Credibility, Ethics and the Internet
Yesterday’s events (Michael Jackson’s death) really highlighted for me a number of issues that the internet poses when it comes to credibility, ethics and online reputation.
The first thing was how traditional media outlets like TV, struggle to report accurately in the digital age. The plethora of news sites across the globe all carried differing versions of events in the Michael Jackson sage, from a heart attack, cardiac arrest or an overdose, then to a coma and eventually the outcome we have all come to know about. Many TV outlets were sourcing their information from the web and as such had difficulty in confirming any details. Ultimately, it was celebrity gossip site TMZ that got the story right and broke it for the rest of the world. In this day and age, it is difficult for traditional media to keep up.
The second thing is how trying to capitalise on major events for the purpose of traffic or profit can seriously affect your credibility and reputation online.
Perez Hilton is facing a major backlash from the online community after he questioned whether Michael was really in a dire medical condition or if it was a stunt to delay his world tour. Let’s not kid ourselves, Perez Hilton is a business. Everything he does is designed to drive his traffic, allowing him to charge certain advertising rates. According to a report in Business Week, he is bringing in the vicinity of $111,000 per month, which is not doubt much higher probably more since its publication.
Through courting controversy, this event could have a major affect on two areas of his business – traffic and advertisers. Over on Twitter, there is a massive “Unfollow Perez Hilton” campaign going on in response to his post, and it has been covered by a number of major bloggers. Even though he removed the offending post, it was grabbed and posted elsewhere on the net, making it impossible for him to undo what he had done. As far as advertisers go, declining traffic means less advertising dollars and reduced ROI, and there is also the additional risk of advertisers no longer wanting to associate with his brand.
Some of the news channels also got swept up in the hoax reports that both Jeff Goldblum and Harrison Ford had died, both of which were helped along by a healthy dose of Twitter traffic of people searching for answers (and I will admit, I was one of them….). There was a rumour doing the rounds that the hoax was dreamed up by a film company to drive traffic to their website and promote their movie. It’s difficult to comment on this one, but I will only say that surely a group of people as savvy as film marketers would not be so foolish as to try it, as once it becomes obvious that it’s false they have alienated a segment of their audience. It is curious though that both of these actors are currently filming the same movie.
Earlier this week, a European furniture store made a major Twitter error, using the hashtag function to tap into trending topics like the Iran election to advertise their furniture sales and get people to sign up for their database. Their posts had nothing to do with any of the trending topics, but it placed their message in the amongst users looking to the trending topics to find information on the actual Iran elections. Again, the ensuing backlash forced Habitat to remove the offending posts, but the damage was already done.
Both of these examples go towards highlighting the importance of having ethics when dealing online. While the internet has certainly become a place of uncensored commentary and opinion, sound ethics about the kind of information you distribute and approaches to marketing you take create credibility for your brand, making you a trusted source of both information and products.
Before you post information to your website or attempt to capitalise on controversy, understand how it can impact on your reputation. One of the big problems with the internet is that delete doesn’t solve the problem.
Tags: Online Reputation, Perez Hilton, Social Media, Twitter
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