You can't put the genie back in the bottle...

You can't unblog what's been blogged. And certainly suing the blogger won't help. Such actions usually only make what you are trying to expunge from public record become even more public.

I'm of course talking about the Maine blogger being sued for criticizing Maine's tourism ad efforts.

It's like the people who protest some movie because of the way it portrays lawn gnomes or whatever. Any sane person knows that if enough people shout about something, whether they want to stop something or not, it will get noticed. Same thing with lawsuits. Slap a big lawsuit on a blogger for something he or she says on their blog and gee...now we have a real big PR mess on our hands, instead of just a small easily managed one.

How did that happen?

The web/internet is such that things do not quickly disappear and they are a lot harder to clean out the more something is viewed, linked to, copied, etc. So the LAST THING you want to do if you want some troubling comments to go away quietly is to put a big sign on the comments or page telling the world you really really hate what was said, which in effect is what happens when you make a huge lawsuit to do just that.

OK, so if legal recourse isn't a good way to fight what a blog says, what are some good ways. As I see it, and others much better at marketing and PR than I will probably have many more ideas, there are at least 2 ways.

One, instead of trying to bully the blogger, try working with them. Listen to what they have to say. In a nutshell, co-opt them for your purpose. If you take them seriously, treat them with respect, listen to what they have to say and try to address their grievances, then 99 times out of 100 you'll get the person to turn 180 degrees and become a supporter for your cause.

Or two, start your own blog where you have your own message and can counter what the other person says. You can point outright to the blogger and say this nutso is wrong and here's why or you can just obliquely deal with the bombs they throw at you and tell the story you want to tell.

Both ways will be a hell of a lot cheaper and in the long run much easier than hiring lawyers. Perhaps companies do this because they have good lawyers and not enough good PR/marketing people. Like they say, "if all you have is a hammer, pretty soon everything looks like a nail."

Right tool for the job people. Right tool for the job.

More related links:

Techdirt: Sued For Critiquing Maine's Tourism Campaign On A Blog

The Boston Globe: Blogger who criticized Maine tourism office faces lawsuit