“Do Not Leave Pumps Unattended. You Are Responsible for Spills,” reads the sign spotted at a BP station in Ohio. The photograph has been making the rounds of the internet and prompting much mockery at BP’s expense. Despite its attempts to buy up search phrases and “manage” the results on search engines like Google and Yahoo and a budget of over 50 million dollars dedicated to T.V advertising, the giant energy company is losing the PR battle.
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| BP workers clean a stretch of beach |
And much of it is because of social media.
BPGlobalPR (http://twitter.com/bpglobalpr) is run by pranksters. But its following on twitter was closing in on 144,000 at the time of writing. Placed on nearly 4,000 twitter lists, the spoof account is pure satire. “Celebrating 50 days of the spill w/ hotel conference room, catered lunch, funny speeches and a lot of back patting. #bpcares,” reads one tweet. Another goes: “Proud to announce we’ve partnered with Google to turn the Information Superhighway into a Corporate Bus Route. #bpcares” A personal favourite: “We’ve created something that will affect your children’s children. Can YOU say the same about YOUR life?”
The official twitter account, BP_America (http://twitter.com/bp_america) offers considerably less entertaining fare.”Update: From 12am-12pm on 6/8, approx 7,850 barrels of oil were collected & 15.2mil cubic ft of natural gas was flared. Operations stable,” read one. It’s a wonder they found 12,500 people to follow them. Twitter is guerrilla warfare for the internet, and each 140 character grenade finds its mark.
Facebook users have joined the fray, with vengeful pages that demand: Make British Petroleum (BP) PAY for the Gulf Coast Oil Spill and STOP THE OIL SPILL IN THE GULF BP! The group Boycott BP is supported by 476,910 people, and advocates that BP stations and BP brands which include Castrol, Arco, Aral, am/pm, Amoco, Wild Bean Cafe and Safeway gas be made to feel the community’s wrath.
Cartoonists haven’t spared the company or President Obama – there’s one where the eagle on the emblem, soaked in oil and gasping, presents a piteous sight. Popular webcomics like XKCD (http://xkcd.com/748/) and Penny Arcade (http://www.penny-arcade.com/) take their own pot shots. Blogs on the myspace cry: Boycott BP oil and impeach Obama. Several videos that explain and criticise the company’s response have gone viral, eliciting thousands upon thousands of angry comments.
In the meantime, there’s plenty for the inquisitive. You can track the oil spill in real time on Google Earth (http://www.google.com/crisisresponse/oilspill/) and, just for kicks, compare the size of the spill to metropolitan cities and gasp. A new containment cap might have succeeded in putting a lid on the leak, but the damage to the gulf is going to take years to undo. It’s enough to make anyone want to cry...but the twitter pranksters are sceptical when it’s BP wailing in woe: “Surprised ourselves by getting emotional on the coast today. Turns out the wind blew dispersant in our eyes. #BPrebrand.”
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