Edelmans Krisen-TagCloud könnte so aussehen:
Es scheint nicht mehr aufhören zu wollen. Nach den Vorfällen der jüngsten Zeit ploppen die nächsten beiden Fake-Blogs ins Visier der Edelman-Freunde: PaidCritics.com und ForWalmart.com. Hauptvorwurf: Man könne nicht auf einen Blick erkennen, dass das Projekte sind, die von Edelman und nicht etwa von freiwilligen Wal-Mart Freunden betrieben werden. Obwohl es mE ein Leichtes ist, sich ein Bild zu machen, wer dahintersteckt (Wikipedia, Google, Technorati-Suche). Ich hätte nicht gedacht, dass die US-Blogger daraus ein Drama machen, weil es einfach zu offensichtlich und zu billig ist. Aber gut, so ist es nun einmal.
Siehe also die nächste Blog-Apokalypse Now auf Edelman zurollen:
zunächst die Presse:
The Edelman/Walmarting brouhaha is covered by CNN/Money.com, Fortune and BusinessWeek.
Strange Attractor: Edelman: Must try harder
The other week, Kevin and I were invited by Richard and his team to attend a briefing that they, with Technorati, were giving their clients about the European blogosphere… There were a lot of other bloggers there, but that didn’t make me feel any better about it, because it was a little too much like they were there for show. For a long time I’ve felt that Richard is indulging in the zooification of bloggers – collecting and displaying them the way that rich people used to do with exotic animals. I worry that this makes him feel that he’s got a better understanding of the phenomenon than he actually has.
Richard Edelman verteidigt sich dort in einem Kommentar:
Suw, I understand your disappointment with the firm. I am not trying to avoid responsibility for the problem; I am taking this as a serious matter which requires immediate attention. I do believe that PR can participate in a substantive and positive manner in the blogosphere. I agree that it means we have to change PR to be transparent, genuine, two-way (so we listen, not just talk). Where I disagree with your post is that this Wal-Mart program was astro-turfing. It was a publicity stunt aimed at the mainstream media with a new media component [was heißt denn das???]
Steve Rubel, Edelman, PR Ethics and Social Media – the Next Steps, dort die Kommentare, in denen die beiden Fake-Blogs scharf kritisiert werden
What Edelman has done is simple: they have proven they are opportunistic and dishonest. They are experts in social media? They are the thought leaders? Who can you trust over there? Once you lie, you’re a liar
Dave Weinberger, Blog-Papst und Berater von Edelman fühlt sich sehr unwohl in seiner Haut: PR’s steps and missteps into the Webby world
Edelman’s non-transparency about its Wal-Mart programs erode the trust that makes the Blogosphere valuable. It also forces the question of whether professional PR has any place in the Blogosphere. I think it does, but it’s not going to be an easy transition. Full transparency is the minimum requirement. But, that’s not enough. Being transparent about funding blogs is hardly what it means to do enlightened PR on the Web.
Zielpublikum Weblog, Peng Peng Peng:
Hier ist es aber keine Bloggersdorfer Geschichte (wie die JvM-Klowand), hier ist wohl das erste Frachtschiff aus der PR-Gilde in eine Supernova geflogen, dabei wollte man doch ganz lieb das Sternensystem Blogosphere annektieren und deren Bewohner assimilieren.
Don Alphonso, An Advise for Steve Rubel after the next Blunder for Wal-Mart:
I ´m sorry, I ´m just a journalist, but Edelman had 35 PR consultants working on that project. I do believe that Kate Marhall, Miranda Grill and Brian McNeill do exist, and I do believe that there are obviously accounts with their names at those blogs. [er bezieht sich hierbei auf die Namen der drei nonymen Blogger, die mittlerweile auf dem ForWalmart.com Blog eindeutig als Edelman-Autoren gelistet werden]
Neville Hobson, Edelman“s fall from blogosphere grace:
All I would add is this – Richard, if you have any more skeletons in the closet like these, get them out into the open straightaway. Edelman PR is now under a very bright spotlight. You absolutely cannot afford to have someone else disclosing any more fake blogs or anything else that calls your firm“s credibility and reputation into question.
Deep Jive Interests, Could Edelman Give Birth to a SockPuppet Future?:
Well, in the wake of the flog-admission and the coverage its getting, it looks like the Edelman saga has finally hit the trades, with an article in Advertising Age. There are a few interesting tidbits, but what“s really quite surprising is how it ends off:
In explaining how such a mistake could happen, Mr. Rand of Ketchum noted that in recent interviews with candidates for Ketchum“s new media public-relations practice, many „are boastful about how they go into blogs and post anonymously and have great success. These are thoughtful, smart people, but they thought this was OK.“?
Nur am Rande, eine Story in der BusinessWeek vom letzten Jahr, man darf schmunzeln: Edelman shows Wal-Mart the power of blogs
Außer, das bei mir das Bruhaha um die jetzigen zwei Fake-Blogs Zweifel an der Intelligenz der US-Webuser aufkommen lässt (Itchy zu Scratchy: „hey, das sind ja Fake-Blogs, hääähhh“), muss Edelman ohne Zweifel auf Hoher See schwer kämpfen. Die Fragen, die sich mir stellen sind:
– hält Wal-Mart die Klinge am Hals von Edelman („Toni, …Omerta!“)?
– wo haben die vielen anderen PR-Firmen, die sich wohl zu früh freuen, ihre Leichen im Keller?
– schaden die Edelman-Diskussionen tatsächlich Edelman selbst, solange kein fetter Artikel in der Printausgabe der Washingtin Post erscheint?
