tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5285812003538838741.post2625988390241866181..comments2008-10-15T18:56:29.966+01:00Christopher Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10660157291722137172noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5285812003538838741.post-52892724735039610282008-10-15T18:56:00.000+01:002008-10-15T18:56:00.000+01:00Thanks for the post, BA. I think the problem at the moment stems from an overreliance upon the term Web 2.0. Many people realise the value of the term, yet don't fully understand it. Social media is actively pushed upon client organisations by ambitious marketers who perhaps lack practical experience of these applications themselves. Although much can be learned from books and academic material, in my experience, actually creating a presence within the social media is the only way to understand in fully. <BR/><BR/>A problem with this strategy concerns inappropriate marketing advice. It appears to me that blogging and the other social platforms are being almost imposed upon the client organisation. If forced upon the workforce, the social media will fail to represent a transparent conversation with the customer. Under such circumstances, the new media will offer little marketing value to the organisation.The Lovable Rogue also known as Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10660157291722137172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5285812003538838741.post-91676030657817225712008-10-15T03:40:00.000+01:002008-10-15T03:40:00.000+01:00Hi Chris,<BR/>I used to work at PR agencies including Porter/Novelli and Burson-Marsteller. I was just online checking out their blogs and was really surprised. Porter Novelli doesn't have any ongoing blogs (although they did a really cool project run by a half-dozen young staffers) and Burson has at least 8 different blogs but they really were just individual journals -- no real effort for two-way communication, no comments, hardly any links to others. Harold Burson, the founder, shared some really interesting insights, but again, it's not what I consider Web 2.0. On the other hand, these are real smart people and others could benefit from their thoughts. <BR/><BR/>After reviewing their blogs, I was real interested to see your comments and I agree, they need to practice what they preach.Buenos Aireshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03577533556888598816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5285812003538838741.post-24760198393624587312008-10-10T19:53:00.000+01:002008-10-10T19:53:00.000+01:00Andrew, I found the article interesting. It reminded me of a story one of my friends told me recently. He was recently recruiting for a position within his team. Every one of the candidates dropped the term 'Web 2.0' during the interview. After a while, my friend asked one of the candidates what Web 2.0 was; the man didn't have a clue. <BR/><BR/>Web 2.0 and the social media are real buzzwords at the moment. As I mentioned earlier, everyone seems to be throwing the phrase around without truly realising what it is that they are condoning.The Lovable Rogue also known as Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10660157291722137172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5285812003538838741.post-47736801183107622122008-10-10T17:54:00.000+01:002008-10-10T17:54:00.000+01:00Chris - appreciate the comments. As I said in the post, we are by no means perfect ourselves. But I do think the PR sector as a whole does need to properly invest in genuinely understanding a digital approach - and actually applying it in practice. We're already seeing search marketing agencies take a much bigger share of FMCG marketing budgets. And B-to-B and tech markets surely won't be far behind.<BR/><BR/>Andrew Smitheschermanhttp://escherman.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.com