Howard Goldman was scanning the financial message boards on America Online back in 1997 when he came across something that caught his attention. There was a negative message regarding Technical Chemical & Products Inc., where Goldman serves as vice president of investor relations. As Goldman monitored the electronic bulletin board, the negative messages continued to appear.
“They got to the point of ferocity that TCPI subpoenaed AOL for the identities behind the anonymous screen names,” says Goldman.
What they found was surprising. The identity behind two of the screen names was a person associated with a chief competitor. After the person was exposed, the messages on AOL dried up, but about the same time, the financial message boards on the popular Internet search engine Yahoo! were gaining in popularity.
“The circus has now moved over there and has been going on ever since,” says Goldman, whose company recently began posting responses to the negative messages, explaining its side of the story. “Some of the negative messages are funny, some are distasteful, and some are libelous, but we can’t regulate what is being posted.”
The Internet has become a very powerful medium for detractors, whether they be competitors or short sellers — speculators who buy stock and make big profits if the price falls. With the growing popularity of the Internet trading of stocks, a small amount of potentially damaging information can have disastrous effects on a company.
Disgruntled employees and customers are also sources of denigrating statements posted on newsgroups (message boards with a specific focus) or as a Web page.
Do not take the Internet lightly. Messages posted in newsgroups can be viewed by millions of people in a relatively short time. With the anonymity and the ease of creating free e-mail accounts, a person can easily create several screen names and actually have a conversation with himself touting the flaws of your company, giving the impression of a much bigger problem.
If you are the target of negative postings, choose your course of action carefully. If you know or suspect the poster is a competitor or stock speculator, you might consider the same action Goldman chose: Respond directly to the misinformation and half-truths with a posting of your own.
“The volume of calls and e-mails related to the postings have dropped dramatically since we posted our first response, and some have even applauded our efforts to balance out what is going on,” notes Goldman.
If the source is a disgruntled employee or customer, try working things out. Listen to their complaint and look for a compromise. Many complaints arise out of a frustration of not being heard. An apology or refund may end the negative publicity campaign. Charging into court can backfire, drawing more publicity to the site than it could have ever hoped to receive, and the company can often come out looking like a bully regardless of how just its case is against the person.
“Mapping out an Internet strategy is a really important decision where senior management, and certainly investor relations and the legal department need to be involved,” says Goldman. “Determine what you are willing and not willing to do and see what works.”
Two-way street
Just as your company can become a victim of Internet slander, you must also be careful to set policies that give guidelines to employees as to who should be saying what.
If many employees have Internet access, a well-meaning person may post something in the company’s name with unintended results. Designate who will speak for the company on the Internet.
You should also monitor usage of your company name on the Internet and in newsgroups so you know exactly what is being said. Ignoring false comments or not giving credibility to the power of the Internet as a mass communications medium can have decidedly negative results for your company.