Lesson #8: Don't Fib

With all our talk of honesty, authenticity, and trust, this point should be obvious. But surprisingly, companies still try to deceive, misdirect, and spin conversations on the Web. Don't lie, because you'll get caught. And when you get caught, your online reputation will take a beating.

In addition to all the ways marketers usually lie, two related, insidious strategies seem increasingly prevalent in the social media sphere: astroturfing and sockpuppeting. The former refers to a PR strategy where a campaign tries to appear spontaneous and grassroots but is actually orchestrated by an organization. Astroturf is a metaphor for fake grassroots support. Sockpuppeting is the creation of fake web profiles for the express purpose ...

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