Does this qualify me as obsessed?
Are you sick of us discussing Check Out yet? Too bad, as I have at least one more post. From Philip Mattera of Good Jobs First (via Wal-Mart Watch):
The appearance of authenticity and candor is just another technique used by advertising agencies and public relations consultants to win over skeptical audiences.
As for those critical comments, it’s significant that “Alex” thanked all those who had corrected a spelling error in his post but had nothing to say about the company’s sourcing practices. In fact, that the only real topic covered in the posts apart from product assessments is “sustainability.”
Those items are posted in the name of Rand Waddoups, who is no lowly buyer but rather the company’s senior director of business strategy and sustainability. His part of the blog, at least, fits in neatly with the company’s dubious campaign to depict itself as the environmental leader of the corporate world.
As I have previously noted, Wal-Mart’s green crusade places all the burdens on its suppliers, while the moves taken by the retailer itself (improving energy efficiency, etc.) are in fact nothing more than cost-cutting measures that boost its bottom line. Until Wal-Mart makes some hard choices itself—such as paying all its workers a living wage—nothing it does in the blogosphere or elsewhere is going to be very authentic.
Frankness is not the same as authenticity. Check Out bloggers bash one product Wal-Mart sells in order to convince you to buy more of another. They control the discussion, and its almost all about consumption. A truly “authentic” blog would require interaction between readers and commentators at a much deeper level.