Week 8 Blogging

The Art of Flogging

Flogging, which is described in the article as :

"Flog, a play on words to demarcate the fuzzy line between the fake (paid-for) and real posts out there in the unruly blogosphere."

The idea that Wal-Mart, or their PR Firm Edelman Worldwide, had people pose as real consumers and blog for them is outright wrong.

There is no two ways about it.

But, should we really expect anything better from Wal-Mart? A company who have been known to drive out local owned businesses and treat their employees poorly, for years.

I have come to think of Wal-Mart as the greedy "Mr. Scrooge" type of corporate America. Always wanting more and giving less.

You can say what you want about this particular instance being their PR firm, which it most certainly was. However, I would'nt say that this same company would do this for all their clients.

It seems to me, and this is only my personal opinion, that the corporate environment of Wal-Mart lends themselves to practices such as flogging.

In my mind, I hold both Wal-Mart and Edelman Worldwide equally responsible for this happening.

Although I have refused to shop at Wal-Mart for years, this act by their PR firm only goes to strengthen my view on their company.

I hope that the act of flogging doesn't became a mainstay in the American market, since many people my age are cynical enough about American corporations as is.

Brandon