SubscribeIf you’re not careful blogging can become fairly self-indulgent, so I try to avoid poking sticks at the monkeys. But when it comes to Dominic Fisher of Prague Tory… I just can’t help myself.
Dominic Fisher is famed for his master classes. Like how to remain anonymous online. He promised to abuse that anonymity by claiming a ‘scalp’ each month. And he advertised for astroturfers, people with multiple online identities who can make a campaign group appear more significant than it really is.
When I first blurted out that Dominic Fisher was Prague Tory, he emailed to say that exposure posed a risk to his livelihood. I was to be reported to the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, my professional body (whose codes frown on astroturfing) for a breech of netiquette (an unwritten code of conduct).
Thankfully Dominic Fisher dropped the scalp idea shortly after his exposure and his fears of destitution have turned out to be rather fanciful. Perhaps his employer is not sufficiently interested to Google his name and so will never know how relieved Dominic Fisher was when his boss got the flu, providing vital breathing space at a time when Prague Tory was blogging several times a day.
Anyway. After promising to slip off the radar, he’s back with the odd post on his old blog and guest posts all over the place. I’ve been warned that dropping his name in comments – e.g. ‘Hi Dominic Fisher, I think you’ve got it wrong again’ – will result in deletion. And so it has, not just the comment but the whole post! The only way to regain your anonymity, I guess.
