Type of site | blog |
|---|---|
| Available in | English |
| Owner | Gawker Media |
| URL | consumerist.com |
Consumerist is a consumer affairs blog run by editor Ben Popken, along with associate editor Meghann Marco, and weekend editor Carey Greenberg-Berger.
Consumerist is part of the Gawker Media family of blogs. As its name implies, the focus is on consumerism, and it deals with consumers' experiences and issues with companies and corporations. The blog focuses mostly on the U.S., but accepts input from other countries as well. Some of the stories are generated by the editors, while others are reader-submitted tips and complaints that The Consumerist investigates further. Stories initially reported on The Consumerist have been featured in national media such as CNN and The New York Times.[1] Consumerist often posts phone numbers and contact information for CEOs and upper level corporate customer support.[2]
Features
editWorst Company In America Contest
editConsumerist has twice run a Worst Company In America contest with the winner determined by a reader poll. The winner in 2007 was the RIAA and the runner-up was Halliburton. Other notable contestants were Wal-Mart, Exxon and Sony.[3][4]
Morning Deals
editUsually the first post of every weekday consists of a number of online deals or offers, usually on electronic devices. Companies featured include Woot.com, Buy.com, Amazon.com and the Apple Online Store.
A new feature as of late are 'Great Moments In Commercial History,' with a focus on strange and entertaining local commercials. Recent features have included Chicago's Moo and Oink stores, and Eugene, Oregon's Mr. Appliance.
Notable campaigns
editNazi T-Shirt Coverage
editConsumerist was the first site to report Wal-Mart's selling and untimely recall of T-shirts that contain the insignia of the Nazi 3rd SS Division Totenkopf, breaking the story on November 10, 2006.[5] Frequent reports and pictures of Walmart stores restocking the Nazi shirts are running as of June 1, 2007.[6]
Vincent Ferrari & AOL
editOn June 13, 2006, Vincent Ferrari posted an audio file of himself speaking with an AOL representative named "John" and trying to cancel his father's AOL account. The AOL representative had resisted Ferrari's request by attempting to keep the discussion focused on Ferrari's reasons for wanting to cancel. After many attempts to get John to cancel his account, the conversation becomes confrontational to the point Ferrari said "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.[7] [8]
When The Consumerist posted this story, they labeled it as "The best story we ever posted." [9]
References
edit- ^ Consumers Have Allies on the Web, New York Times, 3 February, 2007
- ^ Search on Consumerist for "phone numbers"
- ^ http://www.technati.com/2007/03/24/riaa-most-hated-company-in-usa/
- ^ http://www.boingboing.net/2007/04/12/dnc-appoints-riaa-sh.html
- ^ Walmart Sells Nazi Skull Tshirt, 10 November, 2006.
- ^ Walmart Nazi Tshirt Watch: Week 25, 24 September, 2007
- ^ http://blogoscoped.com/archive/2007-06-04-n80.html
- ^ http://www.callcentermagazine.com/blog/archives/2006/06/aol_customer_re.html
- ^ http://consumerist.com/consumer/aol/the-best-thing-we-have-ever-posted-reader-tries-to-cancel-aol-180392.php