More on healthblogging: Google, Johnson & Johnson, GlaxoSmithKline

2007 July 12
by Cornelius

I’m sitting in the lobby of Harbour Centre in lovely Vancouver, watching a huge cruise ship leave port and occasionally glancing at my feed reader. Here’s some reading material I’ve discovered today that’s worth sharing.

- Over at oreilly.com, Nat Torkington has an interesting post up about the Lauren Turner/Google incident.

- BrandWeek’s Marc Monseau Jim Edwards compares Johnson & Johnson’s new blog to Pravda.

EDIT July 12th: Adriana points out that Marc Monseau is of course the blogger doing JNJBTW, not the author of the Brandweek piece about that blog (that’s Jim Edwards). Thanks for correcting me, Adriana!

- Finally, Allan Jenkins suggests that Debbie Weil is astroturfing for alliConnect, a new blog meant to promote a weight loss product sold by GlaxoSmithKline.

I’d comment more extensively, but I’m still a bit too jetlagged, plus a long day of conferencing lies behind me. Funny coincident though, all these health-related blogs appearing almost at once, and interesting that they all appear to have their issues. Is it an exaggeration to say that the health care sector has its problems with blog transparency? I’d be interested in your opinion, especially if you’ve worked in that area.

from → Corporate Blogging, Debbie Weil, GlaxoSmithKline, Google, Johnson & Johnson

4 Comments
2007 July 12
Debbie Weil permalink

Sorry to disappoint but Alan Jenkins got it wrong. I was completely transparent in asking for Comments. If I’d wanted fake comments I would have written them myself. My only “mistake” was in forgetting how snarky some bloggers are.

2007 July 12
Cornelius permalink

Debbie,

I don’t think it’s a big deal and I wouldn’t call the comments fake in this context either. But I think it’s a continuum from absolutely genuine interest and buzz to “aided” reader interest. And since you have a motivation to see the companies you consult succeed with their blogs it’s tempting to help a little bit. No shame in that – but it’s not surprising that Jenkins picked it up. Like I said, to me it isn’t a big deal.

2007 July 13
Adriana permalink

Correction please!

Marc Monseau is the blogger behind JNJ BTW, Johnson & Johnson’s blog. The journo who indulged in a bit of yellow journalism at BrandWeek is Jim Edwards. Nice guy but can’t help himself to be sensational.

So yes, although Marc’s blog may be pushing all sorts of boundaries within his company, I think he’d be surprised to find himself suddenly working at BrandWeek. :)

2007 July 13
Cornelius permalink

Thanks a bunch for letting me know, Adriana – I’ve just corrected the entry.

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