Comments on: Ghostwriting, Social Media and Ethics

By: Dean Rodgers

Dean Rodgers — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 17:42:40 +0000

The way I see it, ghostwriting is ghostwriting and can be done ethically in any medium. I've elaborated on this in great detail here. http://koifishcommunications.com/blog/?p=525

By: Ricardo Bueno

Ricardo Bueno — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 23:18:51 +0000

I think that each of these scenarios are all-around bad scenarios!
The problem with that arises with ghost-written content is the awkwardness that arises when a web-client shifts from reader to interested prospect. Because you’re not the one writing the content, references to what you’ve written might not be readily understood/remembered by you. I know some Agents who have experienced problems with this and have since opted out of having their content written by someone else.

By: julia

julia — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 04:31:37 +0000

Media evolves. Social media evolves. Even ethics is determined by your own world views.
What a blog was and is, has made your post interesting. Aren’t blogs evolving? We used to think blogs are our personal, goodness-true-to-heart honest thoughts. Now blogs are for the public and as capitalistic marketing would have it – any vehicle that can make money is a “hot” vehicle. The ethics come after that – to be redefined by us, the public and not the originators.
My personal view on blogs, is that, if you try to give others a false idea about your true self, that is unethical. Why should we pull the wool over people’s eyes?
Unless you are marketing; then it is perceived otherwise.
The original blogs had no problem with that – all were original writers – the good, the bad and the ugly with all the grammatical errors and sentence constructions that will make another MIND YOUR LANGUAGE season. They just want to give voice to their thoughts.
But we are discussing social media being used for purposes it was not originally intended for – the hungry marketing gurus and need for new media and channels to make people “buy” has taken over blogs and FACEBOOK, U-TUBE, PICASA etc. So when has marketing been ethical? I have been in the ad agency industry and it is all about perception and image. But of course, one can’t make an apple to be a dragon fruit. A spade is still a spade, no matter how you dress it.
By the way, most CEOS don’t have time for blogging. Neither do I.

By: April Biddle

April Biddle — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 17:58:30 +0000

Excellent posts Beth.
I think it’s essential to write your own content to maintain the transparency inherent with this media.
Trying to build real relationships with clients/prospects/whomever, but hiring outside talent to be “your voice” is like sending someone else on a job interview for you. Would that work? I think not.

By: Elena Perez

Elena Perez — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 16:52:23 +0000

I write as the “corporate voice” of a non profit organization for their blog. I don’t write as the President or another officer, but as the organization itself. I see that as a good work-around when you want an “official” blog voice but don’t want a false byline.
On the other hand, I think it’s a good point that there are plenty of other areas where ghostwriting is completely accepted, and I think it will become accepted for corporate blogs too, as people continue to adopt social marketing outlets.

By: Beth Harte

Beth Harte — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 16:52:07 +0000

@DonnaChiapperino, I think you might have missed the point here. This isn’t about traditional marketing (or politics) as we know it. This is about Ghostwriting, Social Media and Ethics. And yes, in traditional marketing, it is actually unethical for a President, CEO, whomever to take ownership for the words of a speech they did not write. Most people are aware that Presidents, CEOs, etc. do not write their own speeches. And many people made a point of calling out Barack Obama for NOT using social media tools in a manner that is conversational (it was his staff, of course).
The difference is that social media is meant to be transparent/authentic and therein lies the difference with traditional marketing communications. Will companies/people/movie stars use social media tools for traditional marketing (i.e. no conversation, only broadcasting)?? Sure, of course. But as long as their audience/community is aware of that it’s not actually them speaking and that it’s an agency or staff person speaking on their behalf then it’s not unethical (i.e. Barack Obama, Britney Spears, etc). Where it becomes an ethical issue is when the audience/community is NOT aware that the person speaking isn’t really doing the talking…and yet claims or lets it be assumed that they are.
If companies take your mindset when implementing social media (to just ’sell’ something), their efforts will fail, just like a lot of their traditional marketing efforts have failed for years. The point to social media is that it gives companies a chance to connect and communicate with their customers online and it expands beyond traditional marketing (one-way) and sales (build relationships just to close the deal) efforts. Social media is indirect selling through relationship building…just like old-time mom & pop businesses did, except it’s online.

