Unofficial blogs can be harmful or beneficial to any company. This week, the discussion is based on unofficial blogs and discovering the usefulness of these blogs in a marketing aspect. There was a wide array of blogs ranging from technology companies, college fanblog, and even a slightly biased blog about Wal-Mart. While analyzing these blogs, a few interesting points were brought up within the discussion that I felt needed to be stressed.
The first one that caught my attention was the Wal-Mart Watch blog. This blog was of particular interest to me since I do have a couple of relatives that work as cashiers for Wal-Mart. The blog is basically a critical blog that outlines the negatives of the Wal-Mart corporation. I don't mind bias, since everyone has the ability to be subjective and even a bit bias sometimes. The problem with full-blown bias, in my opinion, comes when this form of bias is met with conflicting information. One example of this is the movie "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price", which brings out interesting information about the horrific practices of Wal-Mart (Wal-Mart: The high cost of low price, 2008). On the other side of this are the sites and shows that attempt to refute these negative claims such as Penn and Teller's "B.S." which attempts to show those who are against Wal-Mart that this company is actually benefitting many individuals and communities (Schoenberg, 2007). The debates about Wal-Mart tend to be so numerous that sites such as Reclaim Democracy have both pro- and anti-Wal-Mart links posted on the site (though the site is leaning against the company).
While this debate may not have an end, one thing that seems easy to answer is that the Wal-Mart Watch blog is a good test to see how Wal-Mart deals with damage control. One way that Wal-Mart has chosen to deal with this form of negative publicity is to work "directly with bloggers, feeding them exclusive nuggets of news, suggesting topics for postings and even inviting them to visit its corporate headquarters" (Barbaro, 2006). While this practice may seem a bit corrupt, it helps to remember the advice of Thomas Mitchell when it comes to gathering information through the media in general: "Read and watch with a skeptical eye and you can get the facts while evaluating the tone and spin without being hoodwinked" (2008).
Another blog that caught my attention was actually a surprising blog that many individuals would probably not consider to be "entertaining". The Google Maps Mania website has taken a topic like Google maps and has placed an entertaining and humorous twist to the use of these maps. Here is an example of one of the more recent posts from the site (Clarke, 2008):
"This year Budweiser have decided to brew a new beer, Budweiser American Ale. The beer is brewed with caramel malted barley and has a 'noticeably citrus aroma'. If that has whetted your appetite you can use the Bud Map to find the nearest bar that serves the ale.
To use the map just enter your zip code and the nearest bars will be shown on the map. The map should help you find the way to your nearest bar - although there are no promises that you will able to find your way home again."
The site presents a humorous yet informational way of presenting information about Google to the masses (West Virginia University, P.I. Reed School of Journalism, 2008). I believe that Google should definitely examine this site for ideas in marketing their Google Map and Google Earth products. The power of comedy can be very effective when it comes to advertising. In fact, many Super Bowl commercials lean more toward the comedic side within their advertisements (Weaver, 2004).
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Barbaro, M. (2006, March 7). Wal-Mart enlists bloggers in P.R. campaign. New York Times. Retrieve November 9, 2008, from http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/07/technology/07blog.html?_r=1&scp=5&sq=Walmart&st=cse&oref=slogin
Mitchell, T. (2008, October 28). Everyone talks about bias but nobody does anything about it. Review Journal. Retrieved November 9, 2008, from http://www.lvrj.com/blogs/mitchell/Everyone_talks_about_bias_but_nobody_does_anything_about_it.html
Schoenberg, C. (Writer), & Kessler, J.E. (Director). (2007). Wal-Mart Hatred [Television series episode]. In Yampolski, A. (Producer), Penn & Teller: Bullshit! Los Angeles.
Wal-Mart: The high cost of low price. Wal-Mart Movie. Retrieved November 9, 2008, from http://www.walmartmovie.com/main.php
Weaver, J. (2004, February 3). Comedy is king in super bowl ads. NBC Sports. Retrieved November 9, 2008, from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4132154/
West Virginia University, P.I. Reed School of Journalism. (2008, August 18). Lesson 3: Creating buzz: Viral marketing, crowdsourcing & blogs. Retrieved November 9, 2008, from https://ecampus.wvu.edu/webct/urw/lc5116001.tp0/cobaltMainFrame.dowebct
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