3. SOCIAL MEDIA & THE LESSONS LEARNED
Despite being a relatively new and unstudied paradigm, several lessons have already emerged from social media. These lessons come in two forms: (a) lessons on ethics and (b) lessons on society’s desire for democratic business practices.
a. LESSONS ON ETHICS IN SOCIAL MEDIA
Many businesses have thought about ways in which to capitalize on the tremendous power of social media. Wal-Mart is one of those businesses. In late September 2006, Wal-Mart launched a blog entitled “Wal-Marting Across America.” The blog featured the writings of a couple, Jim and Laura, who was traveling across America in an RV. Jim and Laura spent each night parked in front of Wal-Mart stores. They wrote about their trip and their positive experiences with the Wal-Mart employees. One such entry described an employee “going the extra mile” (qtd. in Siebert, “Pro-Wal-Mart Travel Blog Screeches to a Halt,” par. 4). Everything about the blog seemed reasonable. However, there was one major problem. Jim and Laura were being paid by Wal-Mart and that information was not disclosed to the public. Instead, the public was led to believe that Jim and Laura were satisfied customers acting on their own.
Shortly after the launch of the blog, or “flog” (fake blog) as it has come to be known, Business Week exposed the scam. What had been intended to improve Wal-Mart’s brand reputation had now become one of the biggest brand damagers in the company’s history. News headlines and bloggers from across the blogosphere ripped into Wal-Mart and Edelman – the public relations firm responsible for the flog. Bloggers sent a clear message: transparency is absolutely necessary for participation in the social media sphere. No company, not even Wal-Mart, is immune to this expectation. Consumers did and will react negatively to any public organization that attempts to deceive.
b. Society’s Desire for Democratic Business Practices
Another lesson that has shown up on multiple occasions but is less obvious is that consumers are beginning to expect businesses to adopt more democratic practices. Consumers expect businesses to act on what is important to the consumer rather than on what is in the best interest of the business itself.
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