Quit Trying to Govern the Internet
Over at the Digital Influence Mapping Project, John Bell, of Ogilvy’s 360º Digital Influence team, announced that he and Melissa Davies, Research Director at Nielson, will be presenting to the FDA, on behalf of WOMMA (Word of Mouth Marketing Association), standards for marketing health products using social media. Like many industries, the pharmaceutical industry has slowly started to branch out within online communities through new initiatives driven by social media.
Photo courtesy of Leo Reynolds (http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwr/)
The FDA has set up two listening sessions to compile information and opinions from notable marketers regarding recommendations for regulating online health product marketing. While it is hard to say whether anything will actually come of these sessions, the FDA is acknowledging a need for participation in this on-going debate.
Nevertheless, I find it hard to imagine what social media regulation would look like. Steps have been taken, however, by other regulatory bodies, such as the FTC, with the revised blogger guidelines. And many of the rules set forth by the FTC seem to simply reinforce the need for transparency within online channels.
Certainly, regulation will at least force marketers to follow a standard, but at what cost? As history has proven, there is a flipside to increased governance, especially online. To echo Bell, “Will this type of detailed regulation help or hold innovation back? We need principles that protect the consumer but do not curb marketers from innovating.”
Personally, I like a laissez-faire approach to Internet regulation. Ensure that there is a strong operating framework in place, but let the people be the ultimate decision makers and regulators. Instead of regulation, maybe the better approach is education. Arm people with enough tools and savvy to be better, more informed consumers.
