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Rikki Chequer, the community manager of TruckNet UK, tackles gossip and rumour head-on.
Page 9
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In these times of economic uncertainty, the transport industry abounds with rumours of mergers and business failures. The truckstops and canteens are full of gossip, and the internet is awash with rumour. The forums are packed with comments such as: "I have heard that so and so has gone under, any truth in this?"
The problem facing managers of usergenerated forums is that the discussions are written by anonymous members of the industry, from drivers and owner-drivers through to managers and fleet owners, and not by journalists who would investigate the truth of any rumour to determine the real situation.
Obviously, any company subject to this sort of industry rumour is not going to be very happy. I am regularly asked when and why we allow these comments on the forums. The answer is not a straightforward one.
If the comment is made as a statement for example, "so and so has gone bust" it is removed until such time as the truth emerges. However, if the comment is phrased as a question, such as: "Has anyone heard about so and so?" or: "I heard in the cafe last night that they might be in trouble," the situation is less clear.
Taking such statements and questions down can sometimes lead to far more speculation.
The staff at TruckNet UK can usually find out very quickly if a rumour has a grain of truth. We believe that by posting publicly on the forums about the situation as far as it is known, further rumour-morgering is prevented.
This, we believe, is in the best interests of the company concerned and the industry as a whole.
It is only be too easy for a rumour to become a self-fulfilling prophecy. By tackling the rumour head-on and posting the true situation, the rumour tends to have a short shelf life as far as the Internet goes.
Stopping the gossip in the truckstops and canteens is far harder but at least with the most up-to-date information being posted on TruckNet UK, hopefully a few of the nonsense tales will be put to bed there.