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Fake Grass and the Cyber City
An investigation of astroturfing on weblogs

word count: 1368

We hear people celebrating online democracy, the idea that the internet is a form of that envisioned ‘global village’ that Marshall McLuhan championed, but the reality is that it involves commercial enterprise also. What makes the internet such an enticing prospect for marketers, is that it is visual, like the television, informative, like newspapers, and personal, like the radio. It combines elements of what makes each medium powerful, and requires that a consumer be active while engaging with it. This activity causes online citizens to seek out information that interests them, allowing unprecedented market segmentation. No longer do businesses need to actively seek out and inform their target markets, as this is done for them in cyberspace. All they need to do is have a presence on the pages that their markets are likely to seek out, giving rise to the practice of astroturfing.

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.... an investigation of astroturfing on weblogs

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Fake Grass and the Cyber City Titles

Episode One: What is astroturfing?

Episode Two: Are we savvy enough to detect astrotrufing?

Episode Three: Cat-stroturfing

Episode Four: McCaseStudy

Episode Five: Who benefits from astroturfing?

Episode Six: Is astroturfing illegal?

Episode Seven: Fake Grass Finale

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Title:

Fake Grass and the Cyber City

Theme:

Exploring the significance and implications of astroturfing in weblogs.

Synopsis:

Each vlog will begin with footage of myself at a computer, deep in thought, and typing. The Sex and the City theme song (taken from a mobile ring tone) will be playing as my voiceover questions an aspect of weblogs and astroturfing, using humorous ‘female’ metaphors.

This will lead into a ‘serious’ question involving astroturfing that is typed onto a computer screen, with an in-depth investigation to follow that will draw from myself, interviews, the internet, speeches, radio broadcasts, animation, dramatic content and music. Each entry will stand apart from the others, but together will operate as a unified body of analysis into the practice of astroturfing.

I am keenly interested in the concept of astroturfing-- what wikipedia defines as "formal public relations projects which deliberately seek to engineer the impression of spontaneous, grassroots behavior"-- and this will be the central connecting point of my entries.

Not sure exactly what my vlogs will entail, but the style I am definite about (copyright permitting), and will reflect a 'Sex and the City' influence. Each vlog will begin with a question that is typed up onto a computer screen that is being filmed-- Carrie style-- and cut to quick 8 second soundbites that answer it.

If permitted, I will film some speakers at a conference I am attending about how new technologies such as podcasting, blogs and SMS impact upon the journalism and public relations industries, and perhaps incorporate that into my vlogs.

Then again, I might just film my cat. She's pretty cute