It was an absolute train wreck. The who’s who of the marketing industry had gathered in a mega-ballroom in an over-priced US desert resort on the outskirts of Phoenix to hear what we all believed would be a life-changing presentation from a well respected marketing mind.
There was only one problem. Twitter!
You see there is usually a social code. When things are not going so well at a conference we generally sit in silence, nod politely, and then bitch AFTER the session when we had some modicum of privacy.
Not anymore! In a desperate attempt to be modern and hip, the conference organiser had set up a live feed from Twitter to screens throughout the hotel for people to share their thoughts as the conference was progressing.
It was an all out ‘Twit’ attack. The speaker was getting roasted on screen for all to see and on the few hundred iPhones that seem to be spread throughout the room.
This was transparency and openness in it most blunt form and I have to admit I was afraid.
Afraid because I was up next, and afraid that I have been crowing about the need for this kind of open dialogue for years.
I mean it is bad enough getting beat-up on this blog - which happens on a weekly basis I can assure you - but to have it happen then and there, in the moment as you work, is a scary prospect indeed. No wonder brand managers continue to try so hard to protect their companies and products from any real feedback. Feedback hurts! ‘Twitbacks’ Kill!
Is all this transparency a good thing? Is it possible for things to be too ‘out in the open’?
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Originally posted August 10, 2009 on the Sydney Morning Herald
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I think people are overly brutal when they have the security of the anonymous comment. But if you can read it with a grain of salt you can gather some truly great customer feedback from these mediums.
ReplyDeleteI think the lack of though that comes with instant communications means that people may actually "say" something they regret and when thought through may change or reconsider thier opinion. The judgemental nature of twittering can be damning and damaging. What about taking a moment to digest an idea or new thought?
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ReplyDeleteMany thanks for your keynote at the SAP BusinessObjects User Conference this week. To
comment on this specific post -- I love the increased "power to the people" aspect.
Transparency is a great thing, and will result in better speakers overall. But I believe that speakers need to be proactive, and start using Twitter to create a dialog with the audience -- to make the "back channel" part of the "front channel". Here are some tools to help people do that: http://sapweb20.com/blog/powerpoint-twitter-tools The idea is that you can see tweets in real time, directly in a PowerPoint presentation, so the presenter isn't the only one in the room who doesn't know what's going on. And there's also the ability to have people vote via twitter, and an "autotweet" option that lets you send out your key points automatically when you get to a particular slide, so you can take part in the conversation...
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