If you’re not truly plugged in to social media, you’re missing more than half the fun. There’s nothing better than the full-on rants that happen via Twitter, Facebook and blogs while a nationally televised event gone wrong or PR snafu unfolds.
Last week’s Kenneth Cole tweet made mainstream news, so even if you’re not a Twitter user, you probably know about it, but found out much later than a good 12-20 percent of the population.
It has gotten so integrated for me that it is my strong preference to have Tweetdeck open and flying during something like the Superbowl (Inauguration, State of the Union and any disaster reporting have also been memorable moments in the twitterverse). All Sunday, Twitter helped fuel excitement for the game (and who am I kidding: the commercials).
A reported 4.5 million tweets were generated by the Superbowl.
The fast and furious response to that nightmare of a halftime show and Christina Aguilera’s goof in the national anthem were hot topics, rather than tweets about the game itself.
Marketing, advertising and PR folks were on fire about the tasteless Groupon ad. I missed the commercial when it aired but quickly saw that something was up via my Twitter feed. Many of those I follow unsubscribed from the service in the middle of the game, which may teach Groupon, a company whose backbone is social networks, the ultimate lesson.
If you’re still unsure about the power of social media and think it has nothing to do with you and the world around you, I encourage you to experience the next national event with one eye on the Web; there are layers you are missing and some great additional content that will make you better informed faster and often, with much more entertainment than a Superbowl halftime show has to offer.
I believe the guys at Groupon were trying to get some extra media attention to their commercial and brand. That’s why, perhaps, they attempted to do a controversial pice that would be shown around everywhere. The move clearly backfired, since the commercial wasn’t even fun, or smart. It didn’t even create awareness on the situation in Tibet. It just pissed people off. I read a very good analysis on this on this blog: http://bit.ly/glJWR4
I wonder, though, where to draw the line. I admit that I love my FB and I like Twitter, and I certainly find out information from both sources long before the evening news or newspapers (do people even still use such dinosaurs of information?). Still – I was at a Super Bowl party last night with people I wanted to hang out with and spend time with in real life, and was more than a little annoyed by one person who was on her phone CONSTANTLY while we were hanging out. I mean, it’s one thing if you’re sitting in your living room alone watching the game, but when you’re hanging out with 6-8 people you know and like, chatting and bantering and having actual face time, am I wrong to be really annoyed by the person in the corner not engaged with anyone else, just reading FB and Twitter all night?
I totally agree – when you’re with others, be with them. I certainly would never do that at a party!