Melody over at Mark Borkowski’s blog has posted a link to a story from the New York Times that appeared back in the December that I missed at the time (enjoying turkey sandwiches probably).
It examines the rise of “Determined Detractors”. People and groups online (and offline) who focus on attacking individuals or organizations. It’s a very interesting read. It reports work being undertaken to categories these detractors. For example the “hear me” group have real issues, but those issues can be dealt with through acknowledging an issue and dealing with the problem.
As we know the Internet provides the perfect medium for connecting like-minded individuals, (for example PR or Marketing people reading my forlorn meanderings) as a result these online groups will continue to grow and proliferate. Finding them, understanding their issues and communicating them will become more important for PR people everywhere.
“One determined detractor can do as much damage as 100,000 positive mentions can do good,” said Paul Rand, managing director at Ketchum Midwest in Chicago, part of the Omnicom Group. “In the same way that we need to understand who the positive influencers are, it is becoming even more critical to identify and manage determined detractors.”
Footnote:
- The New York Times story is a fantastic PR coup for BuzzMetrics
Murphy's Law 