A Study of the Blogosphere's Impact on the October 200

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Significance of the General Public for Public
RelationsA Study of the Blogosphere's Impact on
the October 2006 Edelman/Wal-Mart Crisis

• Master of Arts in Communication Studies
• Thesis Defense by Sergei Golitsinski
• December 12, 2007

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What I am Challenging

• According to public relations theory
• PR should focus only on those publics who may
  cause negative consequences
• The general public is insignificant, powerless
  and nonexistant
• PR should ignore the general public

Concept often critiqued, but no empirical
evidence provided
I have gathered empirical evidence and challenge
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Todays Agenda

• Brief overview and critique of related theory
• My hypothesis and what data is required to
  support it
• Method for gathering and analyzing this data
• Results of data analysis
• Discussion of results hypothesis supported
• Possible implications of results for public
  relations
• Questions

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Theoretical Background
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Publics and the General Public

• Why focus on select publics?
• Underlying purpose of PR prevent negative
  consequences
• Evolution of PR XIX century today
• Propaganda/publicity
• Public information
• Persuation/manipulation based on research
• Building relationships (research shows it is
  still mostly publicity)
• However, focus remains on those who may cause
  consequences
• If an organization has no consequences upon
  other social systems and if those systems have no
  consequences for the organization, there is no
  need for public relations.
• (Grunig Hunt, 1984)

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Publics and the General Public

• The general public is considered powerless,
  insignificant,
• nonexistiant
• There is simply no such thing as the general
  public
• (Cutlip, 2000)
• There is no such thing as a mass audience or
  public
• (Newsom, et al., 2004)

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Another Theory PR Community

• Most problems PR has to deal with today did not
  exists in traditional community
• PR appeared as a result of the loss of community
• Community exists through communication,
  therefore, as communication professionals, PR
  people should help restore a sense of community

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PR Restoring Community

• Debate between Walter Lippman and John Dewey
• Problem
• The individual man does not have opinions on all
  public affairs. He does
• not know how to direct public affairs. He does
  not know what is happening,
• why it is happening, what ought to happen There
  is not the least reason
• for thinking that the compounding of individual
  ignorances in masses of
• people can produce a continuing directing force
  in public affairs.
• (Lippman, The Phantom Public, 1925)

SolutionLeave public affairs to men of
quality, to the experts and elites, and have the
mass media repackage the information in simple
terms for the general public
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PR Restoring Community

• Similar Argument for Public Relations

ProblemThere is a danger that organizational
members may not be skilled in addressing public
concerns. Direct access to key members of an
organization might create more public relations
problems than it solves. Kent Taylor, 1998
SolutionLeave communication to communication
experts
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PR Restoring Community
Deweys ArgumentThe knowledge needed to be
involved in politics, was to be generated by the
interaction of citizens through
communication Conversation is the ultimate
context within which knowledge is understood Till
the Great Society is converted into a Great
Community, the Public will remain in eclipse.
Communication alone can create a great
community. (Dewey, The Public and its Problems,
1927)
Community can be restored by the public through
conversation Unlike the mass media both in 1927
and 2007 the blogosphere provides the means for
conversation. Hense my hypothesis.
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HYPOTHESIS New communication technologies have
given the general public the power to cause
direct negative consequences for organizations

• Support hypothesis by showing that
• There were significant negative consequences
• Consequences were caused by blogs
• Consequences cannot be isolated per blog must
  have an impact as collective action
• Bloggers cannot be defined as one public
  represent multiple publics, i.e. the general
  public

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Method
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Summary of the Method

• Source of data blogosphere and mainstream media
• Subject October 2006 Edelman/Wal-Mart crisis
• Collecting data Lexis-Nexis (manual) Internet
  (automated)
• Analyzing data
• Model conversation as graph
• Quantitative analysis
• Chronological analysis
• Qualitative analysis (positive/negative/neutral/ba
  lanced)
• Identify most influential blogs
• Identify main negative themes

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Wal-Marting Across America

• Summary of the case
• September 27, 2006 blog appears
• thewritingonthewal.com voices suspisions
• October 9, 2006 BusinessWeek.com publishes story
  about Edelman (i.e. Wal Mart) financing the blog
• 76 blog posts follow
• October 18, 2006 Edelman responds -gt more
  controversy
• Results blog removed, massive negative publicity
  online in mainstream media

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Why use computer science?
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(No Transcript)
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Conversation as a Graph (first 10 posts out of
210)
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4
5
8
1
9
10
24
6
3
2
83
48
59
70
96
25
28
46
53
88
99
109
107
120
129
131
118
114
115
119
127
128
156
132
133
135
138
141
145
151
154
136
155
160
161
93
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Results
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Summary of Results

