THE IMAGE OF THE HEMP INDUSTRY

Ever wonder why so much information is available that makes the case for hemp yet there seems to be little or no response from the public ?

A number of reasons exist for this, perhaps starting with the outright disinformation that has abounded, and continues to abound, in the press. Journalists are not always willing or able to make in-depth reports, so they do some hit-and-run pieces which are at best confusing.

Looking at google, however, I am appalled at what gets put up on the first couple of pages. Checking the word 'hemp' on a google blogspot list, a site named, perhaps with good reason, "totallystupid.com" makes it in at # 13. Does it have pages and pages about Omega-3, retting, paper pulping, or even a mention of activist Woody Harrelson? Does it talk about how easy it is to make ethanol from hemp hurds? None of the above. It simply lives up to its name.

If I were a member of the public doing a google search, I could easily come away with the idea that either the hemp world, or google, is 'totally stupid'.

The battle for information is the one the hemp industry must win. If more of us took the time to get a journalist clued up, and actually read a bit more than just what is on the web, we just might achieve a victory for hemp. At present, however, sites such at "totally stupid" are what google picks to represent us. The other day I looked at a site on a google listing and it was actually encouraging terrorism, how far off topic can google be?

BTW, if you work for google and you are reading this, you might want to consider my comments.