Sidewiki set to cause a PR 'earthquake' for businesses
A new google application that can be installed on its home page is predicted to “cause an earthquake” for bosses concerned with managing their organisation’s reputation.
Google’s Sidewiki application enables members of the public to write comments directly next to an organisation’s web site.
Celebrities, royalty and anyone in the public spotlight with a web site are also predicted to be affected and, says Dougal Paver, managing director of north west PR agency Paver Smith, the task of monitoring comments and responding will place an ‘intolerable burden’ on many businesses.
“There are some safeguards built in, but this is basically a hijacker’s charter,” said Paver.
“It’s a good time to be a lawyer as inexperienced posters are bound to leave defamatory, incorrect or libellous comments. The burden for those responsible for managing a company’s reputation will be intolerable.”