Ethics in online PR: another breach
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In the wake of recent companies-not-disclosing-their-online-activity news like this, the Washington Post brings us this little gem.
The Post writes about a company in Arlington, Va., called New Media Strategies. NMS is a company that provides online monitoring services for clients ranging from movie studios to politicians. Reading the article makes this sound like a fun place to work for a combination geek-and-media-junkie like me. But they’re doing more than just monitoring, as the Post writes:
Over the past few years, the “online analysts” have helped the companies track their reputations, found ways to get their products noticed and joined online conversations to help steer them the way clients want them to go.
Monitoring and “steering”? What a deal!
Immediately, ethics concerns arise. Eagarly awaiting that part of the article — “I hope the write about…!” — I make the jump to the Post article’s second page, which reveals:
Curran said she is careful to acknowledge her connection to clients when it’s required. All online marketers have to walk a fine line when they work the blogosphere. Federal Trade Commission rules require them to identify their roles when they’re making a point on behalf of a client, but if they’re gossiping about the latest episode of “Desperate Housewives” they can legally be as anonymous as anyone else.
Disclosure “when it’s required”? “Can legally be” anonymous? Sure, maybe it’s legal, but hopefully the folks at Edelman/Wal-Mart have learned that there’s more to this than the law. All of us in public relations, marketing, advertising, communication and the like are trying hard to figure out how to do our jobs well in these wild and crazy times, and there are surely no set-in-stone rules right now. Still, I think most will say that only disclosing a professional, client-employee relationship in these types of forums only when legally required is not enough.
The Public Relations Society of America has a code of ethics (PDF) for its members that says, among other things on the topic of disclosure, “Reveal the sponsors for causes and interests represented.” The Word of Mouth Marketing Association, of which Edelman is a member, has a code of ethics, too, which Edelman helped create. WOMMA has set up a Web page dedicated to discussing Edelman and it’s lack of blogging disclosure.
All of this points one thing: Following the law isn’t enough when it comes to disclosure. Professional communicators should follow a strong code of ethics. I hope New Media Strategies has stronger ethics than this article depicts.
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Hi, Mike - first time coming to your site, don’t mean to crash in but I thought I could add to some of the good points you are making. I read your post, and agree with much of what you are saying. First, full disclosure - I work at one of the companies you mention, New Media Strategies. Thank you for giving us the benefit of the doubt, yes, our standards and practices are far beyond simply “what is legal.” Kim of the Washington Post did a great job on the article, but we probably did not communicate clearly enough or something was lost in translation. I think what was being discussed in this article is interactions that individuals on our team may have with friends, family or others online that are non-client or non-work related. As a rule, we make sure we disclose when we are working on behalf of a client. We were the first company in the Online Intelligence, Brand Protection and Brand Promotion industry to create and publish Standards and Practices, which can be found at http://www.newmediastrategies.net/about/ethics.htm . As you may see we also abide by a code of conduct that goes far beyond simple disclosure. There are several groups with codes and recommendation on conduct that have added to or advanced the dialogue over the past few months and years. We anticipate that continuing as this industry continues to evolve. As it does, we’ll do all we can to make sure we’re not just following the letter of the law, but doing the right thing in order to add both honesty and value to the community online. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions and I look to keeping in touch and following what you have going on here at Unjournalism in the future.
Thanks,
Sam Huxley
New Media Strategies
Sam,
Thanks for the comment, and no need to apologize for “crashing in” - that’s, uh…what the site’s here for.
As far your ethics page and your “standards and practice,” good for you. I suppose I could have looked at your Web site before I started writing. Damn bloggers, eh?
I commend you for being the first to publish such a code on your site, if that is indeed the case, or simply for publishing one at all, regardless of whether you were first.
Still, the article says, clear as day, “[Your employee Moira] Curran said she is careful to acknowledge her connection to clients when it’s required.” It then goes on to talk about the FTC and makes no mention or hint at an organizational code of ethics.
That said, it appears at though your company is doing some good work in this business, so keep on keepin’ on.
Mike
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