The wolves of social media manipulation
Posted by Caitlin Smythe on 22 Aug 2007 | Tagged as: Social Media
So here`s a fun conundrum. A little wrinkly Republican called Dr. Ron Paul is running for U.S.A president next year, and it is alleged that he has taken over the Internet using…uhm…Youtube. Who cares, right?
But it`s not Youtube alone, no; he has staged his deft coup over all unsuspecting cheerleader chalkboards, namely, Facebook, Myspace, Friendster and more. What he`s done is persuaded (paid, blackmailed, kidnapped, cloned) an army of Texan libertarians to search for him online and Digg articles that mention him, join all his clubs, vote for him in all the online polls, and pretty much get his name flashing in bright lights.
However, social media is not engineered – that`s the premise on which the concept is based; if it`s tweaked, it can`t be depended on as a viable self-reflexive tool. If it`s guided according to dishonest or misleading principles, the fundamental liberty and candour of social media crumbles.
And, Dr. Ron Paul`s web manipulation via the ‘cool clubs` of the globe doesn`t translate as bona fide popularity. His notoriety begins and ends in cyberspace…unless… it transcends its origins and enters our mouths, via the use of viral marketing. This refers to voluntarily expanding brand awareness through social networking. You could say that the good doctor played a smart hand. He identified his supporters who have high social networking potential. He asked them to create viral messages and pass them along to the outer world. He generated what Wikipedia affectionately dubs the “impression of word of mouth enthusiasm”.
Fundamental here is that his little army voted voluntarily. They searched for Dr. Ron Paul, and put his name out there. People who use social media are not starved for choice: if they are interested in something, they will click on it. This is hardly black hat stuff. And already, people decorate social media with RSS feeds and PPC, making full – if passive – use of the intricate networking medium of usernames like HotStuf94 or G.I.JESUS, who are all self-determined individuals, clicking per choice.
Is it okay to force social media down a self-interested, political gauntlet? Considering the number of other ‘gauntlets` out there, and that Ron Paul`s quest is relatively innocent, yes. Are social media under attack for dressing spam in sheep`s clothing? Nah, it`s social media marketing, and you should have seen it coming. If you didn`t, then you probably didn`t care anyway.
Just watch out for when marketing overruns social media, and the wolves actually begin to devour all the sheep.
References:
Randfish. Social Media Manipulation Runs Rampant (online). Available: http://www.seomoz.org/blog/social-media-manipulation-runs-rampant (08/07)
Sansone, R. Digg Dirt: Exposing Ron Paul`s Social Media Manipulation (online). Available: http://www.iaocblog.com/blog/_archives/2007/7/3/3068799.html (07/07)
