As the course was starting, everyone around the table introduced themselves. One of the PR execs attending was another regular visitor to Getting Ink, and a frequent commenter. At the coffee break, the freelance journo confessed to me: “I never realised Katie was a real person – I thought you made her up!”
It was one of those moments where you’re simultaneously a bit insulted (you think I need to fake comments on my blog?) and also want to slap your forehead (HOW did I never think of that?).
Fortunately, I’m not usually in the position of lacking comments on a blog these days, and if a blog post doesn’t generate comments, I tend to just think, “Oh, well, I thought it was interesting, but obviously that was just me, then.” Possibly, this is because I'm just too idle to think up fake opinions.
But this week I noticed a blog I occasionally read had posted what I strongly, strongly suspect were fake comments. Call me cynical, but five comments in five minutes, none with a URL attached, look suspect. Especially when the first comment begins with “I checked out your website and I think it looks gr8! Can’t wait to sign up…”
Hmm.
I can see why you might be tempted to post a fake comment. It’s like a positive version of what local government types call the ‘broken window effect’ – if there’s one smashed window left on an estate, more will inevitably follow. So with blog comments, one fake comment might be seen to ‘break the ice’ and encourage others to comment.
Here’s the problem, though: bloggers are a pretty savvy bunch. They can smell a fake comment from 50 yards. Within half an hour of my posting a Tweet about fake blog comments, four bloggers had identified the blog in question. By the end of the night, I’d guess a lot more had identified the site, judging by the parodies that starting popping up on the comment s over at Who's the Mummy? (my parenting blog). As one blogger said to me: “They couldn’t have made it any more obvious, could they?”
It’s not THAT hard to get genuine comments. In fact, it’s very simple. First, post interesting content that people will want to engage with. Put a bit of personality and authenticity into a blog, and I think people will always respond. Second, take the time to comment on and read and link to other blogs. A blog that never acknowledges anyone else’s existence can seem a bit snooty and tends to be forgotten about.
Ultimately, I think blogging is a long game. And if you lose your credibility, especially if you’re blogging on behalf of your business, it’s going to take a really, really long time to get it back.
** UPDATE: The business operating the blog this post refers to has since changed the time stamps on several comments, making them appear to have been posted at different times, and has deleted one comment and posted a new one in its place. Draw your own conclusions from that one, chaps. **






Did the journalist die out in 2009?
Most journalists have that experience of telling someone at a party that they're a journalist, only to be met with the hilarious riposte: "ooh, better be careful what we say, eh?" Ho flippin' ho.
Except I'm not sure how many journalists I actually know these days - at least in the sense I understood journalism back when I started out.
One of my former editors has given up B2B journalism in favour of publishing sponsored supplements for CIOs. Another former editor from Emap now commissions me for a website about the use of technology in the NHS - the website is sponsored by a vendor. Another former commissioning ed from a national now commissions me for articles in the national press - but they're supplements paid for by major IT vendors.
I write for a couple of magazines published by professional associations, one magazine published by a University, another published by a government department - but at the moment, I only have one regular client that involves actual, independent journalism (insofar as any business journalism is ever independent of course).
The remainder of my work is split pretty evenly between writing white papers, websites, blogs and other commercial content and taking on PR clients - at the moment I do PR for a women's development social enterprise, for a pre-school activity provider and an acupuncture clinic. Through my PR work, I started a parenting blog and that's translated into a couple of writing gigs and some fiming work - on websites owned by a travel company and a major consumer brand. I've also expanded my training to include blogs and social media as well as mainstream media.
Honestly, these days when someone asks me at a party what I do for a living I'm more inclined to say that I'm a "writer" than a journalist - it somehow feels more honest. Is it just me? Are there any bona fide freelance journalists still out there?
November 01, 2009 in Hacks , Industry Comment , Journalism | Permalink | Comments (16) | TrackBack (0)