Best Living - Community Manager's blog

[#1]

Today anyone can go online to voice their opinion.  Increasingly these opinions transcend the online space and modify events.  It was only a few months ago that an ad on Motrin's website offended mothers by comparing the carrying of children in baby slings to a fashion statement.  Outraged mothers (and others) quickly jumped on Twitter, and their outrage spread to YouTube and blogs.  Within days Motrin pulled their ad.  Congratulations to social media for quickly bringing this to the attention of Motrin.

Last week Bloomberg reported that Blockbuster hired a firm that deals with bankruptcy.  People on Twitter picked up this story and started Tweeting that Blockbuster was filing for bankruptcy.  This went viral within a few moments and their stock fell to $0.17.  Blockbuster put out a press release saying that they did hire the firm to help with capital initiatives, but reports of bankruptcy were entirely false.

Twitter is a rapid means of communication that is unfiltered.  Anonymous people can say whatever they want without repercussions.  When there is limited or no accountability, what measures are there to protect individual citizens and corporations from false, libelous or slanderous accusations? 

As fact and opinion blur, the consequences to individual lives will increase.  Will the next false viral rumor cripple a brand to a point from which it cannot recover?  How many jobs will be lost over a fallacious statement?  These concerns highlight the imperativeness of brands actively monitoring their perception in the blogosphere.

I love social technology.  And I am happy to join the online conversation on behalf of Best Buy.  Joining the conversation today is more important than ever for brands to survive and thrive in the world of Web 2.0.

Message Edited by Gina-BBY on 03-09-2009 02:22 PM

[#2]

That really hits home with me Gina, social media can be a double edged sword, you are right.  I think that it falls to those of us who use it to make sure that it isn't overtaken by that sort of usage.  Just as it can be a viral positive, like if we had a vid or something that caught market attention for us; social media interaction can be a negative if something that someone says online is taken the wrong way/is incorrect, etc.  As and instance I just learned that we need to monitor what we post for pics even on our personal sites when we identify ourselves as bby employees.  That's something that I haven't known for years and could have had real repercussions for me.  As well I worry about taking flak for being "too"...as in: too outrageous, too open or too "doing my own thing".  It's happened in the past with other companies and really it sort of bars me from totally bringing dangerjosh fully to work.  

I personally live the bring your whole self to work principal as i'm sure you've noticed, but sometimes I fear that I myself is an entity that is "too" for us... then when I say something and there's a bunch of people laughing with me or high-fiving me and I realize that for the most part, the people that shop with us and the people that I work with are just totally rad in general, I can't imagine working for another company that is as accepting that we are.

I feel that the only way that we can grow in the shape we want to is by using the people we have to do incredible things in the space that we’re in right now.  That being blogs, twitter, digg, etc… I love that you find people that aren’t getting helped online and helping them, that is the first major step… But what then?  I think that "unknown" itself is the big golden ticket.  For us as well as every company that wants to be progressive in the future.

-Jber The Incredible