• Examined 156 blogs
• connected by 1.548 links
• containing 201 relevant posts
• posted between 10/9/2006 and 10/16/2007
• with 1.263 comments

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Quantitative Analysis of Blogs

• Purpose
• Quantify the scale of the conversation
• Identify criteria for determining participation
  of each blog
• Results
• 16 contained multiple relevant posts (2 5)
• 58 had comments.
• 88 contained outbound links
• 73 contained inbound links

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Chronological Analysis
Blogs October 2006
Blogs 2006-2007
Mainstream media 2006-2007
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Qualitative Analysis of Blogs
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Qualitative Analysis of Mainstream Media
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Selecting Most Influential Blogs

• Purpose
• To identify individuals who had the most impact
  on the conversation
• Procedure
• Select the top 50 of blogs with the most
  comments
• Add the top 25 of blogs with the most inbound
  links
• Add the top 10 of blogs with the most outbound
  links
• Add the top 5 of blogs with the most posts
• Add the blog which started the conversation
• Remove blogs which were positive or neutral in
  nature
• Result 50 top blogs
• 32 of all blogs 44 of all blog posts 88 of
  all comments
• 66 of all inbound links 51 of all outbound
  links
• 90 are negative 0 are balanced

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Negative Themes

• Blogs
• Edelman not participating in the conversation
• Edelmans statements inadequate
• Edelman not being transparent
• Edelman violating WOMMA Code of Ethics
• General negative comments on Edelman
• PR people know very little about the blogs and
  social media
• Real world negative consequences for Edelman
• Mainstream Media
• Real identities of the bloggers revealed
• Nondisclosure
• Fake corporate blogs
• Note quotations are simplified for presentation

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Theme 1. Edelman not participating in the
conversation
Now PR industry blogger Shel Holtz is laying it
on thick, wondering why in this era of
transparency Richard Edelman and his braintrust
haven't stepped up with a mea culpa. It's great
stuff. There's nothing like a public spat between
PR gurus. And it's particularly informative to
learn what the PR kings do when their own scandal
erupts stay silent. money.cnn.com (October 15,
2006)
And what is the point of blogging if youre not
participating in the conversation? Is not the
whole point of public relations in this new
social participatory medium to not control the
conversation
but to
become part of it? deepjiveinterests.com
(October 16, 2006)
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Theme 2. Edelmans statements inadequate
I want to acknowledge our error in failing to be
transparent about the identity of the two
bloggers from the outset. Let me reiterate our
support for the WOMMA guidelines on transparency.
Our commitment is to openness and engagement
because trust is not negotiable. edelman.com
(October 16, 2006)
Edelman PR's mea culpas for creating a blatantly
fake Wal-Mart blog ring hollow because Richard
Edelman apologizes for getting caught, not for
the agency generating yet another unethical
Wal-Mart social media campaign. marketingvox.com
(October 18, 2006)
It is boilerplate old-school PR and disregards
everything that Web 2.0 and the blogosphere has
championed about all of us as individuals. Their
apology is empty. It's time to explain how this
could even happen. marketingvox.com (October 18,
2006)
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Theme 3. Edelman not being transparent
Bloggers should disclose any financial
consideration that might affect their
impartiality. edelman.com (October 16, 2006) We
cannot tolerate any arrangement that envisages
payment for placement. To do otherwise completely
undermines the essence of our position as honest
advocate. Why bother reading the editorial copy
if it is purchased in the same way as the
advertising? edelman.com (January 15, 2006)
Edelman, ostensibly in the vanguard of the social
media revolution, has betrayed the very
principles it has been espousing.
marketingvox.com (October 18, 2006)
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Theme 4. Edelman violating WOMMA Code of Ethics
Wal-Marting Across America campaign/blog was
obviously breaking the Honesty of Identity
guidelines Clear disclosure of identity is vital
to establishing trust and credibility The same
goes for Honesty of Relationship We practice
openness about the relationship between
consumers, advocates, and marketers basturea.com
(October 13, 2006)
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Theme 5. General negative comments on Edelman
Edelman screwed up royally. Edelman was being
duplicitous and tricking people. askdavetaylor.blo
gspot.com (October 23, 2006) Wal-Mart blogging
exercise that appears to have broken every
unwritten rule in the book. holmesreport.blogspot.
com (October 20, 2006) We call it as we see it
Wal-Mart lied. Photographer Jim Thresher lied.
Edelman helped them engineer the
lie. irregulartimes.com (October 17, 2006)
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Theme 6. PR know little about the blogs and
social media
Big media trying to adapt blogs to their business
model instead of adapting their business to
blogs, and Edelman are making exactly the same
mistake trying to use blogs for PR, instead of
trying to adapt PR to blogs. Blogging is not
something you can learn in an afternoon, or a day
it's as complex and alien to PR people as
Chinese culture is complex and alien to me. If
you simply employ PR people who happen to blog,
all you'll get is the same old PR attitudes, but
with comments and trackbacks. strange.corante.co
m (October 21, 2006)
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Theme 6 continued
I do believe that PR can participate in a
positive manner in the blogosphere. I agree that
it means we have to change PR to be transparent,
genuine, two-way (so we listen, not just talk).
This Wal-Mart program was a publicity stunt aimed
at the mainstream media with a new media
component. Richard Edelmans comment on
strange.corante.com (October 21, 2006)
This is more than just a disclosure issue, this
goes right to the heart of what blogging and
social media is about...i.e., conversation versus
publicity stunts. Puschmanns comment on
strange.corante.com (October 21, 2006)
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Theme 7. Real world negative consequences for
Edelman
So, Edelman wins the lame-o PR firm of the year
award, because now people like me who never even
heard of the WalMartingAcrossAmerica blog have
heard about how Wal-Mart couldnt find any real
honest-to-goodness Wal-Mart lovers to make a
blog. No, what Edelman has shown us is that
Americans have grown to hate Wal-Mart so much
that they had to hire people to make a fake blog.
Fake blog. Fake trip. Fake couple. Fake
everything. irregulartimes.com (October 17, 2006)
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Summary of Negative Themes in Mainstream Media
OK, some PR companies are getting slapped on the
wrist at the moment, but truth on the internet is
going to become a massive issue. Bloggers might
be the ones to expose a con, but you then risk
that negative publicity being highlighted to a
completely different and much larger audience.
Then you have a real problem Retail Week (April
13, 2007)
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Discussion
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Support for Hypothesis

