At the end of this article there is a quote:
Did I miss something? Why are they quoting this random person from another state? Is it left-over from a previous version? Is it just one of the authors inserting their friend in the story? Is it a secret ploy by Worldwide Skin Care Incorporated? Usually they include quotes from people related to the story or from experts in the field, but why this random person?
That does seem pretty random.
WAG: The “reporter” got the quote off of the newpaper’s reader comments board. Maybe followed by an email exchange to get the personal info. SOP to get “crowd reaction” quotes on such stories.
She’s a sock for the reporter who wanted to get in an opinion.
On the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire quiz show, there’s a Phone-a-Friend option. I’d be willing to be a “permanent friend” whose name and number would be on file for any contestant willing to take a chance on someone who’s admittedly a stranger but who answers most of the questions correctly. Maybe James Prichard (the writer of the article linked in the OP) has Amy on call as a “phone-a-source” willing to give a quote on any random topic.
Translation: “Sock” = “Sock Puppet”. This is a term used to describe a writer (usually on an online forum like this one) who creates multiple user accounts in order to pretend that his/her opinion has grassroots support. The image to keep in mind is a sock-puppet on the speaker’s arm, saying whatever the speaker wants it to say.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sockpuppet_(Internet)
In a broader sense, sock puppetry can be used for stealth/viral/guerilla advertising, in which advertisers PRETEND to be unrelated to the company they’re advertising. These w*nkers will post new threads like “What do you think of XYZ, is it a good DVD player?” to generate public “buzz” about their product and to get past peoples’ initial mistrust of anything that looks like advertising. It’s lying, and STEALING a forum’s facilities to do low-budget advertising.
Frankly, the OP’s post is a perfect example of what could be a stealth ad. It shows a link to a website (the client, perhaps) and asks a question that sparks debate and prompts people to click on the ad and waste their time on that other website.
The fake grassroots support provided by sock puppetry is called “astroturf”, a reference to the false, plastic grass standing in for real “grass roots”.
Yeah exactly! The OP signed up 9 years ago and posted over 1300 times, all so that (s)he could someday post a link to Yahoo! News and rake in untold riches. Aside from that, the OP’s post is not a good example because it includes an actual post with actual details unlike real spam posts.
Anyway, thanks all for the answers. It seemed weird to me that they took the trouble to go on-site and take a photo for the story, but then they tack on quotes from unrelated people. At least Amy Maciaszek is real, so she is not technically the reporter’s sock.
We’re familiar with the concept of socks here. We don’t allow them.
We also don’t allow people to gratuitously insult other members by such accusations with no evidence. Please go to ATMB and read all of our rules and guidelines carefully if you wish to continue to participate in our community here.