Pet Product News Editorial Blog:
Friday, July 2, 2010
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By Sherri Collins
Editor, Pet Product News International
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Do you read the comments section linked to or displayed below articles on media websites? I sometimes do depending upon both the subject and the author, but more often than not, I ignore them. (Of course, I always read the comments left at PetProductNews.com.)
How about providing comments? Do you offer up your opinion on articles you have read or respond to comments already made? I’m not the “commenting” type per se--although friends and acquaintances would be quick to tell you that I’m not shy about letting my thoughts known person-to-person—which is why I am coming to you to find out more about the “commenting” type as well as those who read comments.
You have probably noticed that on every page of our website where comments are possible we have the disclaimer “Industry Professional Site: Comments from non-industry professionals will be removed.” The reason for this is straightforward. We are a business-to-business publication and want to ensure that the comments left by viewers are business related and not merely positive or negative product reviews. I’m all for user-generated product reviews, but they belong on consumer sites, such as our sister websites DogChannel.com or BirdChannel.com.
The problem for us lies in determining who is “in the business” and who is not. Surprisingly, we get an awful lot of comments from consumers who report on the interaction between their pets and products and/or companies. We’ve even had pet owners asking us for advice on their pet’s health. (If they leave an e-mail address, we redirect them accordingly, but many offer nothing more than a first name.)
We recently received a call from a company we reported on last month regarding comments from former employees. After reviewing the comments, we determined that they did not qualify as industry professionals and removed the negative remarks. We do the same for “positive” remarks, too, if they’re from consumers (e.g., comments that directly mention “my pet”). To me, this is fair and in line with our publication’s mission to provide the pet industry with the most up-to-date news, product information and trends on the various segments within the pet -product and -service marketplace.
However, I’m curious as to what you think about this practice? Nearly every website in existence has some type of policy regarding the removal of viewer comments that are construed as flaming, but you usually don’t hear about sites taking down affirmative hyperbole. Not that our policy will change (it’s the same for all of our trade sites), but I’d like to know your thoughts on this. Should we let the fur fly no matter who is doing the commenting or keep it at the professional level?
Your comments are appreciated.
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