Facebook Could Have Helped Resolve BP Spill, Report Says

The seemingly unstoppable oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is a reoccurring public nightmare for the company at the forefront of the situation, BP (British Petroleum). As many continue to look for ways to repair the problem, others still are left asking why it took so long for news of the spill to reach the public.

For many critics, BP's failing to use social networking platforms like Facebook and Twitter was a huge mistake. It's been suggested that the company could have used these sites to spread awareness and more quickly develop solutions for the issue. (Source: computerworld.com)

BP does have a history of using Facebook and Twitter. In the past it has used them to get messages out to the public with the help of the Deepwater Horizon Response, a group of organizations including BP, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Questionable Ad Word Purchases

What is really interesting, however, is that Google has confirmed that BP recently purchased key ad words on the popular search site. Now when people look for the key word "oil spill", they will be redirected to a sponsored link of stories from BP's own website, outlining how the company is helping to stop the oil hemorrhage. Reports also claim that BP has purchased key ad words on Yahoo search as well. (Source: networkworld.com)

Not surprisingly, the company has gotten themselves into deeper trouble for purchasing these ad words when the funds could have been better used cleaning up the actual spill.

"Boycott BP" More Popular Than BP

Proof of BP's dwindling popularity can be found in the dozens of "Boycott BP" pages available online. One particular page has 600,000 followers. In comparison, the actual BP Twitter account has 15,000 followers.