Anonymous Posters Can Be A Destructive Influence, or How Communication Is The Difference Between Good PR and Bad PR

by Dan Green

Mortgage Planner

Author website

Sometimes, the difference between good PR and bad PR is communication.

In October 2006, I blogged about a condo building in Chicago that was more than 19 months late on delivery. To me, the story wasn’t that the building was delayed; that happens all the time. What was most interesting to me was that the contracted buyers actually started a blog to share information with each other about their experiences.

Because the developer’s team was not disseminating information as fast as the building’s buyers wanted, a blog looked the perfect choice to disseminate information quickly and efficiently. I can’t think of a better use of a community-like blog that this.

I also found it nice that the blog host including the following text:

Thoughtful comments and respectful opinions on the status of 657 Fulton are welcome. Off-topic, slanderous, disrespectful or abusive posts will be removed at the host’s discretion.

What I didn’t find nice? The host’s not-so-subtle decision to allow anonymous posting.

At the start, the blog behaved quite well, providing a community-like atmosphere for scores of buyers just wanting information about their building. The developer and his team chimed in, too, with updates and notes about permits and progress.

Slowly, though, the tide began to turn. As the delays grew longer, communication from the developer’s team grew more sporadic. Buyers visiting the blog were clamoring for information but all they found was each other.

Before long, with anonymous-like names like “657 Fulton”, “Angry Buyer on the 4th Floor” and “Frustrated on Fulton”, buyers in the building began to voice their anger and unrest. They wrote whatever they wanted and knew that there was no recourse. Who would ever find out the name of the real author? Libel and slander? Why not — it couldn’t be traced anyway? As I think back, even the blog’s host was never publicly named on the site.

The 657 Fulton blog then became a breeding ground for nasty remarks, rumor and conjecture about the developer, and his team. One derogatory remark led to another and led to another and led to another. Sarcasm and mean-spiritedness ruled. And, given the choice to stand behind their comments with “real names” or hide behind their comments using pseudonyms, nearly 100% of the people chose the latter.

Now, at this point in the story, most people would say, “duh”. We all know how the Internet and anonymity can lead to bad behavior. But, according to the developer’s version of the story, there were buyers trying to put positive comments about the building but those comments were later “moderated” by the host right into the recycle bin.

In other words, the anonymous host may have been making a bad PR problem for the developer even worse.

I hold the authors of the comment accountable for their mean-spirited remarks, but the 657 Fulton Blog mess stems from the developer’s team’s lack of communication with the buyers. The buyers had all made earnest money deposits and were now living devoid of information about their pending purchase. All they wanted was to know something. Will my unit be ready by next Spring? Should I renew my apartment rental? Should I lock my interest rate for 90 days, or 180 days?

See, in the absence of information, most of us tend to panic. Think about the last time you couldn’t reach a loved one on the phone for an inordinate amount of time. With each passing phone call, the imagination grows wilder and wilder. That is a very similar situation to what led to the 657 Fulton blog growing completely offensive and out-of-control.

The denegration of the blog is the reasons why, about two weeks ago, the blog shut down and there is no trace of it now except in Google’s archives. I know “a guy” who told me that the developer forced the shutdown after his research uncovered the anonymous blog host and lawsuits followed. The developer’s main beef was that the host’s moderation techniques made him look foolish.

The story reminds me that bad news is meant to be delivered because, as a race, humans have an amazing resiliency. Tell us something we don’t like and we’ll cope, we’ll address the situation, and then we’ll move on to the next event in our lives.

Keep us guessing, though, and our panic reflexes take over.

As members of the service sector, this is a lesson from which we can all learn. Real estate transactions goes sideways and south — it happens. But, we must always remember to keep our clients informed of the obstacles and be as up-front and forthcoming with information as we can. Our clients won’t hate us for telling them something they don’t want to hear; they’ll hate us if we don’t.

For proof, just ask the tenants of 657 Fulton. And, in case you’re curious, there are tenants! The MLS sheet above proves it. Status: Closed.