• 1. There were significant negative consequences
• Negative publicity in blogs and mainstream media
• Loss of reputation as leader in social media
• 2. Consequences were caused by blogs
• Initiated by BusinessWeek.com (triggered by
  thewritingonthewal.com?)
• Circulated on 156 web sites (at least)

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Support for Hypothesis

• 3. Consequences cannot be isolated per blog
• Conversation facilitated through links and
  comments
• Knowledge required for the formation of public
  opinion was generated
• through ideas being communicated, shared and
  reborn in expression
• (John Dewey, 1927)
• Knowledge generated through conversation
• caused the shaping of a new public opinion about
  Edelman

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Do the Bloggers Represent the General Public?

• Top bloggers include consultants, university
  professors, students,
• writers, programmers, speakers, activists, etc.
• Goal map all bloggers to ONE public which can be
  identified
• PRIOR to any consequences it may cause
• Try mapping to the following publics
• media (both, mainstream and specialized)
• employees
• competitors (consultants and agencies)
• activist groups
• bloggers who write about communication topics
  (borderline)

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Do the Bloggers Represent the General Public?
ConclusionBloggers represent multiple publics,
or the general public Hypothesis supportedNew
communication technologies have given the general
public the power to cause direct negative
consequences for organizations.
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Blogs as the Media?
Sure! Prevent negative consequences by building
relationships with key publications through the
people who represent them However even a
single blogger can have an impact everyone is a
key publication Ordinary people can have
extraordinary voices in the daily life of Earth
instead of a few media elite (Shankman,
2006) Solution build relationship with every
blogger -gt impossible
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Building Relationships with the Blogosphere

• Why not identify key bloggers, build
  relationships with them, and
• communicate through them with the blogosphere?
• Richard Edelman did that
• Commented on a few popular blogs
• Personally called prominent blogger to
  apologize?!
• I can tell you that our determination to be
  leaders in the blogosphere is
• undiminished.
• Comment by Richard Edelman on buzzmachine.com,
  October 20, 2006
• Were all the same. Think flat. Stop worrying
  about the A-list, the tops, the
• bottoms, the midlands, etc. Just treat everyone
  with the same amount of
• respect as you would a friend
• Comment by Krucoff on buzzmachine.com, October,
  20, 2006

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Conclusion

• The general public can cause significant negative
  consequences to
• organizations. However, unlike with specific key
  publics, a
• relationship-building approach does not work with
  the blogosphere,
• or the general public

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Questions?
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Thank You!