Count me as an advocate of media sites allowing public comments to be
added to content -- and I mean all content, including ads. (Of course,
that's probably a radical view, considering that many major media sites
continue to resist even allowing reader comments on articles.)
An example of what's possible comes from the
Muncie Free Press, a citizen-journalism website covering Muncie, Indiana, operated by
K. Paul Mallasch with assistance from a few volunteer editors.
Mallasch, who describes his strategy for the site as coming from the "
Craig Newmark school of business" (a reference to
Craigslist's
founder), says he's had some success recently selling "advertorials"
along with banner ads -- "basically, a story page labeled as an ad
where customers or potential customers can comment."
Here's an example.
I think this is a great idea. Allowing customer comments to be appended
to the advertorial is a way for advertisers to actually interact with
customers, and the advertorial format gives them more latitude in
presenting their messages.
Of course, there are some challenges. Foremost, what if a competitor or
vandal tries to trash the reputation of an advertiser unfairly? There
would need to be a mechanism for the advertiser to request that a
customer comment be removed, and the website would need a
well-thought-out set of guidelines about what circumstances warrant
removal of an offending comment. Just because a customer gives a
restaurant a bad review shouldn't be enough, for instance.
I'd also recommend that advertisers be given the option of not
accepting comments -- but that they also be educated about the benefits
of direct interaction with customers and potential customers.
It is obvious that advertisers need to be controlled.
