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A couple of independent Indian bloggers were recently left stranded at an event in Berlin, after they refused to succumb to threats by Samsung forcing them to promote their products. The two bloggers were picked through a contest and were offered a chance to preview the latest Samsung gadgets at an international event and write an unbiased review. In return, Samsung offered to fly them to the event and pay for their hotel charges – much like a junket for journalists.
However, things went horribly wrong and upon landing the bloggers were asked to promote the product (they had to originally review) by wearing Samsung uniforms and standing in the company’s booth. Upon their refusal Samsung threatened to leave them stranded in Berlin and cancelled their return tickets as well as hotel stay. Luckily for the bloggers, another mobile phone company offered to help. This episode has shocked the blogging fraternity and they have reacted strongly to it. (More details pertaining to the issue can be read at this link.)
While the media has pitted this as a personal issue between the two bloggers and the corporation, the real problem lies deeper. This situation, to a large extent, can be attributed to the lack of formal structure of operations as well as the absence of blogger associations who can set some ground rules for independent bloggers. Blogs are largely seen as one’s personal space and views on a blog are usually biased to reflect that individual’s perspective. This makes the content less than credible to provide a holistic perspective of any issue for public consumption.
This perhaps explains the media’s general reluctance to reach out to bloggers to get perspectives for any story or syndicate any columns. Few media organizations, such as NDTV Profit, routinely feature bloggers for select programmes and seek their views on developing stories. CNN-IBN’s Citizen Journalist initiative, although asks people to share their stories, does not feature them regularly in its news segments. HT Mint too publishes blogger opinions, albeit selectively.
However, with the rise of social media as a channel to influence customers and prospects, many corporations are looking to build their online image - with a little help from influential bloggers. Thanks to the absence of any blogger guidelines (self imposed or otherwise), corporations and PR agencies are willing to pay bloggers in return for positive coverage. This makes bloggers easy baits for plugs and poses a threat to their independence.
A formal blogger community or association can significantly alter the public perception of independent bloggers enhancing their role in society. Bloggers can have three distinct benefits from such an entity.
1. Professionalism: Independent bloggers believe they write credible content on the issues they are passionate about. Mainstream media does not seem to think so. The gap lies in the fact that there are no guidelines governing how and what bloggers are encouraged to write about. Newspapers on the other hand have a detailed policy pertaining to what constitutes news, how it should be covered and what kind of opportunities a journalist must not seek. Additionally, sponsored stories are clearly mentioned so. A story in the Mint, highlighted this aspect while covering the Samsung incident. It stated the special conditions under which a junket is permissible and what dos and don’ts reporters of the paper must follow.
Similar to those lines, blogger associations can evolve a policy that sets certain benchmarks amongst its members. For example, the US-based Independent Theatre Bloggers Association clearly outlines that bloggers write about theatre productions of their choice without taking money or being prodded by agents with vested interests. Only the association deals with PR agencies and the press. Member bloggers are requested to inform the association in case any PR agent or journalist contacts them directly. That way the association is able to ensure that bloggers comply with the general ethos of the association.
2. Awareness and Effectiveness: Most bloggers are prolific writers but few seek inputs from other bloggers who do not share their perspectives on a subject. By and large most blog posts focus on “consensus of complementary ideas” and not “disagreement”. Further, bloggers do little research on similar topics in the public domain to quote the relevant material in their posts. The Samsung case exposed the naivete of the two bloggers who travelled to Berlin, without the knowledge that they would be asked to promote the product, especially, when there was sufficient public information on the Samsung programme in countries like the UK. An article in the Guardian details this paid promotional initiative to get bloggers to creatively talk about the latest Samsung products/ services. Had the Indian bloggers read this prior to their participation and reached out to some of the bloggers in other geographies, they could have had realistic expectations from their trip.
A formal association can expose bloggers to varied opinions and encourage them to seek effective dialogue with fellow members. The Indian website Indiblogger does a commendable job of this by asking members to review each others’ blog posts and share recommendations for improvement. It also regularly promotes contests on the site by informing bloggers in detail about what they should and should not do. These contests are judged by both members and the corporate sponsoring the contest to ensure impartiality. Further, any complaints such as non-receipt of gifts upon winning a contest or other promises not kept by corporate are promptly addressed by the administrators.
3. Legitimacy: For blogging to be seen as a powerful alternative voice of the people, it needs recognition from mainstream media. This recognition would come only if the fraternity is committed to operating procedures. An association can go beyond helping create operating procedures to supporting members against any attacks from third parties. In the Samsung case, one is not clear about the stand taken by Unleash the Phone, the website which one of the bloggers represented. Although the company issued a public apology, one is unsure of the other consequences that the bloggers might face (for dishonoring their commitment) including asking for payment of the one-way trip or withdrawal of any other perks which they may have enjoyed. In this situation, the bloggers would have to fight their own case, with little legal support from the organizations they represented.
An association that can back its members would come in useful in this situation as it would not only provide support but also any resources the members can use such as lawyers and other experts.
With the government banning social media sites, it is only a matter of time before powerful corporations can wield the same kind of power on independent bloggers who do not tow their line. Until such time that blogger associations come up, bloggers will have to do with a poorly crafted apologies claiming “miscommunication”.
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