If you are anything like me you have been following with interest the story of the CEO/Chairman of Whole foods Mr. John P. Makcey who, using the online name Rahodeb, would bad mouth competition on Yahoo Finance’s bulletin board. It seems that the Federal Trade Commission is using Mackey’s pseudonym against him as they try to block Whole Food’s purchase of Wild Oats Markets as it would “limit competition among natural and organic groceries” (New York Times).
In his own defense Mackey wrote: “I posted on Yahoo! under a pseudonym because I had fun doing it. I never intended any of those postings to be identified with me.” (New York Times). It seems that his identity was not as well hidden as he may have hoped either. He was called out many times by fellow posters on Yahoo Finance’s bulletin often times by name. He finally admitted to his real identity upon losing a bet to fellow posters.
Is it okay for some to use pseudonyms and for others not to? I must say it seems more of an embarrassing faux pas by Mackey than anything else. What could make you feel sillier than having the whole country know that you were flattering your own haircut in a web forum? Perhaps Mackey took his fun a bit too far, but what can one expect of a vegan, to not be extreme???
In the end I do not think that this will lead to any great ramifications for Mackey or the Whole Foods company. Who can judge what negative banter on an online bulletin can really accomplish or if it had anything to do with the ultimate acquisition of Wild Oats?
My questions are many, but mainly this: Should status or rank in a company inhibit an online alter ego? Is the next step banning CEOs from World of War Craft for fear that the Whole Foods Orcs will demoralize the Wild Oats Elves with a crushing battle?
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
{ 2 trackbacks }