This article from the NYT Magazine disturbed me a bit today. The article is about word of mouth marketing. This marketing company got the brilliant idea to recruit regular folks to promote things. And they don’t get paid. They just talk up the product to everyone they know. There is something about being elite and knowing more than other people. It’s all just weird. I like to think I wouldn’t fall for that, but I am not so sure. I get to read books before they get out on the shelves and it is fun I admit. Somehow the people, called BzzAgents, recruited by the marketing company don’t see themselves as marketers because they don’t have to talk up products they don’t like and they don’t get paid. But where is the line? It’s not as clear anymore. How can you take a conversation at face value when one of the participants has a hidden agenda?