I've been watching the saga of John Mackey (of Whole Foods fame) with MUCH amusement lately. It seems he spent some of his spare time awhile back on yahoo message boards, singing his own praises in a very big way, anonymously, this being the internet and all. This went on for about eight years. He seemed to think a great deal of Whole Foods Market, himself, his actions as CEO, himself, his hair, himself, and his own great genius, and, finally, himself. He probably found this whole affair of creating his own biggest and most outspoken (virtual) fan REALLY amusing. And rightfully so. I was certainly amused when I read the tale on the front page of the Wall Street Journal.
Some of my personal favorites: Commenting on Mr. Mackey's sense of style, in April 2000:
"I like Mackey's haircut. I think he looks cute! If his hair bothers you now you should have seen what it looked like 10 years ago! The guy was/is clearly into alternative lifestyles and is one of Paul Ray's Cultural Creatives I outlined in my 2 posts to Hedge.
"You must not patronize any of WFMI's stores. Tatoos, piercings, unusual dress, and interesting haircuts are everywhere in the stores. In comparison, Mackey looks like a model for Brooks Brothers!"
Claming to be George W. Bush, denying he's John Mackey, in January 2004:
"I've stated my identity on this board before, but no one apparently believed me. I am George W. Bush and a long-time customer of Whole Foods Market. I own quite a bit of stock in the company and have owned it since the IPO back in 1992. … At the end of the day it doesn't matter what my non-screen identity really is or what yours is or who anyone else's is on this board.
"dcc7 [the screen name of another member of the forum] has claimed that my true identity is John Mackey. You can believe that one or not. Doesn't matter to me. If I really am Mackey, then I'm the ultimate insider at Whole Foods and you would be well served to pay attention to what I have to say on this board. If you don't believe I'm Mackey (admittedly the idea seems pretty far fetched) then you should still pay attention to what I have to say on this board if my ideas and arguments make sense. If they don't make sense or you disagree with me -- well that's what bulletin boards like this are all about."
April 25, 2006:
"I am a smartass. So what."
As Banya would say, "It's gold, Jerry, gold!"
But of course the assholes are now moving in to ruin all the fun (in spite of the fact that the actual fun stopped on it's own well before it was made public). There is talk of Mr. Mackey being charged with crimes for this. Whether or not he technically violated anything, I sincerely hope that the man does not get in trouble. For two reasons: 1. Free Speech, blah, blah, blah...so obvious that it doesn't need to be explained. 2. Internet message boards absolutely MUST be taken with a grain of salt, and this should not be forgotten by anyone. Obviously 'Rahodeb' sounded reasonably well-informed and intelligent in his posts, and he made a lot of correct predictions, and possibly even divulged some juicy bits, but the fact is that he did it anonymously, and presented no official credentials or anything that would make a reasonable person adjust their investment strategy regarding Whole Foods Market. If other members of that message board believed his details about WFMI, they should have also believed him when he denied being John Mackey. I'm sure some folks "liked the cut of his gibberish", if you will, and maybe found themselves agreeing or disagreeing with him to the extent that maybe they did adjust their strategies accordingly, but that is in no way John Mackey's fault. For all anyone knew he was a particularly articulate organic food shopper and reader of Whole Foods Market literature who happened to be a 14-year old boy posting to yahoo while sitting in his underwear in his parents basement. Internet message boards can be useful in the 'real' world but only if people realize that there is a strong possibility that the people posting on them might be completely full of crap. If John Mackey is prosecuted for his actions, that means that there are fools in government who think that people who make decisions involving real money based on the opinions of fake people on message boards which real people have created for their own amusement are somehow deserving of protection. They are anything but. It's fine to read stuff on message boards, think it sounds good, and act accordingly, but only if you realize the limitations of it, seek out some sort of independent verification, understand that everything you read may be utter fabrication, and that the person posting whatever they are posting is not accountable to you and may very well be sitting in his underwear in his parents' basement laughing at you for taking his fictional creations seriously.
6:31 PM
