Comments on: There’s no social media revolution

By: Victor Panlilio

Victor Panlilio — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 18:05:16 +0000

It’s a bit surreal reading this now, after reading

http://www.businessesgrow.com/2011/02/27/how-social-media-turned-a-brand-into-a-revolution

By: Briefing for PRs on E2.0’s brave new world | 21st-century PR issues › Paul Seaman's online review

Fri, 21 May 2010 20:25:51 +0000

[...] Lewis, Managing Partner at Open knowledge UK, had to say on this when he commented on my piece There’s no social media revolution: … it’s definitely the case that social media like any other technology does not alter [...]

By: Social Media Webcast « Sethidiksha's Blog

Social Media Webcast « Sethidiksha's Blog — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 12:41:06 +0000

[...] social media webcast After taking the new media and PR module, I realised how the nature of communication has undergone a drastic change within a span of 4 years! While in some parts of the world, the best way to communicate for people is stil the E-mail or maybe the telephone, for some others, tweeting updates through social networking websites has become an addiction. Making this webcast was a struggle initially, but now that I can see the finished results and finally about to upload my video, it gives me a sense or relief that i’ve finally done it! This webcast is an attempt to understand the flavour of social media in our day to day communication alongwith the buiness context. Social media is still a cause of apprehension for many entrepreaneurs because they havent realised the power of social media and how it can give an image makeover to brands. (either new or established). Not only the image and reputation, it also has brought a paradigm shift in the fundamentals of doing business! Rather than spending millions on a expensive PR campaign, smaller, more personalised and interest-driven attempts are being made to gain the audience’s attention, support and loyalty. The tables have turned; pushy sales has taken a back seat and building customer relationships has become centric. Despite all of us being so diverse in our cultures, traditions and mannerisms, yet the medium has picked up on our basic needs to share, talk, express our emotions and stay in touch. Ofcourse it cannot substitute for a physical exchange of ideas, yet it has become an inevitable part of our busy lives. Social networking websites hae been customised according to our cultural backgoundsand do allow us to personalise content! at the same time, it facilitate formation of comunities, fan clubs and groups with those who have some commonalities with us. This phenomenon helps businesses to identify their niche and target their message to the right audiences! If there are positives of using social media for a business activity, it has some of the dangers too. If on one hand social media is fast,accessible, cheap and has a massive reach. on theother hand, one mistake can be lethal for the reputation of the brand and the company. For eg: the dominos gross video spread like wild fire and had millions of hits on outube overnight! It gives less time for comntemplating in a crisis and demands prompt action. otherwise, things can be blow out of proportion. A careless use of the medium can get the world attacking you in no time. Another danger is the lack of control over the user generated conten being disseminated through blogs, videos, picture sharing or social networking websites. Too much transparency could spin the tide. well, its time for me to wrap up and get ready for the london fashion week. hope you enjoy the my little endeavour Cheers Diksha Related Articles: http://paulseaman.eu/2009/09/theres-no-social-media-revolution/ [...]

By: Keith Childs

Keith Childs — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 07:33:21 +0000

Paul, I fear you have possibly misread my comment. I have responded to you on the comment you left on Neville Hobson’s blog: http://www.nevillehobson.com/2009/09/04/theres-a-social-media-evolution-part-1/

By: Paul Seaman

Paul Seaman — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 09:02:32 +0000

Keith, I fear that you have actually reinforced my point that all corporate utterance is collegiate, not personal. You say, for instance, that at GM Europe personal views are allowed public expression under the GM banner so long as they do not contradict your bosses, your company, or express any views which have nothing to do with GM, or which make points unlikely to be deemed controversial (unless related directly to GM). That is, your freedom of expression is limited by the need for it to align with GM’s viewpoints, for whom you work as paid employees.

But the truth is, GM Europe is blogging and tweeting as if its spokespeople were expressing personal views independent of the corporation. In other words, GM Europe is trying to be matey and involved in the ’social media’ world in an attempt to gain empathy and credibility by disguising the corporate voice as a personal one. This approach is actually a clumsy attempt to promote what is just another marketing exercise.

For sure, the essence of blogging and SM is personal, and that is a distinction (between collegiate and personal) corporates must grasp if they are to intervene in social media forums effectively. Hence, my objective is to identify how to keep the corporate voice authentic and honest, because that is what good reputations depend on for their long-term sustainability.

By: Keith Childs

Keith Childs — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 15:46:33 +0000

Disclosure: I work for GM Europe and the blog Driving Conversations falls under my remit. I’m jumping in here and adding my two cents. This comment is cross-posted on Neville Hobson’s blog:

You quote from the opening post from Chris Preuss, the former Communications VP for GM Europe: ‘Driving Conversations is a blog for GM leadership in Europe—mostly led by Carl-Peter Forster—to discuss products, issues and corporate performance from a personal perspective.’
You add: “But that’s a misleading claim from GM at best; dishonest at worst. Here, the “personal perspective” is a clever way to express the corporate perspective, or Forster would soon be out of a job.”

Rubbish! and that’s my personal perspective and not a corporate answer. Personal does not mean I’m going to mention my religious or political views or even what I think of global warming. Personal does not mean challenging your boss in a public forum. Personal does not require you to express opposing points of view. Some people have very strong views and are very outspoken. Others have a different communication style. It is not misleading nor does it make them dishonest.

By: PR Conversations » From Paul Seaman: defending public relations against social media hype..

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 17:49:27 +0000

[...] if you’ve been following the debate between Neville Hobson and me (if not check it out here and here) am I still pushing [...]

By: Cool stuff – September 7, 2009 — Danny Whatmough.com

Cool stuff – September 7, 2009 — Danny Whatmough.com — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 20:34:30 +0000

[...] than publishers September 6, 2009 Social Media, its decline and the youngsters September 6, 2009 There’s no social media revolution | 21st-century PR issues › Paul Seaman's online review (… September 5, 2009 Search [...]

By: Richard Stacy

Richard Stacy — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 11:09:37 +0000

Why is social media a revolution?

Because it is knocking down a pillar that has supported our societies for 600 years – namely that the power of information dissemination was only available to institutions. Almost every institution, not just the media, is shaped by this principle.

As a result we are creating something totally new – never seen before.

Trust is shifting away from traditional institutions – not to new institutions, but to processes. Most institutions therefore don’t face competition, they face irrelevancy. This is something very diffitult to accept – most journalists can’t, most businesses won’t, even the social media players themselves (Facebook, Twitter et al) can’t really grasp it since they persist in trying to sell themselves as traditional ‘real estate’ media platfroms, rather than utilities or infrastructures.

Here is my argument in pictures http://www.slideshare.net/RichardStacy/the-social-media-revolution-presentation-809948

By: Frontiering Talk » Weekly links (weekly)

Frontiering Talk » Weekly links (weekly) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 21:34:09 +0000

[...] There’s no social media revolution | 21st-century PR issues › Paul Seaman’s online review [...]