Last week
the Washington Post found itself at the center of a firestorm in the
blogosphere … and for once the medium was the message, since the Post itself
was the story. An inaccurate statement
by a veteran journalist unleashed an explosion of invective comments. After a couple of missteps (like originally deleting
the offensive comments then reinstating them) the Post closed the comment
function altogether.
The Post
took the position that it closed the blog since people writing comments failed
to adhere to its rules. The reality is
that management hadn’t thought through the ramifications of open, public dialog
with its readers. This isn’t simply an
editorial issue – it’s a customer relations problem. And as consumer generated media gains in
scope and influence, traditional media will continue to face this dilemma.
Difficult
customers are nothing new. Blogs and
other forms of CGM give them a public forum and the capability to respond more
rapidly (and often) less rationally. Large media organizations are natural targets for this kind of
abuse. These organizations serve as
observers and critics to the democratic process and the free market. Their role makes it even more imperative that
they learn how to work through this process. Dan Gillmor said it well. “Listening
and responding are as important in tomorrow’s journalism as speaking. If we forget that, even bigger trouble lies
ahead.”
There is no
reason not to set and apply standards for the publication – including blog
comments. But the Washington Post and
its peer organizations need to recognize that the era of one-way
publishing/broadcast is over. To be
successful in the attention economy means understanding that the brand is a
verb, not a noun, and that effectively engaging in customer dialog is a
critical component in overall marketing strategy. As Umair Haque puts it: “the value’s in the conversation”.
There are
several lessons for organizations as they begin to embrace CGM in overall
marketing and customer relations programs.
- Empower employees to engage in these
conversations.
- Leverage technology to help speed the process. Several reports indicate that the Post didn’t
make effective use of some simple tools which might have eliminated many of the
inflammatory comments.
- Position yourself for success. One might question the wisdom of using a
veteran journalist with a “50-year career” behind her as a primary voice to the
blogosphere. The Post might have been
better served by creating an e-ombudsman or better still, pairing a traditional
media journalist with someone who’s completely immersed in CGM.
Most
importantly, don’t dismiss or ignore problems. A New York Times writer made a smug comment about his preferred method
for customer interaction today. I have
visions of the postman burying his desk under a mountain of hate mail tomorrow.
Update
Jeff Jarvis has a wonderful, insightful analysis of the situation at the Post on his blog today. It's well worth the read.
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