April 30 (Bloomberg) -- Back in 2006, a year still young in
the Web 2.0 era, Laura and Jim set off cross-country in their
new RV and chronicled the journey on a blog. They pitched camp
in Wal-Mart lots across the heartland and posted photos and
vignettes from the road, including chipper portraits of the
employees they encountered along the way.
What went largely unsaid was that a public-relations firm
representing Wal-Mart Stores Inc. had sponsored the entire trip.
They were “Wal-Marting Across America,” as the blog was called,
on the retailer’s dime.
