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A Google employee and blogger named Lauren Turner hopefully has learned a valuable lesson on what not to do when writing for a corporate blog. Ms. Turner posted a story on Google’s Health Advertising Blog about Michael Moore’s new movie, Sicko. She said:
“Moore’s film portrays the industry as money and marketing driven, and fails to show healthcare’s interest in patient well-being and care.”
She then went on to encourage health care companies to advertise with Google to spread their “counter-message”.
To no-one’s surprise except for maybe Ms. Turner, this did not go over real well in the blogosphere. Very quickly, Ms. Turner recanted her post with this little diddy. She said:
” Not so good is that some readers thought the opinion I expressed about the movie Sicko was actually Google’s opinion. It’s easy to understand why it might have seemed that way, because after all, this is a corporate blog. So that was my mistake“.
Unfortunately, Ms. Turner could not leave well enough alone and then went on for another two paragraphs about how, “advertising is an effective medium for handling challenges that a company or industry might have”. Many bloggers have expressed their dismay on how this Google employee expressed her opinion on a corporate blog which got her into trouble. I absolutely disagree.
Yes, you do need to be careful how and what you write when you are representing a company, but I think many people are missing the bigger issue here. Blogging is all about credibility. Whether you are writing a blog on a subject you have an interest in, like what I do here or if you are writing a blog for a company you work for; the only way your message will get through is if the author has some sort of credibility. If you do not have any credibility, it does not really matter what you write because no-one will care.
All that Ms. Turner did in both her original post and then in her follow-up was to lose all credibility in my eyes. She took an incredibly complicated and important issue like healthcare in this country and boiled it down to, “Advertise with Google Healthcare companies and we can deliver your message.” Ms. Turner showed that she knows very little about the healthcare industry because if she did, she would know that EVERY study that has been done recently all show that people are not listening because they do not trust any of the healthcare companies and buying ads in Google will deliver nothing other than putting money into Google’s pocket. Writing for a corporate blog does not mean that you need to be a corporate shill.
Ms. Turner, your posts showed that you know very little about the industry your trying to sell to. Our world is very different than it was several years ago and buying text ads, video ads, and rich media ads in paid search will not help get a “counter-message” out. And even if it could, what would a counter-message really accomplish?
Even more importantly, you are doing a huge disservice to many people in this industry who are trying to show our clients how to actually reach out to their customers and truly have an impact that makes a difference.
What do you think? Was this blogger wrong and if so, what did you disagree with her about?
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Technorati Tags: Google, Lauren Turner, Michael Moore, Sicko, corporate blog, Blogging, credibility, healthcare
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I read blogs that make me think about topics I enjoy in new and fresh ways. This person at Google was completely in the wrong. Blogs are not about advertising one’s products - they are about disseminating information about topics you care about and love. One of the beneifts of blogging is that as you talk about your passions, it continues to expose your company in a passive way. But above the exposure is an oppurtunity to talk and share about a topic that turns your crank.
I absolutely agree Jake. Blogging is about taking a position and then being able to defend that position without using the corporate line.
Ms. Turner is a dumb bitch, she obviously is too ignorant to know how the pharmaceutical and insurance companies make dirty profits off the backs of sick people. This bitch is living proof that Google hires stupid people, she doesn’t even know how to use proper punctuation. I hope she gets hit by a car.
Hey Shaka - One word, Relax.
As big as Google is, they need to be very careful in how they exert their power. I’ve read their intent is to monopolize the search and advertising industry, but they are hoping to escape all the negativity that comes with the word ‘monopoloy’ ala Microsoft and Ticketmaster, and this makes sense. I really wanted to believe that a corporate company can Do No Evil, but sadly this is not the case.
What is the thinking that went behind Turner’s logic when she suggested to overtake people’s search for Michael Moore and Sicko? It is disgusting and very Big Brother. Shame on Turner and Google.
This story reminds me of another serious corporate issue.
It could be that Ms Turner was thrown into the role of corporate blogger for a healthcare product, having had no substantial training on the finer details of the healthcare industry.
In my opinion, corporations take shortcuts these days. Everyone is forced to be a jack-of-all-trades and solid training is sometimes non-existent.
When I worked as a junior at a consulting firm, I was thrown into all sorts of uncomfortable situations - basically being forced to act as an industry expert with little more than an IT degree. One example is the mining industry.
Some people have the innate ability to bullsh*t, sweet talk and get by (with little knowledge), others don’t.
This may not be the case with this blogger, but something that big business correct. Where did all the knowledgeable people go?
Ms. Turner has (hopefully) learned a valuable lesson, albeit at the expense of a blow to Google’s reputation. She is not the first among corporate bloggers whose passion appears to be sales, nor unfortunately will she be the last. Still, I seriously doubt that her comments will sway anyone’s opinion – except perhaps some desperate but equally oblivious healthcare marketer. Certainly, the reaction she has recieved drives home the point that taking shortcuts and just firing off a quick thought without proper research is irresponsible and detrimental to one’s personal reputation and career aspirations.