Facebook's Sly-Dog Aspirations

One of these days we may see a real public clash between Facebook and Google
(Nasdaq: GOOG) - a huge bidding war, or maybe the launch of a real Google
social network that will have the other one fighting for its life. For now,
though, we get a silly little PR disaster that's left Facebook looking like
it's lost its Machiavellian mojo.

It just got caught up in a dirty tricks debacle in which it looked like it
was behind an effort to get influential bloggers to speak out against
Google's Social Circle system.

Facebook targeted Social Circle, also known as "Social Search," by hiring a
high-profile public relations firm, Burson-Marsteller. In particular,
Facebook doesn't like the way Social Circle uses Facebook data in its
service and thinks Social Circle is a threat to user privacy. Hearing that
last bit makes me think of a glass house for some reason, but whatever. That
much has been confirmed -- Facebook has acknowledged it hired
Burson-Marsteller to go after Social Circle.

But Facebook has denied it told the PR firm to go about it by doing what
it's accused of doing. Blogger Christopher Soghoian says he was
propositioned by Burson-Marsteller to have an opinion piece basically
ghostwritten for him. The firm has allegedly come on to a variety of
technology bloggers with the same idea.

They contacted opinionated and influential people, and in addition to giving
them a one-sided story they could investigate themselves, which is the
typical PR MO, they volunteered to "assist in the draft" -- just sit back
and leave the writing to them. They wouldn't initially disclose to Soghoian
who their client was.

I think I might have read something earlier this week from a blogger who
actually did take them up on it, though I can't remember who wrote it -- or
didn't write it, as the case may be.

But to paraphrase Soghoian's reaction: "Uh ... no." However, instead of just
moving on, he put Burson-Marsteller's email up on the Web for public
viewing.

What Burson-Marsteller is accused of doing is skeezy, and it smells a lot
like a smear campaign. Still, none of what was described above is illegal.
And there's no indication Facebook was making up outright false stories
about Google. In fact, the message it was trying to draw attention to was
consumer privacy protections -- and while Facebook has a pretty spotty
record itself in terms of privacy, that is an important issue.

And really, Facebook and Google expect nothing less than total war any day
now, so sneaky little tricks are just part of the game. But if you are going
to open that part of the playbook -- or hire a company that might go there
on your behalf -- it's probably best not to do so in a way that can be so
easily exposed.