NetVocates

Speaking of PR, which is an important tooll in memetic engineering and a key weapon in memetic warfare, there is apparently a company called NetVocates which is a PR firm focused on blogging. Steve Lagavulin summarizes Robin Hamman at Cybersoc.com:

I won't steal all of Robin's thunder, and you should definitely take a peek over at his weblog for a better take on what his research dug up. But the gist of it is that NetVocates appears to offer a service whereby they will target weblogs which might "impact an organization and its products and image in uncontrolled and often unexpected ways", and they then hire individuals to post comments on those weblogs which will, presumably, help to create more "controlled" and "expected" impacts.

Chip Griffin, founder of NetVocates, offers his side of the story:

NetVocates was founded earlier this year to provide online analysis and advocacy services to clients. What does this mean? NetVocates gathers data about blog posts of interest to its clients, uses proprietary software to blend multiple data sources and electronically sort the information. We then have a staff of experts who review the information to provide reports to clients outlining trends in the blogosphere of interest to our clients.

... For some – but not all – clients, NetVocates works to develop advocacy programs. These programs can take many different forms – steps the client might take to communicate more proactively through its own blog, to work with bloggers to provide information on products and issues, or to address misinformation published in blogs.

Steve has a followup article on the issue. He call attention to the silver lining:

But as a counter-point, let's look at the bright side of NetVocates as well: they pay people to surf the web! Does that sound like your idea of a dream job?