An initiative by Coca Cola to generate buzz around a new product in Brazil has irked bloggers the world over.
The catchily-named i9 Hydrotonico hand-picked nine prominent blogs, customised their pages and sent the authors a USB fridge and a sample of the product.
The noise it has generated around the web has been considerable, but a lot of it has been negative, as reported here and here.
BlueBus, who labelled the sites in question 'rent-a-blogs', even went as far as to create a 'Blogger's Manifesto', which reads thus:
“A blog is a personal page, is a time logbook, is expression, is someone saying what they think/reckon/believe for those who want to read it. There aren’t bloggers’ union, wages, holidays, but we do lots of overtime. A blogger is not a journalist or an advertising agent: they can be everything and nothing, teenager or mother, hairdresser or CEO. Each one has the audience they deserve, the credibility they have conquered.”
I suspect much of the negativity is simply because it's Coke. Had a sportswear firm or anyone more easily associated with this type of thing done the same, they'd probably have been applauded. You wouldn't see people complaining because Innocent Smoothies had bunged someone who blogs on health issues a crate of a new flavour and some wooly hats. Still, a cautionary tale.
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