You might see this video at the next industry conference you attend—but I sure hope you don't.
Why?
Because this kind of video, titled "Social Media Revolution," is bait for hackneyed social media consultants. It’s about four minutes long and it’s packed with stats about the reach and power of social media. Oh, and the soundtrack is provided by Fatboy Slim. Moby or the Chemical Brothers would have also worked.
I think you’re supposed to walk away from this video with a strong recollection of The Matrix, muttering something about blue pills and red pills and that now that you’ve seen the power of social media you can’t close your eyes ever again.
Makes me want to puke.
Sure, some of these statistics are interesting (maybe even useful), but can we put a moratorium on the Web videos that feature late 19th, early 21st century dance music set over conflated stats about social media?
They’ve been done before, much better than this one, as part of the “Did you know” series of Web videos. The last of these videos, which is about a year old, has notched more than 6 million views.
Social Media Revolution has about 45,000 views. It’s two weeks old.
Maybe the worst part of this video is the message. It's stale. "Social media is not a fad," the video proclaims. Yeah, we get it. I don’t think anyone is arguing with you.
Now I wish I could take the blue pill and forget I ever watched it.
Sorry for exposing it to you. Let's hope it doesn't turn up in any conference presentations.
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Comments (7)
It is the real important thing is Living in Now and being happy everyday.
Posted by TrueReligion jeans | February 14, 2011 2:32 AM
Posted on February 14, 2011 02:32
Hi,
I think we are spending too much time on discussing a video that 1)yes, it proves a point that is too obvious to some people and 2)it proves to people that are still questioning the value of social media that they should pay attention. It's not much different than all webinars on social media that spend the first 10 min explaining how popular social media is. For those of us looking for twitter 103 and facebook 301, all I have to say is: If you can't find it, then create it.
Stats are stats and if someone can show me the stats in 4 min, great. As far as the music goes, I quite like it. I'm not sure they can use it legally but that's a different story.
Posted by Milena Regos | August 24, 2009 12:30 PM
Posted on August 24, 2009 12:30
I think that many of you are missing the point that many managers are just now discovering that social media is here to stay. My company's managers arrived at this decision this month even though a select group of us have been pitching ideas for more than two years. Yes, this video is bad. Yes, the facts are "Duh" facts to most of us paying attention. But let's face it, in most organizations out there the people in charge are not paying attention. So this kind of video can and does serve a purpose. It wakes people up who are still asleep. And there are a lot of them still out there.
Posted by Andrew | August 20, 2009 9:20 AM
Posted on August 20, 2009 09:20
The problem with these videos is that they play up statistics that, under non-Photoshopped, Fatboy-Slim'd circumstances (is there a rule about using that song in these things?), would probably make you say "Duh."
It's no revelation that there are lot of people on Facebook. The fact that the Baby Boomer generation is shrinking does not make social media compelling. These are statistics that have either been pretty well covered in the media and by worldwide societal adoption(social media) or should be pretty evident given the natural course of human mortality (older generations get smaller as the people in them die).
The video might as well proclaim, "Did you know...that 1 in 5 Belgians has NEVER eaten a waffle? (RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW)"
(An aside: The video plays up the fact that Gen Y will be bigger than the Baby Boomer gen. next year, and then it plays up the fact that female Boomers are the fastest-growing segment on Facebook. So what's the message between those two stats? Gen Y'ers will soon outnumber those pesky, unconnected Boomers? Or Boomers will soon dominate Facebook?)
I appreciate that many managers need to be sold on the business value of social media (it's part of my job, too), but you'd have to be living in a hollowed-out log in the Yukon to think that social media was a weird fad before seeing this video.
Posted by Dave Hebert | August 19, 2009 2:45 PM
Posted on August 19, 2009 14:45
Thank goodness some one else said this. I've seen similar styles used by managers trying to jazz up their presentations while alluding to the fact that, "ya i was once cool too" - it's like The Office.
In all fairness you could put some stats about gardening and the threat of the greenfly, stick it to the same music and it would have the similar effect - lazy and boring!
By the way i'm a social media fan but that's just poor.
Posted by Shane | August 19, 2009 9:51 AM
Posted on August 19, 2009 09:51
I agree with Tanya. Though the music is awful and though the use of stats is prevalent throughout this video, there are still some ways that this video can be used.
We have a committee that searches for ways to better recruit and retain employees. They have been resistant to social media and often look only to statistics and old-school marketing approaches. A video like this can be very effective in showing them where social media can reach new audiences and potential employees.
I don't like the music, either, but I can easily turn that down and get good use with the right audience.
Posted by Rich Palmer | August 19, 2009 9:45 AM
Posted on August 19, 2009 09:45
Michael, while I agree with almost all of your comments on the video, I work in a market (Singapore) where the concept of leveraging social media for business comms purposes IS still relatively new to many of our clients, and the fact is that many of them still do require convincing. A video like this can still have impact. It simplifies and excites (although I agree there are much better ones) and is something most of my clients will never have come across or considered at length. SO, all that to say OK, I get it, and I get you, BUT, for some of us out there this kind of thing can still be used without fear off clients or colleagues. Tanya
Posted by Tanya | August 19, 2009 2:34 AM
Posted on August 19, 2009 02:34