One of the good reasons for organizations to be aware of user-generated content (UGC), such as blogs, is that UGC includes conversations about organizations and their products. Of course, some of the content is unfavorable.
A recent report from Jupiter asserts that organizations are not doing enough to monitor the conversations and counter unfavorable content. The title of the report is When Good Social Marketing Goes Bad, and I saw it via Sarah Perez’ piece When User-Generated Content Goes Bad.
It’s a pity that both titles include the word bad. The UGC in question may well be excellent, pointing out flaws in a product or organization. That’s why I’ve adopted the word unfavorable from the subtitle of the report: “Combating Negative User-Generated Content.”
Such unfavorable content isn’t new or surprising. One of the most powerful examples in Naked Conversations (1st ed. was in 2006) is that of Kryponite, and the UGC showing the way in which some of its bike locks could be opened with a pen.
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