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'Best' Fake Blog of 2006 Awarded

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the all-i-want-for-xmas-is-no-corporate-shills dept.

schwaang writes "Advertising is an integral part of the Web, and its revenues make the likes of Google possible for all of us. But when PR firms promote products by pretending to be real bloggers, some think it crosses the line into unethical 'astroturf'. The Consumerist held a contest for best 'Flog' of 2006. And the winner is... Sony for it's fake all-I-want-for-Xmas PSP blog (which Slashdot readers will no doubt remember). Runners up included Walmart and McDonald's. And the award itself? Well, it's something you might find on on a fake lawn."

3 of 74 comments (clear)

  1. Facing Foreclosure by back_pages · · Score: 5, Interesting
    This is admittedly a long shot, but if Casey Serin at http://iamfacingforeclosure.com/ turns out to be fake, it will be one of the best con jobs ever performed.


    My only reason for thinking that it's fake is because it's really, really hard to believe that someone with a lack of sense, intelligence, and decision making ability as catastrophic as Casey's could actually surive to age 24.


    With every update, I find myself asking, "This can't be for real. Nobody is dumb enough to be $2.2M in debt, unemployed, penniless, and sign up for $52/year roadside assistance just because the offer showed up in the mail." Yet that's exactly what this genius claims to have done. It may be a long shot, but I cannot convince myself that Casey Serin is 100% nonfiction.

  2. Ettiquette by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm friggin Steve Jobs!
    A handshake is considered more traditional in a business context.
  3. Re:Pot... kettle... black by glindsey · · Score: 5, Interesting

    What, you can't be bothered to click a single FAQ link where they clearly state that they are published by Gawker Media? And you compare this to fake blogs which actively try to deceive the reader as to who really writes them? Give me a break.

    I suppose you'll now say that CNN, TBS, Turner Classic Movies, Adult Swim, and the like are all "fronts" because they're all published by a single company.