Warning! If you don't want to hear me go off on the Public Relations and Journalism field, click away now!!!!!
Now!!!
Seriously, now.
For centuries advertising and journalism have existed. In fact there relationship has been one of symbiosis. Think about, papers can't print without money, the money often doesn't come from subscribers, it comes from advertisement's..........
This is one of the big reasons why papers are dying.
Online Media Outlets just keep seeing the money flow in though......... Why pay to get marketed to? That is essentially what the savvy news reader is saying.....which is why they have turned away from newspapers and turned towards blogs and twitter......what used to be the gold standard of journalism is now being exposed as a piece of paper for rent to the highest bidder, couched in some official looking headline....
I am afraid the same may happen to blogs and twitter........But this game is not new, the advertising industry has a whole army called "Public Relations" which is designed to do just that, sucker a pressured journalist into "copying" a Press release into an article and send it out "AS IF" it were news.....
What really turned the public's attention towards this really, really big scam? Blogs........ Yes, blogs.
The very thing I am writing now.
Why do I know this?
Because I saw it happen........ In 2007 when I started blogging, I was the only, I repeat only voice dispelling the HYPE behind DTC genomics..... The press had been infiltrated by the PR crazies.......
Article after article about how fantastic this would be, without ANY other input from the professional genetics side........or if it was, it was a zealous Ph.D. without any clinical context.......
Drew mentioned the news cycle in most fields with a backlash, that often happens pretty slowly, but with Blogs, it is now sped up.........
It turns out that the PR crazies, in an attempt to keep the good times rolling on crappy products and services which don't sell themselves, but instead need millions of PR dollars have turned their eyes to another target......
Yes, the very target that can dispel their hype........luring them with giveaways and maybe even financial rewards..........That is right, Bloggers and Twitterers......
You who write are now the target.....Please tell me you already knew this....... For every PR bastard that I have to filter out of my inbox, to every free fruit drink or textbook I have to throw away, I see it more clearly........ If more bloggers than not are duped by these PR crazies, the blog may actually go the way of the newspaper........
Think about it.
PR has to spend billions a year on newspapers, but they can buy YOU off for a 300 USD SNP kit, or a TOUR of their client's facilities......
It has happened to me. I have been wowed by some wonk running one of the genomic companies. And if it could happen to super cynical me, imagine how many more it could as well.....Don't believe it?
All you have to do is read this NYT piece (I know, I just bashed newspapers) about PR's new target...... The FTC realizes this.
They are going to start cracking down on this type of relationship in a way they never could have with the newspapers. Why?
Newspapers have lawyers and money, unlike the lowly bloggers. Just ask me how much it has cost to keep this blog going.........time and heartache......and J.D.'s
Which is why I commend people like Blaine Bettinger J.D. who has put on his tweets involving Pathway Genomics, the disclosure that he is a consultant for them.....
I am going to stay away from any paid advisory roles in any of these for profit companies, yes I was offered a medical directorship/advisorship for 2 new startup DTC genomics companies, but I knew I couldn't do it......I would have to scrap my blog, no matter how "The Right Way" they did these things, my credibility would erode, just like the journalists who I no longer read in the WSJ and NYT.......
Luckily, most often, the reporters who publish PR swill are junior anyways.......but in blogging, it could be some of the biggest names.....
So today when I get an email from one of the fathers of genome exploration asking me why I didn't talk about 23andMx's Blimp escapade......I explain that the press can do that, besides, the incestuous way in which the Zepplin, not a blimp came to be was because of pure insider deals, which I am not shunning, but am not going to promote it either........
HT Martian Genetics
From the NYT:
Gone are the days when snaring attention for start-ups in the Valley meant mentions in print and on television, or even spotlights on technology Web sites and blogs. Now P.R. gurus court influential voices on the social Web to endorse new companies, Web sites or gadgets — a transformation that analysts and practitioners say is likely to permanently change the role of P.R. in the business world, and particularly in Silicon Valley.
So I guess it is just a case of build up your friends/followers list, so you can cash in on them by marketing to them.......just like a salesman would.......
The Sherpa Says: I will never sell ads, shill for profit companies, or tell you anything but my god's honest opinion about personalized medicine and DTC genomics. There has to be someone out there willing to do it..........because PR is gunning for us now and we can't let the blog medium turn into a marketing op rather than a vehicle for truth.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Tuesday's Doc! Getting bamboozled in Genomics.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
The Infer Game
What really gets me upset is that marketing people infer something but don't outright make a claim.
They do this because to make a claim which isn't true is grounds for the FTC to investigate you, but if you "infer" something, you don't make the claim.... Why do I jump on this?
Because I don't play "infer" for my patients.
In fact, health information and healthcare is too important to "infer" anything. You cannot manipulate peoples' trust in you....
Either we can justify via science and current medical practice or we cannot. Why let people dangle in the wind with false information.....
But this little game is nothing new. Vitamin hucksters and weight loss supplements play this "infer" game too.....so I guess the DTC genomics companies want to be seen as Hucksters....otherwise, why infer something which isn't true......
This went on with Navi's most recent blog post
It is possible that the Factor V mutation also confers a selective advantage to people who carry one copy, but scientists just aren’t sure yet.
If you carry the mutation, you can take steps to prevent becoming ill as a result. And, if you meet someone else who carries the mutation too, it’ll be a little like finding a long-lost brother or sister! Somewhere back in the human genetic family tree, the two of you have a “Factor V” ancestor in common.
The inferring that goes on is that there is some treatment that can prevent clots in these patients with Factor V Leiden. The truth is, there is no treatment to prevent these clots whose benefits outweigh the risks........
Pay attention closely, if the FTC doesn't jump in and investigate these companies' suspicious practices.........I will be surprised......very surprised....
Are you pissed at the inferring game too? Well, you too can voice a complaint to the FTC....
The Sherpa Says: DTC genomics companies are lucky that their product doesn't cause arrythmias, sudden death, liver failure or loss of smell.......But even if they don't their marketing claims certainly still do stink......
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Watch Out Corporate Bloggers, FTC is on to you!
Now not only am I bashing corporate bloggers (Some may even call me corporate) Now the Federal Trade Commission has gotten into the game. It turns out that the FTC is on to the game of freebies for good blogging.
So to all of you who took free Navi or 23andMx or DeCodeme scans in hopes of them getting good press on your blog, you may have some issues. At least if you are in the US.....
From the Yahoo News
What some fail to realize, though, is that such reviews can be tainted: Many bloggers have accepted perks such as free laptops, trips to Europe, $500 gift cards or even thousands of dollars for a 200-word post. Bloggers vary in how they disclose such freebies, if they do so at all.
The practice has grown to the degree that the Federal Trade Commission is paying attention. New guidelines, expected to be approved late this summer with possible modifications, would clarify that the agency can go after bloggers — as well as the companies that compensate them — for any false claims or failure to disclose conflicts of interest.
So what does this mean for the genomics blogging world? A ton. I remember many, I mean many bloggers getting free kits. I also remember many people writing glowing reviews. I also know that the corporate blogs have been "inferring" things about what a genome scan can and cannot do........
The Sherpa Says: Just another case of government coming in and regulating for the protection of its citizens. Because of their commoners inability to sift through bull$h!t and hype. Time will tell what these new powers will do to the blogging community. I wonder what it will do for Twitter??? Wouldn't the government save a lot of money if they just made marketing illegal?
