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Posted in Google, Marketing, Microsoft at 8:36 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Rent a bulldog
Summary: A look beneath the surface reveals that ConsumerWatchdog.org is “the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights”, which is affiliated with/derived from Grassroots Enterprise, a Washington/SF-based AstroTurfer for hire
FOR A verifiable fact, Microsoft is the biggest lobbying monster in its area. Someone has just informed us that ConsumerWatchdog.org is apparently a lobby used by Microsoft (mostly to attack Google), so we decided to investigate this. Having already found some Microsoft-backed anti-Google lobbies in the past [1, 2, 3, 4, 5], we took a look at this latest company’s background and dug a lot deeper. Let’s see what ConsumerWatchdog.org says about Microsoft and what ConsumerWatchdog.org has to say about Google. What a striking difference.
Looking at ConsumerWatchdog.org using enhanced tools (the likes of them sometimes use services like DomainsByProxy.com), we find the following record:
Domain ID:D863261-LROR
Domain Name:CONSUMERWATCHDOG.ORG
Created On:03-Jun-1997 04:00:00 UTC
Last Updated On:07-Jun-2008 00:26:36 UTC
Expiration Date:02-Jun-2010 04:00:00 UTC
Sponsoring Registrar:GoDaddy.com, Inc. (R91-LROR)
Status:CLIENT DELETE PROHIBITED
Status:CLIENT RENEW PROHIBITED
Status:CLIENT TRANSFER PROHIBITED
Status:CLIENT UPDATE PROHIBITED
Registrant ID:GODA-044511122
Registrant Name:Doug Heller
Registrant Organization:Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rig
Registrant Street1:1750 Ocean Park Blvd.
Registrant Street2:Ste 200
Registrant Street3:
Registrant City:Santa Monica
Registrant State/Province:California
Registrant Postal Code:90405
Registrant Country:US
Registrant Phone:+1.3103920522
Registrant Phone Ext.:
Registrant FAX:
Registrant FAX Ext.:
Registrant Email:webmaster@consumerwatchdog.org
Admin ID:GODA-244511122
Admin Name:Doug Heller
Admin Organization:Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rig
Admin Street1:1750 Ocean Park Blvd.
Admin Street2:Ste 200
Admin Street3:
Admin City:Santa Monica
Admin State/Province:California
Admin Postal Code:90405
Admin Country:US
Admin Phone:+1.3103920522
Admin Phone Ext.:
Admin FAX:
Admin FAX Ext.:
Admin Email:doug@consumerwatchdog.org
Tech ID:GODA-144511122
Tech Name:Domain Direct
Tech Organization:TUCOWS.com Inc.
Tech Street1:96 Mowat Avenue
Tech Street2:
Tech Street3:
Tech City:Toronto
Tech State/Province:Ontario
Tech Postal Code:M6K3M1
Tech Country:CA
Tech Phone:+1.4165350123
Tech Phone Ext.:
Tech FAX:+1.4165315584
Tech FAX Ext.:
Tech Email:dnstech@domaindirect.com
Name Server:NS1.GRASSROOTS.COM
Name Server:NS2.GRASSROOTS.COM
See that last bit? It’s important. Consumerwatchdog.org is linked to Grassroots.com, which is Grassroots Enterprise.
Grassroots Enterprise is not about grassroots. It’s about AstroTurfing. Sourcewatch wrote:
> According to the company’s web site, Grassroots Enterprise, Inc., led by its CEO, John Hlinko, “combines online technology and communications strategy to help our clients achieve their public affairs objectives. Our proprietary technology Grassroots Multiplier® uses the Internet to centralize and simplify the recruitment, management, and mobilization of our clients’ supporters – employees, members, customers, vendors and other stakeholders who can grow into a long-term asset to our clients’ business.”
It’s a business. It hires people to do jobs for companies (clients).
