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Warner Norcross + Judd LLP is a corporate law firm with over 230 attorneys serving clients in nine offices throughout Michigan. Among the largest law firms in Michigan, Warner works in virtually all areas of business law.

Michigan Law Firm - Warner Norcross + Judd LLP

Last week, AR blogger and <em>Augmented Legality</em> friend Joseph Rampolla <a href="http://www.ardirt.com/general-news/podcast-episode-47-who-is-behind-the-smokescreen-at-augmentedrealitytrends-com.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">published</a> the results of his investigation into a group of individuals affiliated with the companies <a href="http://www.augmentedrealitytrends.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">AugmentedRealityTrends.com</a>&nbsp;(a collection of blog posts and nes articles about the AR industry) and <a href="http://www.seemoreinteractive.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">SeeMore Interactive</a>, which has a handful of AR-related apps in the iTunes app store.

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He&nbsp;documented&nbsp;the fact that each person he investigated uses stock photographs as their profile pictures on various social media sites, and he illustrated various details&nbsp;connecting them to each other and to these two companies. Joe's conclusion was that the entire network of bloggers&nbsp;is a "charade" that "creates a false hot-bed of support, through an imaginary group of profiles to give the illusion that independent bloggers are writing supportive blog posts to promote this organization and a company for profit."

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The phenomenon that Joe describes is a familiar one in online marketing and law enforcement circles. If Joe's conclusions are correct, however, this would be the first known example of it occurring in the AR industry.

The approach of using fake profiles and disingenuous reviews to boost the profile of a product or service is called "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astroturfing">astroturfing</a>," since it amounts to fake grassroots marketing. The Federal Trade Commission regularly shames and punishes companies that it finds engaging in astroturfing, which it (quite rightly) deems an unfair and deceptive marketing practice. In his <a href="http://traffic.libsyn.com/ardirt/ARDirt_47_final.mp3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">podcast</a> about the allegations, Joe Rampolla gives an insightful and heartfelt perspective on how astroturfing erodes trust&nbsp;and exploits relationships.

Nevertheless, fake reviews are still <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2012/8/27/3271405/a-real-look-at-fake-book-reviews-new-york-times" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">prevalent</a> online, driven by the ostensible anonymity of online communications. Vast, coordinated legions of fake profiles, or "sock puppets," also formed a major plot point of the&nbsp;thriller <em>Kill Decision</em>, as author Daniel Suarez described to me in this&nbsp;2012 interview.

Perhaps there's a silver lining for the industry in all of this: allegations of astroturfing are another indication that augmented reality really has entered&nbsp;the mainstream of modern life.

Augmented Legality

Emerging Media and Technologies

Partner

Brian D. Wassom

Information Technology Transactions

Rampolla Calls Out AR Companies for Alleged Astroturfing

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Rampolla Calls Out AR Companies for Alleged Astroturfing

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