How Startups use Propaganda
500px is a photo sharing site. I am the founder of a competitive service, Fotoblur.com. However frustrating it can be to compete in the same space as others, I still find it interesting to study their public relations tactics.
Background: 500px within the last year has skyrocketed in its visibility. They've gotten 500K in funding and tons of news coverage. What is most interesting is their media campaign is based on pure propaganda. Review the following news story titles:
Move Over Flickr — Hot Shots Love 500px http://gigaom.com/2011/05/17/500px/
Why all the pros are leaving Flickr for 500px http://thenextweb.com/apps/2011/07/08/why-all-the-pros-are-leaving-flickr-for-500px/
White-Hot Flickr Alternative 500px Raises $525K In Series A http://techcrunch.com/2011/06/03/white-hot-flickr-alternative-500px-raises-525k-in-series-a/
Finally! Flickr Alternative 500px Launches Its Lightroom Plugin http://techcrunch.com/2011/12/01/finally-flickr-alternative-500px-launches-its-lightroom-plugin/
All these articles have one thing in common - they all include Flickr in the title. TechCrunch is the worse offender here (they've seemed to change 500px name to Flickr Alternative 500px). What is most amazing is that the proof is circumstantial at best and is based on opinion, rather than fact. However, whether it is true or not makes no difference and here is why. The fact that Flickr is being positioned as the dying Goliath, with 500px as the leading alternative, is utilizing a propaganda technique known as Card Stacking (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Card_stacking).
Card Stacking (from wikipedia) Card stacking is a propaganda technique that seeks to manipulate audience perception of an issue by emphasizing one side and repressing another. The following are some examples of the technique: * Creating media events that emphasize a certain view, using one-sided testimonials, and ensuring that critics are not heard. * The technique is commonly used in persuasive speeches by political candidates to discredit their opponents and to make themselves seem more worthy.
What is also of interest is from this propaganda campaign other bloggers then bite to support the unsupported claims in the original articles. Its as if the original propaganda becomes truth in more downstream articles. For instance here are is a blog that took the bait, even linking to the originals stories.
Just a quick example: Is It Time To Dump Flickr? http://fadedandblurred.com/blog/is-it-time-to-dump-flickr/
Here is another point. One of the articles claims that Flickr users are dumping Flickr in favor of 500px. However, having a 500px account does not mean you have dumped Flickr. The usefulness in this tactic is that the article leaves that point out. For instance some Fotoblur members have Flickr accounts, and some have 500px accounts for that matter, but Fotoblur would never claim that they all left Flickr and 500px to join Fotoblur unless there was definitive evidence to suggest it. This is creative manipulation of the facts.
Be careful if you decide to use these techniques because your competitors will call you out on it. However there are other propaganda techniques at your disposal when they do!