CEO found posting favorable forum thread about his own product?

The thread started out innocently enough praising the usability and ease of a system.  What could be so wrong about that?  Turns out that thread was started by someone closely tied to the Company who owns that system - at least financially.  An astute forum member looked up the publicly available tax details of that company and the results were startling. A financially-affiliated OD posting a positive "review"?

I will give him this - in the entire thread, he never said he wasn't affiliated with the company.  I find it a bit odd that he wouldn't disclose this information from the get go though.

This company has been invited to give their side of the story...

What do you think - does this affect a compny's credibility?

**update1** 10/19/2009

Turns out the OP was the CEO of that company and is no longer permitted to post on that forum - just read only access.

***update2*** 10/28/2009 - the response...

Official Response from Cyclops:

A NOTE FROM THE CEO OF CYCLOPS

I like to thank Dr. Parker for giving me the opportunity to explain the misunderstanding regarding Cyclops on ODWire.

My name is Saadi Darvish and I am a practicing Optometrist in Plano, Texas. I have owned my own private practice since 2000.  With regards to my affiliation with Cyclops, I am the CEO.

By nature I am a private person and have remained silent in that capacity.  I hope that my private personality is not confused with deceptive practices.   If my silence has come across as  deceptive, I offer my sincere apologies as this was not the intent.  

When this issue was brought to my attention I immediately emailed Dr. Farakas, the administrator of ODwire and explained the misunderstanding, unfortunately it appears that he misinterpreted my email.

Having said that, since I have been deprived of the opportunity to explain on ODwire unless I sponsor,  please allow me to explain.

Approximately 2 years ago a colleague informed me of ODwire.  I registered as an Optometrist not knowing much about it. A few days later, I received an email stating my credentials had been confirmed.

During my browsing I did notice that there were a few questions about software and from a Doctor's perspective I commented. Needless to say the comment contained positive information about Cyclops. As a new member I did not think anything of it, the site appeared to be a blog for Optometrist sharing ideas and helping one and another. It was not clear to me that it was a site for product advertisement.  In retrospect this was a mistake on my part.

After a couple of comments I was blocked from commenting on the site, not because I was the CEO of Cyclops, but because the Admin.of ODwire somehow thought that I was a "Walmart Employee" !!!    I respectfully informed the administrator of ODwire that I  have owned my own  private practice for years and provided him with my license number, company name, address, website and telephone number. And when I asked why they thought I was  a "Walmart Employee" , I received  a simple email that my account was reactivated. No apology, no explanation!  After that I maintained my silence and did not return to ODwire to post any more comments.  This was 2 years ago!  And since I did not return to ODwire again I was not aware of any requests for disclosure.

I have never claimed I was not affiliated with Cyclops. In fact I have personally attended several conventions including Vision Expo West/ East to exhibit Cyclops.  I have always introduced myself as both a practicing Optometrist and as the CEO of Cyclops. I have also demonstrated the software personally and consulted with other interested Optometrist at shows and through webinars.

Approximately a year ago, Cyclops was approached to sponsor POP and ODwire,  however, we have hesitated to sponsor ODwire.  Their site seems to be a website that thrives on negativity from what I saw posted 2 years ago.  Regardless of which product is the topic of conversation, the positive points are rarely praised. I think it is important to analyze and talk about features that a product needs to improve, but when bashing products becomes the sole purpose, it is not productive for any one.

I applaud my competitors such as Dr. Scott Jen the creator of RevolutionEHR, who much like myself is a practicing Optometrist, a family man, and  owner of a software company.  We face the challenges of being on both sides of the industry.  

I  feel there is lack of regulation on ODWire with respect to members that do not follow proper etiquette in expressing their opinion while maintaining respect for others. The negative comments are embraced and positive comments are scrutinized.  I can only hope that ODwire takes my comments as constructive criticism.

With respect to Maximeyes, as I had explained in my email to the ODwire admin,  there was a mix up in the Google search engine.  Google has many tools available for advertisers.   One such tool is called "Dynamic Search Insertion".  This tool is widely used, and the mix up with Maximeyes was an undesirable Google side effect of using this tool.  Cyclops was not aware of this and when it was brought  to our attention we immediately de-activated it. We also contacted Maximeyes immediately, and humbly apologized for the Google mix up.

After my recent explanation email to ODwire, another proposition was made for Cyclops to sponsor POP and ODwire in order for me to be upgraded to a supporting Industry Executive with the ability to make comments and defend the accusations made on ODwire. One day they are accusing a company of deceptive practice, and yet the next day they advertise it as a supporting vendor?

In closing,  if my lack of knowledge regarding ODwire's disclosure policy came across to my fellow colleagues as deceptive, I sincerely apologize.  Cyclops has operated with the highest level of integrity and we will always continue to do so.

Best Regards,

Saadi Darvish, OD