Comic Relief is about to unleash another Red Nose Day, and this time it’s going to be making full use of social media, according to New Media Age. Celebrities will be coming in to tweet on the event on March 13, doubtless led by Twitter aficionados such as Stephen Fry and Jonathan Ross. Backstage content such as celeb photos and news will be posted online, and anyone wanting to buy stuff can do so on social networks.

As  creative communications director Chris Ward says:  “A lot has changed in the digital world since the last event two years ago.” Comic Relief is also planning to sustain the momentum with 44 days of digital activity. Channels on Flickr and Twitter will be launched on the day itself, hosted by celebrities, and a new channel on YouTube will be hosted by a group of super users.

All this digital activity is good exposure for Comic Relief’s sponsors, such as BT, Sainsbury’s, Subway, TK Maxx and BBC.co.uk. It will be interesting to see what effect it has on boosting support and making the day a success.

WPP chief Sir Martin Sorrell is considered a sage of the advertising world these days, and it’s interesting to hear his comments about social media. In an interview this week on the US advertising blog Agency Spy Sorrell was asked whether advertising behemoths like WPP were in danger of being left behind? Not at all, he says – he sees new media, and social networks in particular, as an opportunity not a threat.

“They’ve enabled us to become closer to the consumer and learn more about their media habits and the changing media market place. Interactive dialogues have enhanced our understanding of the consumer and have enabled us and will enable us to target more and more effectively.”

Sorrell says WPP has seen major new ways of growing its public relations campaigns through social networks and communities and polling. It has also seen social networks and new media, such as mobile and video, catalysing the opportunities for consumer insight, advertising, branding and identity, healthcare and other areas

You can read the full interview here.

Companies in a controversial line of business have a special reason to take social media seriously. None more so than McDonald’s, which as the leading fast food operator  is attracting a lot of the blame for the world-wide obesity epidemic. So the brand has an important job to do in combating negative perceptions.

It has to be said, its initial efforts in this area were typically ham fisted.  A few years ago it was criticised for ‘flogging’ – promoting itself in what appeared to be independent blogs but were actually just an advertising wheeze.

But it seems to have got the hang of things now. The company runs a corporate social responsibility blog called Values in Practice, which does a good job of projecting its caring side. All the necessary buzzwords are there: ‘empowerment’, ‘values’, ‘responsibilities, ‘trust’  – a recent post blows its horn about the attention it pays to agricultural sustainability. It also runs regular podcasts on green and sustainability issues. The writers manage to avoid being pompous, and wryly let us know they’re aware of how McDonalds is perceived – a recent podcast on employment opportunities asks, ‘Ever wondered what it’s like to have a McJob?’

Another blog called Mom’s Quality Correspondents has a more folksy down-home feel, talking about health, nutrition, and also the company’s charity work. That actually did rather more to soften my own negative perceptions. Who knew that it provides hostels called Ronald McDonald Houses in many US cities and around the world, located near children’s hospitals, where families with sick children can stay for a small donation, or even for free?

On the other side of the fence, McDonald’s is learning how to deal with problems that come to light through social media. It was at the sharp end over a recent incident at a Philadelphia outlet, when students of nearby Penn University got into an argument with staff. The students gave a blow by blow account of the fracas on Facebook, describing the staff members as having been abusive and unreasonable – and the profile quickly attracted a lot of interest from other students. Spotting the danger, a local manager called to apologise and explain he had been on holiday at the time. He confirmed the students’ story, and the guilty staff members were immediately sacked.

None of this mere window dressing. Without an active and imaginative social media policy McDonald’s is the kind of company that could quickly find itself in trouble. As it is, it’s making the most of the opportunities to cultivate friends and pacify enemies.

Fascinating article in the FT about the phenomena of ” “flogging,” astroturfing,” and “comment spamming”.

So what are they?

Well, “flogging” means writing a fake blog to get publicity for your product – according to the FT piece, Sony tried to increase sales of its PSP portable by starting a blog purporting to be written by two boys wanting PSPs for Christmas.

“Astroturfing” – generating fake grassroots enthusiasm – involves companies paying bloggers to write favourably about products they’ve never actually used.

And “comment spamming” is writing lots of flattering comments about a company in the comments sections of blogs.

Needless to say, none of these practices are a good idea, and you really have to wonder at the mentality of the marketing geniuses who have been engaging in them. Apparently the computer supplier Belkin went so far as to advertise online for people willing to write enthusiastic reviews of Belkin products on Amazon for 65 cents a time. Not only dense, but counter-productive too: now that everyone knows Belkin is so desperate for good reviews it has to pay for them, who will buy their products?

In fairness, we can assume that the most senior people in the guilty organisations didn’t know what was going on, which is why the most savvy companies, like IBM and Coca Cola, have produced guidelines requiring employees to act honestly and ethically in all their dealings in the online world.