By: Donna Chiapperino

Donna Chiapperino — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 16:06:41 +0000

So we shouldn’t pay someone to write policital speaches then? Is that really different? I understand that a blog is supposed to be your thoughts, but really – how are those two different at the end of the day? Just because it has been so many years and we KNOW that one is written by someone else? Because they are IN politics? Isn’t the end purpose the same in many of these cases – to “sell” something. Whethere discussing an idea, a candidate, or a product what is the difference really?
Do people really think that those Movei Stars shop at KMart? Or Kohls? Come’on!

By: Ambidextrous

Ambidextrous — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 14:33:18 +0000

I agree with both camps. First off, who wants to read your blog? If it’s dull and corporate, no one — except possibly your competition trying to uncover strategy. Also, why in the world would a CEO want to publicly discuss his business? The GM’s CEO does a great job of this. But maybe he should have spent more time watching the bottom line?
On the other hand, using a blog to create a conversation with potential clients is a good idea. If you can show them that you’re thinking about issues that concern them. And want to have them control the conversation.
Outsourcing it? Depends. Copyediting is definitely a good idea (someone of you had “their” instead of “there”) on your blog.
If you have one person overseeing the contracted writer/blogger…who’s available on a daily basis…outsourcing to a pro is a great idea: Simply give them a byline as editor to solve the transparency issue.

By: Beth Harte

Beth Harte — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 21:28:33 +0000

Thanks for the great responses and questions (CK!). First, let’s not confuse traditional marketing & PR with social media. I think we all know that speeches, bylines, collateral, etc. are all written by other people and the ethics surrounding these activities were sorted out long ago. Let’s just concentrate on social media for now. So, back to the original questions as they relate to traditional ghostwriting*:
What is the communicator’s intent and what is the audience’s degree of awareness?
According to Johanessen/Bivins: Does the communicator pretend to be the author of the
words over which her/his signature appears? Is the audience aware that ghostwriting is common place under certain circumstances? (A note of interest, in traditional marketing it is considered unethical for someone to claim ownership over the words they did not write. For example, a speech.)
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Does the communicator use ghostwriters to make herself/himself appear to possess personal qualities that she/he does not have?
According to Johanessen/Bivins: Does the writer impart qualities and ideas that to a communicator who might not possess such qualities otherwise? The degree to which the writer distorts character has a lot to do with ethicality.
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What are the surrounding circumstances of the communicator’s job that make ghostwriting a necessity?
According to Johanessen/Bivins: The pressures of a job often dictate that a ghostwriter be used (busy executives, politicians, etc.). However, it is not expected that the average manager or professor would hire a ghostwriter. Part of the answer has to do with job pressures and the other with the need and frequency of communication.
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To what extent does the communicator actively participate in the writing of her/his own writing?
According to Johanessen/Bivins: The more input the communicator has in her/his own writing, the more ethical will be the resultant image.
********
Does the communicator accept responsibility for the message she/he presents?
According to Johanessen/Bivins: Most communicators assume that whatever they say or sign their name to is theirs, whether written by someone else or not.
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Now that additional detail has been provided around each question does it help answer questions when ethicality is considered with social media in mind or does it present more questions?
*Source: Public Relations Writing: The Essentials of Style & Format by Thomas H. Bivins

By: mack collier

mack collier — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 20:58:30 +0000

CK I am absolutely there with you on helping clients. I see no problem whatsoever with a company blogging and having someone outside the company work with them to write their posts. Especially not at first, when as you say, the training wheels are necessary. In fact, I would ENCOURAGE companies to hire someone to help them at first.