Comments on blogs as Astroturfing? Don’t really think that it is, although it could be done. I think that to make it “Astroturfing” you would have to get a large number of different people to leave comments on a post, and I guess that would have to be a post on your own blog. That would then be an attempt to make out that what you are writing about has piqued the interest of the masses (so to speak).

I still think that leaving valid & useful comments on blogs is a genuine way of making your thoughts known and, by implication, indulging in a little bit of marketing of one’s own blog.

Mind you, judging by the amount of spam comments I receive, not everyone shares that opinion – thank you Akismet! All the best, Mark

I loved the end of the article from Mobhappy which said:

“If marketing people (and I’m one of them, by the way) want to use blogs to get closer to customers and engage in dialogue, I think this is a good thing. But you have to do it openly, honestly, humbly and with authenticity. Shabby tricks, faux blogs, clever-clever and short cuts will backfire and bite you on the arse.”

Thanks for your comment about the site as well and glad that it is proving useful.

All the best, Mark

I remember all the fun and games during the Cillit Bang episode, just check the results of a Google search on their name now.

If you are going to be honest and open when writing a blog, this has to progress to the promotion of it as well.

Offer helpful advice and information on both your own site and in the wider world, and your readers will do the PR for you.

(Great site by the way – RSS feed in Bloglines

Sorry for the confusion, though. I had done an earlier post about astroturfing, and didn’t bother to define it in my post about Seth Godin’s speech.

While Seth didn’t mention Astroturfing in his speech specifically, it was clear that was what he was talking about. The question was whether or not companies should post anonymously about a company saying favorable plugs for it on various forums and blogs. The answer, of course, is no. This is Astroturfing.

I think what Seth said was the most important, and I’m paraphrasing, don’t be fake; you’ll get caught and it will be very bad for your company.

The permissions thing is when a customer is granting a company permission to advertise or market to him/her. Google Adsense is a perfect example. The customer is already doing a search for the very thing your company is advertising for; hence, your company has permission and that’s why it works so well.

Great post in defining Astroturfing. And please do spread the word about the Anti- campaign. It’s important that we all try to be ethical and positive business/PR/marketing advocates.

Love your blog.