Don't get blindsided by Sidewiki

With Google's release of Sidewiki, your web site is no longer in its own comfy cocoon, free from the slings and arrows of disgruntled consumers. Now anyone can put notes for all to see on any web page. No comments. No problem. Surfers and surfettes can see what people think of your site and your company on a public discussion board that, to date, will not be moderated.



Of course, it's Google, so algorithms based on unclear, yet surely infallible variables will determine which user comments are the most relevant and therefore deserving of the coveted top positions. Other users can vote on a comment's helpfulness or report it as spam/vulgar/tasteless.

Also, as it stands now, users or (more likely) webmasters who believe the comments step on their copyright are encouraged to file a DMCA copyright complaint. This appears to be an attempt by Google to head off the wave of public dismay that brought 1999 start-up Third Voice to its knees - one of the first attempts to incorporate this kind of discourse on the web.

Will Sidewiki be a consumer trump card? That is unclear, especially considering that the honeymoon period for this unmoderated intrusion on millions of web sites is surely going to be short. (We anticipate an opt-out or opt-in feature in the near future that can be placed in a site's code.) But for now, it looks like bad companies and disappointing products have less of a chance to hide. So for the rest of us, just keep on putting your best foot forward and don't suck.