- Courtesy of Life Multimedia
For starters, let’s define authenticity and transparency. Joel Postman lists transparency and authenticity as two of the six attributes a blog should have in his book, Social Corp.
An authentic blogger posts voluntary, unfiltered information that will lead to two-way, open communication. A transparent blogger is open about the goals that he or she hopes to accomplish or the goals that his or her organization hopes to accomplish. An authentic blog also shares the strategies used to achieve those goals.
So, I have taken Postman’s advice and stay authentic and transparent on this blog as well. How will I do it though?
Before starting this blog, I began reading other public relations and advertising blogs—most of which have been top ranked in recent years. Each blogger defines who he or she is in the first post or somewhere on the blog, such as the “About” page or in the sidebar. Communications gurus such as Shel Holtz, B.L. Ochman, and Joel Postman introduce themselves to their readers. For readers to trust the opinions of these professionals, they’ll first need to ask themselves: “Why the heck should I listen to yet another blogger?”
Once social media creators have established their backgrounds in order to prove to readers: listen in on their conversations, they’ll need to establish a voice. Not just a consistent voice for podcasts or vodcasts, but a voice to use in blog posts and comments, Twitter updates, and Facebook information. Creators shouldn’t shy away from using the first person tense either. It can help build a stronger transparent relationship with audience members if they can see how exactly “I” or “we” plan to accomplish a goal, handle an issue, or feel about a current event. Shel Holtz, B.L. Ochman, and Advergirl aren’t afraid to expose their bare opinions to readers through use of the first person tense.
5 comments
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February 27, 2009 at 2:01 am
Mandy Smoot
Lindsey,
I really like how you started off with the voice of new social media because in my mind it really is the very start of transparency and authenticity. Trust is the bottom line, and in order for trust to occur the voice and personality of new social media is crucial. It is the onset of openness and dialogue with your audience. The voice is also the ticket for new social media to appear real and unique. I look forward to reading more of your posts about other steps social media creators should take in order to ensure trust and honesty. It would be interesting to understand more of the ethics associated with transparency. What is ethical and what is not? Is it okay to post anonymously?
Perhaps “Tactical Transparency,” by Shel Holtz and John C. Havens, would provide some more insight on additional steps about how to ensure trust in new social media.
The book also has a website, http://www.tacticaltransparency.com/.
February 27, 2009 at 3:44 am
Nicole Fiorella
Hey Lindsey,
I thought you really did a great job explaining the importance of transparency and authenticity. It’s true that without trust and an openness of communication people may shy away from reading another person’s blog.
I really liked your point about how bloggers should set-up a first post or an “About” page to show their audience who they truly are. I remember reading http://fakeplasticnoodles.com, a blog written by Melanie Seasons. When I explored her blog I noticed that her posts really gave readers a sense of her personality. She also established an “About” page that really dove into her past and made me feel like I knew who she was simply by reading it. This made me believe I could trust her and the information she provided about social media.
After reading your post I explored Advergirl and her blog reminded me of Fake Plastic Noodles because both women aren’t afraid to reveal themselves and gain trust from their viewers.
February 27, 2009 at 5:43 am
Heather Thoreson
I agree with you Lindsey that bloggers, especially ones from corporations, should be transparent and authentic. People want to know they can trust what they read. They want to hear a consistent voice and personality so they will not be mislead when they return to your blog. On the blog, PR 2.0, Brian Solis says that “companies can only earn the trust and loyalty they deserve.” So if a company says the CEO is writing the blog, but really isn’t and someone outside the corporation finds out, this could be bad news for that company. They were not being authentic and will lose credibility to the transparency they were going for.
http://www.briansolis.com/2007/12/dont-throw-out-that-social-media.html
The rest of this post points out principles to reference to while creating a blog. I feel like creating a good blog will eventually lead to the authenticity and transparency that you want.
February 28, 2009 at 12:48 am
Sarah Lokitis
Transparency and authenticity are main priorities for successful blogs. Like Mandy, I also question how one can really know if someone is being authentic or not. When creating a blog, it is very easy to say something that is not true or to have someone say they are the author when they are not. I think companies should set up ethical standards and present their guidelines on the website.
Dave Fleet suggests in his blog (cited below) that ghost blogging is a terrible idea for social media. He says that it does not matter who in the company is blogging. For instance, the author of the company blog does not have to be the CEO if he or she does not have the time, but it must be clear who the author(s) are for the blog. If the company feels like they must turn to ghost blogging, they should just find a different social media application to use. Companies should not mislead people because if they are revealed they will damage their reputation immediately. Fleet presents other ideas about ghost blogging and even cites ideas from someone who employs the technique of ghost blogging and shows that perspective.
http://davefleet.com/2009/02/ghost-blogging-wrong/
March 18, 2009 at 12:37 am
Lindsey Monroe
Sarah,
Thanks for the input. After I read this comment a couple of weeks ago I decided to write a post about ghost writing. The transparent/authentic social media debate can’t get more heated than with the issue of ghost writing on blogs and microblogs.