collisionbend.com

It looks like Wal*Mart has a lot more than a big blue sign on their face — they have a big black eye as well.

It turns out that the most Wal*Mart-friendly of blogs, Wal-Marting Across America, was engineered and sponsored by Working Families for Wal*Mart, a PR organization created by Wal*Mart’s public relations firm, Edelman, in response to the negative press Wal*Mart receives on a regular basis.

The gist of the blog: the two “Average American” authors traveled the U.S. in a recreational vehicle, parked overnight in Wal*Mart parking lots, shopped at those Wal*Marts, interviewing Wal*Mart employees and customers, posting photos and providing (promotional) commentary on the blog.

Although they provided a link to WFWM, they never stated that they were connected to WFWM in any way.

The blog has been shut down since the revelation that the photographer was, in fact, Jim Thresher of the Washington Post. Thresher reportedly agreed to repay some $2,200 in vacation expenses to WFWM for his part in the ruse.

Thresher, according to (read this article, it’s enlightening) today’s Washington Post, said, “It really seemed harmless.”

I would expect Thresher, a 25-year of the Washington Post, to know better; objective reporting this is not: Thresher’s job is to photograph the news in the most objective manner possible, unless he’s shooting a wedding or a graduation or the like, where he can frame his subject any way he (or his employer) desires. For Thresher to galavant off taking photos for a fake Wal*Mart blog — without transparency to either his employer(s) or to the public — is a severe miscalculation, one that is sure to be taught in journalism schools for years to come.

While it can be argued that he can do whatever he wishes on his own time (and I agree), it can also be argued that as a representative of such a prestigious newspaper, he has a responsibility to present properly to the general public in his off hours as well, free vacations included; his transparency with this issue is essential.

Corporate blogging consultant Debbie Weil commented, “this is so foolish on so many levels… Everyone involved violated the basic rule: Be transparent. If you’re found out, it comes back as a slap in the face.”

Yeah. No foolin’.

If you’re going to do this thing called blogging, you have to be transparent. Transparent with your employer, transparent with your contacts, and — most critically — transparent with your audience.

I’m not saying that what Thresher did as a part of the Wal*Mart promotional machinery was wrong; far from it: the way he handled it was wrong. Thresher and his girlfriend, Laura St. Claire, a restaurant reviewer at the Post, were not transparent on any level of this operation with anyone along the way. I’m sure this extends to WFWM and possibly Edelman as well, although both publicly disclaim this.

Obviously. That’s called “Plausible Deniability.”

Thresher said that he thought he was sort of “nameless and faceless,” an obvious indication of the perceived anonymity of the Internet.

Anybody with a reasonable amount of experience with blogging knows that there is no such thing as being anonymous.

To recap the rules for effective blogging: Be Honest. Be fair. Be truthful. Keep the faith. Listen and learn. Listen, listen, listen some more, think a lot, state your mind, then shut up and listen some more. Be fair, courteous, and thoughtful to commenters. Encourage free expression.

Most importantly: be transparent.