Anne Mitchell at Internet Patrol pulls Vonage's blog comment spamming punk card.

So yet again another company that can't resist the urge to go into blog comments without a thoughtful and authentic approach. Comment spamming is considered pure vile, so building on my "Resist The Temptation of Astroturfing Post", I'd like to offer some very straight forward ways to avoid this kind of mess that Mr. Kariolis has gotten Vonage into.

As you can see in Anne's links she points out Mr. Kariolis posted the exact same comments on Internet Patrol and DownloadSquad.

Mr. Kariolis Astroturf Trail:

1. Posting the Same Comment on Several Blogs. By definition and common sense, that's comment spamming.
2. No Link in Comment Name. When leaving the comment on Internet Patrol, Mr. Kariolis did not provide any link indentifying him with a company, blog, etc. Most comments allow you to put in your name, and then ask for an associated URL. If you don't have a blog or company website then link to your LinkedIn profile.
3. Disclosure. No where in his comments does he disclose that he is working for Vonage and can be a resource on this subject.
4. Newbie. Okay, here's the deal. Bloggers know who their regular commenters are. They know them intimately, and when someone new posts, like Mr. Kariolis and is clearly posting URLs in the comment to drive traffic to their own site - it's no brainer red flag for comment spam. Case in point, if you look at Mr. Kariolis' post on DownloadSquad you will see that the link from his name goes to his profile. He posted his comment on May 7th and look at what day he became a member:

Three Simple Ways to Be Transparent and Authentic and Avoid Astroturfing

1. Provide Full Disclosure in the Comment. Right up front Mr. Kariolis should state that he works for Vonage. This takes the edge off and let's you be transparent about what you're trying to communicate.
2. Contact the Blogger Directly Via Email Rather Than Leave a Comment Post. Mr. Kariolis could have emailed Anne directly stating clearly that he is with Vonage and appreciates her post, and provide a response. In the email state clearly that he is not a regular commenter, but does have a point of view on the story that he would like Anne to consider. Then it's up to Anne to update to her post with new insights, or she may even ask Mr. Kariolis to post his views in the comments area but to clearly call out that he is representing views from Vonage.
3. Be a Participant Before Hand. This takes planning, time and dedication. So if Vonage is serious about engaging in the online conversation about VOIP, they should have individuals that are active in the conversational community on an ongoing basis, so when an opportunity to discuss a competitor's news arises, they are not setting up new profiles on the same day they are commenting on it.