According to Wikipedia, “Consumer Watchdog (USA), [is] an organization which advocates for taxpayer and consumer interests in the United States,” but it also states that it is “formerly the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights.” So they change names; that’s what companies and lobbies typically do when they get exposed or absorb a bad reputation. It’s a well known and basic strategy in PR.
Oiaohm found out that the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights (aka Consumerwatchdog.org) even has a subsite on Grassroots.com. Why is this not surprising? They probably just try to escape the obvious affiliation which would be damaging to their credibility. Lobbyists tend to have multiple umbrellas, which make them runaway targets. See for example Jonathan Zuck, who seems to have turned ATL into ACT after it had been exposed massively (think about fake letters from dead people).
Going back to Grassroots Enterprise, watch just what they boast about:
> Are you ready to get your volunteers and members to mobilize the vote for you in 2008?With the Grassroots Multiplier℠ PhoneTheVote application, they can actually be mobile as they mobilize. This innovative alternative to traditional phonebanks gives your activists and volunteers the ability to carry a powerful political application right in their pocket!Grassroots Multiplier℠ PhoneTheVote takes the traditional phone bank into the web 2.0 generation by empowering your stakeholders to log on and make phone calls on your behalf — for get out the vote efforts, fundraising, grassroots mobilization, or just for rapid dissemination of information.With Grassroots Multiplier℠ PhoneTheVote your volunteer callers can be directed to make calls wherever they are need — by geographic location, demographic, political affiliation, or any number of categories. Your volunteers can also be given dynamically generated “just-in-time” customized phone scripts to maximize their impact. And best of all, the information that the volunteers collect is feed into a central database in real time.
They brag about AstroTurfing patents/trademarks, just like the ones from Waggener Edstrom. How deep can this really go? █
Microsoft AstroTurf stories:
The Microsoft Connection with Dewey Square Group and DCI/New MediaMicrosoft ‘Bribes’ Mac Bloggers to Slam Apple, Gartner Hosts Google FUDMicrosoft, TCS, DCI, Edelman, and Those Fake Letters About IP/SCO/MonopolyJames Plamondon: Microsoft GuerrillaFullSIX and Mr. Youth LLC May Be Ruining the Web (AstroTurfing) on Microsoft’s BehalfMicrosoft: 800 lb. GuerrillaAstroturfing Examples: Learning How Microsoft Tames the InternetWaggener Edstrom, Maureen O’Gara and Other Microsoft ShillsPartial Index: Summary of Bribed Sites, Journalists, and Bloggers (Vista 7)Waggener-Edstrom Behind the 2008 Laptop Bribes, Edelman Behind 2006′sManipulation, Astroturfing, and What Governments Can DoBeware the OOXML AstroTurfer: “The Wraith”, “multivac1”, “hAl”, Among Other NymsMicrosoft May Have Bribed India for OOXML PressureMicrosoft Has Been Rigging Votes/Polls for AgesGary M. Stewart (aka “Flatfish”) About Microsoft AstroTurfing: “It’s made me A LOT of money….”Former Microsoft Shill Openly Confesses, Alleges Microsoft Still Does ThisRespecting AstroTurfers?Some New (But Very Old) Microsoft AstroTurfing ExamplesJoe Barr, Linux.com Editor – My ObituaryJoe Barr Knew Microsoft’s Tactics All Too Well66 Pages of Microsoft EvilnessAnother AstroTurf Scam Exposed?Quick Mention: Sony is AstroTurfing, Just Like MicrosoftMemo to Novell: Leave YouTube AloneMicrosoft Blast from the Past: Ads Banned for Spurring ViolenceIs YouTube’s “NovellVideo” a Novell AstroTurfer?Microsoft/Munchkin ‘Breaks’ the Web to Break Open Document Standards (Again)Rob Enderle Guarantees “Amazing Numbers”, Show E-mails to MicrosoftMicrosoft Agents from Waggener Edstrom Airbrush Wikipedia, Glorify PaymasterMicrosoft Unleashes Proxies at Journalists to Defend Vulnerable VistaMicrosoft’s OOXML Viral Marketing Reaches YouTube
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