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COVER STORY
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embracing things like Twitter, many of these tools are largely and his or her personality, willingness, ability and enthusiasm to
unknown and unused outside what I call the PR tech bubble of get involved in this channel.
early adopters.” “There are a couple of instances of this already — most in the
But is Twitter just another bubble phenomenon? It is still some- US of course — where individuals from companies are using tools
what niche, and there have been grumblings from users on the net like Twitter to engage in conversations with people about their cus-
as people begin to feel ‘too connected’. The Twitter network has tomer service and respond to complaints. All those tweets show
also recently experienced a fair amount of downtime, as it strug- up on Google searches, so it is another means to connect with
gles to manage its growing community. “I think something will pro- people.
vide the tipping point that propels it into the mainstream, but I’m “Of course these conversations leave no room for anything other
not sure what that’s going to be yet,” says Hobson. “Or it could than utter transparency. The individuals who are out there convers-
remain quite niche. I think the former though.” ing on these social networks are clearly identifying themselves as
Qik (pronounced ‘quick’) video is a start-up that enables you to such and such a person from such and such a company.”
broadcast video live as it happens, from certain types of Nokia But then transparency is the key. Edelman’s failure to grasp this
phone. “That literally means the mobile phone is a TV station, and in the early days [in 2006 it created an ill-judged phoney blog for
if I have access to a network or a Wi-Fi connection I can broad- one of its clients Wal-Mart] has gone down in PR history. It has
cast my video to the world,” says Hobson. “All these tools have been a steep learning curve for communications professionals,
their places. They again present other challenges to the traditional and not everyone has learnt their lesson.
communicator. At your press event, for instance, you are no longer “One of the speakers today said that, at some point, the direc-
concerned about someone there having a recording device; now tor of communications is going to have to tell a lie when there’s a
it’s about someone with a small camera who is broadcasting what crisis developing,” says Neville. “I disagree very fundamentally with
you are saying — live — outside of your controlled environment. that. Yes, I understand it has happened in the past, and that if
“These are the things that prove technology is empowering the you’re the communicator, and if what you are saying is based on
individual, but they are chipping away at the barriers our profession untruths, then you will. But that has nothing to do with communi-
traditionally puts up. We have always put out the messages and cation. That has to do with organisational structure and the trust
controlled the timing. All that is disappearing, and people outside within your organisation.”
that are now in charge. If you don’t join in, you’ve lost control
entirely.”
Whodunnit?
Whatever the technologies, the fact is that we are living in an
Admitting your mistakes is also an effective method in this new
age when the equivalent of the ‘water-cooler conversation’ is hap-
media world, says Hobson, pointing to the recent Aer Lingus con-
pening every day online, except amplified around the world. So
troversy over the €5 seats, where this was ultimately the strat-
what do you do if everyone is twittering and blogging about your
egy. “Putting your hand up and admitting you’ve made a mistake
brand, without you as the mediator?
can do you a lot of good, particularly in the social methodology
“Well if I were the brand manager of a company, or the brand
through which we’re communicating today. Most of these new
guardian, I’d be getting involved in the conversation,” says
networks of social communication are all to do with authenticity
Hobson. “Among other things, this comes down to the individual
and honesty.
May/June ‘08 Marketing Age 23
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