Plugging one's own product on the web

[Grant Barrett]

I think you're thinking of sock-puppeting, but the def's not quite
right. A sock puppet is a fake ID that you give yourself online for
the purposes of commenting in public forums about you, your own work,
or your own interests, without revealing your under-handedness. Sock-
puppeting is the act of doing that.

In extreme cases, sock puppets carry on entire dialogs with themselves
using multiple online identities.

In its benign form, a sock puppet is just a second ID you use, kind of
deep cover, created so that people don't know who you are but not so
you can do anything unethical. Sometimes your one nick is well-known
so, for example, you might post a delicate question about a personal
issue using your sock puppet ID so that people don't associate the
personal issue with your main nick.

Grant Barrett
Double-Tongued Dictionary
http://www.doubletongued.org/
editor at doubletongued.org

On Apr 5, 2008, at 20:23, Joel S. Berson wrote:

> Can someone remind me what the term is for plugging one's own work or
> product on the web?  And of some of the people who have been
> embarrassed when discovered?

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