Merry Christmas (going rogue vs. Happy Holidays). Too risque?

Best,
Joe Hage

Thanks for posting this issue and your experience Shannon.

I have never run into a problem like yours and after reading this post, I wondered about regulation. Who do Internet forums answer to? The answer is no one…and I have the exact same questions as you.

Why SHOULD conversation cost companies? Does free speech and Internet freedom not apply to brands? What are the definitions between marketing, advertising, soliciting, and conversation? Who defines the terms? Is it the responsibility of Google, Bing, Y!, et al., to set forum guidelines so public forums are not indexed? etc., etc., and it’s frustrating how there are so many questions and not enough answers.

Your experience also makes me wonder if and when Elite Trader’s monetization methods are adopted widely by other channels, that could be the wake-up call for brands and companies to “get” social media.

What a bizarre and interesting time we are living in — but that’s what makes this industry so fun :) Thanks for the post.

ps: I think the forum updated the commercial posting account page after this post haha

While I would like to say that this is an isolated incident, I don’t think that it will. Sure for a company $500 it is a nominal fee, but it is more on the principle. The reason that social media itself is a beautiful thing is that it evens the playing field and also gives customers the chance to have their voices heard.

I could see the fee if there was a value added similar to a Radian6 or CoTweet that are providing metrics to go along with the conversation. I can also see forums not allowing certain content due to TOS – try getting your company’s say on the consumer advocacy sites – but to charge to post, that is too much.

In my role, I monitor the company’s brand across blogs, forums and SM and look at is a a method of reputation management or enhancement. The one problem with the Current Internet is that anyone can say whatever they want without much of a recourse so it it is vital for companies to get involved and politely get their side of things out there to possibly win over a customer who was treated badly or even stop their rep being sullied in the mud.

Getting back to the $500 – I still wonder how much Twitter and FB are going to start charging companies for their metrics and insights and if the fees will get paid…

I don’t believe I’m confusing the regulatory issues. OptionsHouse is regulated by FINRA (I work for the parent company of OptionsHouse — PEAK6 Online), but Elite Trader is not. However, there are FTC regulations to consider with respect to disclosure whenever there is a sponsorship relationship between company and new media channel. But then again, I’m not a lawyer! People who have questions around what is legal and what is not should definitely contact one of them (not me) :-)

Love the jargon — thanks for the comment!

S

You may be right — it will be interesting to see how all of this plays out.

Thanks!