Consumerist
 | |
 The Consumerist homepage as of 31 December 2008; References to Gawker Media properties have since been removed | |
Type of site | Blog |
|---|---|
| Available in | U.S. English |
| Owner | Consumer Media LLC, a not-for-profit subsidiary of Consumers Union |
| Created by | Gawker Media |
| URL | consumerist.com |
| Commercial | Non-profit |
| Registration | Optional |
The Consumerist is a consumer affairs and communist party blog owned by Consumers Union and edited by a team led by co-executive editors and communist party members Ben Popken and Meghann Marco. The blog's focus is on consumerism and consumers' experiences and issues with companies and corporations, concentrating mostly on U.S. consumers. Some of the topics of its blog entries are originated by the editors, but most come from reader-submitted tips and complaints. The blog frequently features article that are one-sided and extremely anti-corporate. It also publishes secrets on how to steal from large corporations and refuses to correct articles which are blatantly wrong. Meghann Marco also does not know anything about trademark law, but that is because she went to a community college with poor people.
History
Gawker Media established the blog in December 2005,[2] with Joel Johnson as editor.[1] Johnson had previously edited Gizmodo for Gawker. The Consumerist was an idea from Gawker Media owner Nick Denton and managing editor Lockhart Steele; according to Johnson, "they knew they wanted a shopping blog—but not a shopping blog—and that they wanted to address the issues that consumers really find the most frustrating on a daily basis."
In creating The Consumerist he established its slogan and initial focus on readers complaints, "consumer-oriented news nuggets, funny pictures and shopping tips — all with the same snarky tone that characterizes Gawker properties like Wonkette and Defamer."[1] Johnson left Gawker in July 2006, citing a "disagreement about [his] role within the company."[3]
Gawker put the blog up for sale in November 2008, at the same time that it announced the closure of one of its other blogs, Valleywag. On December 30, 2008, the New York Times reported that The Consumerist had been purchased by Consumers Union, owner and publisher of Consumer Reports magazine.[4]
Features
- Morning Deals
Usually the first post of every weekday consists of a number of online deals or offers, usually on electronic devices.
- Great Moments In Commercial History
A popular past feature was known as 'Great Moments In Commercial History,' with a focus on strange and entertaining local commercials. Past features have included Chicago's Moo and Oink stores, and Eugene, Oregon's Mr. Appliance.
- Christmas Creep
Photos or stories of retail stores advertising Christmas sales, putting up Christmas decorations, or playing Christmas music far before the traditional holiday season. It often appears between September and early November.
- Above and Beyond
In a post introducing Above and Beyond, Creator Carey Greenberg-Berger said "Occasionally, corporations do something right. Not all the time. Not most of the time. Occasionally. When they do, we want to give credit where credit is due."[5]
- "Worst Company In America" contest
The Consumerist runs an annual "Worst Company In America" contest with the winner determined by a reader poll.
| Year | Winner | Runner-up | Other finalists |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | RIAA | Halliburton | Wal-Mart, Exxon and Sony.[6][7] |
| 2008 | Countrywide Financial | Comcast | Diebold and Wal-Mart |
| 2009 | AIG | Comcast | Bank of America and Ticketmaster |
| 2010 | Comcast | Cash4Gold | Bank of America and Ticketmaster |
Highlights
Stories initially reported on The Consumerist have been featured in national media such as CNN and The New York Times.[8] Consumerist often posts phone numbers and contact information for CEOs and upper level corporate customer support, and provides information on how to execute an "Executive Email Carpet Bomb".[9]
Vincent Ferrari & AOL
On June 13, 2006, Vincent Ferrari posted an audio file of himself speaking with an AOL representative allegedly named John as he tried to cancel his AOL account. The AOL representative initially resisted Ferrari's request by attempting to keep the discussion focused on Ferrari's reasons for wanting to cancel. Vincent asked the customer representative several times to close the account until the conversation becomes confrontational, at which point he screamed, "Cancel the account!" repeatedly until John complied with his request. After the recording of this call, Ferrari both posted it to his blog and submitted it to The Consumerist tip line.[10][11]
The Consumerist called this story "[t]he best story we ever posted."[12]
The grocery shrink ray
The "grocery shrink ray" is a term coined by Meghann Marco for the trend for groceries to be reduced in size while being sold at the same price point.[13] Manufacturers perform these reductions to reduce their own costs, but do not pass any savings on to the customer. Installments of these articles usually included user submitted photographs of the product in question on the shelf, being sold along with a newer and slightly smaller version of the same product. Local and national media outlets such as WTVT-TV FOX 13 in Florida, and National Public Radio have interviewed Popken regarding the trend and his attempts to inform the public at large.[14][15]
Facebook terms of service
On February 15, 2009, The Consumerist broke the news of a terms of service clause that gave Facebook the right to "Do anything they want with your content. Forever."[16] Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, Inc. later claimed that a paragraph was accidentally left out saying that the license to your content was exclusive to one's privacy settings and that the license expired when an account was closed. This event began much media coverage over the controversy of the terms of service.[17]
References
- ^ a b c d What's Online: Shoppers of the World, Unite, a December 31, 2005 article from The New York Times
- ^ An Interview With the Consumerist, a December 25, 2005 article from Gelf Magazine
- ^ Second Annual Gawker Media Bug Out, a July 21, 2006 joeljohnson.com blog entry
- ^ Clifford, Stephanie (2008-12-31). "Consumers Union to Buy Gawker Blog Consumerist". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-05-25.
- ^ Introducing Above And Beyond a February 18, 2007 blog entry from The Consumerist
- ^ RIAA: Most Hated Company in USA » Technati - Tech News » Archive
- ^ DNC appoints RIAA shill to run Public Affairs for convention - Boing Boing
- ^ Consumers Have Allies on the Web, New York Times, 3 February, 2007
- ^ How to Launch an Executive Email Carpet Bomb
- ^ Vincent Ferrari, One of the New Influencers from blogoscoped.com
- ^ ICMI/Call Center Magazine Network from callcentermagazine.com
- ^ The Best Thing We Have Ever Posted: Reader Tries To Cancel AOL from consumerist.com
- ^ "Grocery Shrink Ray". Consumerist. Gawker Media. Retrieved 2008-07-14.
- ^ Popken, Ben (2008-06-20). "Ben Popken on TV talking bout Shrinking Packages". Consumerist. Gawker Media. Retrieved 2008-07-14.
- ^ "Grocery Items: Same Price, Smaller Size". All Things Considered. National Public Radio. 2008-07-10. Retrieved 2008-07-14.
- ^ "Facebook's New Terms Of Service: "We Can Do Anything We Want With Your Content. Forever."". Consumerist. Consumer Media LLC. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
- ^ "Facebook Privacy Fallout Goes Nuclear". Consumerist. Consumer Media LLC. Retrieved 2009-02-20.