who you are matters. And as we go through life, we create meaningful relationships with people, in large part based upon ethos.
But all that falls apart online. And as social media evolve, we need to fix this, or the communities will fall apart.
Arthur Frommer wrote last week of widespread shill reviews on travel sites, including popular sites like tripadvisor.com. Frommer reports that one travel site, beatofhawaii.com, says up to half of tripadvisor's reviews appear to be placed by PR firms, restaurants and hotels - all on their own behalf. He further reports that Royal Caribbean Cruise lines has engaged in a "pay for play" scheme to "wine and dine" frequent cruisers, in return for positive reviews on social media sites (note: do this search to see the blowback from consumer advocates about this program).
Locally, at kansas.com, the portal for the Wichita Eagle, the comments on stories are filled with hateful, cloaked comments, cheapening the site.
So, what can we do about this?
- Require registration. Anonymous comments have no value. Only cowards hide behind anonymity.
- Registration is a start, but websites and news services should require people to use their real names. A newspaper wouldn't publish an anonymous or cloaked comment, so why should a website?
- People who carry out discourse publicly should want to tell us who they are. If you're a company or blogger, you can provide a link to your site. If you're not, consider a suggestion by David Meeman Scott, author of World Wide Rave: create a Google Profile (here's mine). A Google profile is free, easy to create, and provides basic contextual information about who you are.
You might use a LinkedIn or Facebook identity, but as Scott points out, you need to be a member of that network to see your page. Anyone can see your Google Profile.
Professionals should know better than to post phony reviews. As a member of the Public Relations Society of America, I am bound by the PRSA Code of Ethics, which includes the following:
- Avoid deceptive practices
- Reveal the sponsors for causes and interests represented
- Be honest and accurate in all communications
It's not rocket science. Any professional should know that it's wrong to lie or fail to disclose an interest. And still, people do it all the time. And drilling down to the level of comments left on an online newspaper, there's no pretense of professionalism. It's a literal free-for-all.
In the end, people will tire of this tainted marketplace of ideas. Maybe that's what it will take to get people to pay for content online. Online communities that are honest, ethical and policed for trolls. Like a country club, you charge a fee to weed out the undesirables. And then say good bye to the public swimming pool.
In my daily life, I'm very selective about who I'll call a "friend." Online, I would also rather hang out with friends than people who won't even tell me their real names.
Let's raise our standards online, treasure our friends, and say goodbye to the trolls.
