Count me as an advocate of media sites allowing public comments to be
added to content — and I mean all content, including ads. (Of course,
that’s probably a radical view, considering that many major media sites
continue to resist even allowing reader comments on articles.)
An example of what’s possible comes from the Muncie Free Press, a citizen-journalism website covering Muncie, Indiana, operated by K. Paul Mallasch with assistance from a few volunteer editors.
Mallasch, who describes his strategy for the site as coming from the “Craig Newmark school of business” (a reference to Craigslist‘s
founder), says he’s had some success recently selling “advertorials”
along with banner ads — “basically, a story page labeled as an ad
where customers or potential customers can comment.”
I think this is a great idea. Allowing customer comments to be appended
to the advertorial is a way for advertisers to actually interact with
customers, and the advertorial format gives them more latitude in
presenting their messages.
Of course, there are some challenges. Foremost, what if a competitor or
vandal tries to trash the reputation of an advertiser unfairly? There
would need to be a mechanism for the advertiser to request that a
customer comment be removed, and the website would need a
well-thought-out set of guidelines about what circumstances warrant
removal of an offending comment. Just because a customer gives a
restaurant a bad review shouldn’t be enough, for instance.
I’d also recommend that advertisers be given the option of not
accepting comments — but that they also be educated about the benefits
of direct interaction with customers and potential customers.
