By Kyle McCabe | September 22, 2011
Pissed off ghostwriter
Hiring a ghostwriter can be an attractive approach to social media, if you’re a business owner or marketer with little time on your hands to devote to keeping up with social updates on multiple platforms.
There can be some pitfalls to this approach, however – not the least of which is the perceived in-authenticity of the person who has someone else speak for them.
In the case of Mark Davidson, it would appear this morning that he’s been utilizing several ghost writers for his Twitter account, and one of them was just fired. The problem is this person still has access to Davidson’s account, with amusing results. For example:
And all the funny stuff that @markdavidson wrote, that was all me. The other 2 ghostwriters are really boring. Good luck, bro…
This situation taken on first look, the feeling I get (besides the ache in my gut from laughing) is that Davidson has been a little deceptive – or is it apathetic? While I understand the reason Ghostwriters might be used, knowing it still shifts my perspective to one of caution and distrust regarding this particular person. I have to wonder if this is true for all his followers.
Now I’ll admit, this could be a stunt. It could be fake. Maybe his account was hacked and someone is lying. Maybe he’s just having fun (in that case, well played, Mark). There’s no way to know at this point, but the lesson is clear: be careful when hiring ghostwriters – it could cause more problems than it solves.
What do you think?
By Kyle McCabe | July 7, 2010
A while ago I wrote about the idea of being “transparent” or “authentic” in the social web. My theory is that full transparency is actually over-disclosure (and therefore undesirable), and authenticity just means don’t be fake (rather than meaning “show yourself without any sort of filter,” as the word might imply).
This theory applies to social business (use of social media for an organization) as well.
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Transparency in Business
No single person is obligated to tell anyone anything (outside the legal sphere), but good communication demands a certain level of honesty. …Read more »
By Nancy Marshall | June 10, 2010
Gen Y can't get enough of their social media, cell phones and iPods
[This is a guest post by by Nancy Marshall of Nancy Marshall Communications in Augusta, Maine. It was originally posted on the Alliance of Marketing Communications Agencies blog.]
Recently my 17 year old son Craig attended a meeting of the Alliance of Marketing Communications Agencies with me and gave a presentation on “Marketing to Gen Y” to our group of advertising and PR agency owners from across the country. Since Craig’s generation is larger than the Baby Boomer generation (Generation Y is estimated at 77 million people—several million more than the Boomer generation), marketers need to start focusing on this generation. The consumer clout they wield is extremely powerful. In order to market to them effectively, I thought I would share some of his points with you.
First, some facts about his generation:
- Born from approximately 1982 to 2001
- Grew up in a technological revolution
- To reach them, new creative strategies will be required
- With more technology, they will be able to easily avoid advertisements …Read more »
By Kyle McCabe | October 20, 2009
Is full transparency really a good idea?
Almost every “how-to” or list of tips on using social media includes some kind of advice on being authentic or transparent. I’m not convinced we all agree on what things like transparency and authenticity mean in this context.
Transparency
No one is really serious about full transparency. Full transparency would entail communication of every detail of your life. I don’t know about you, but I’m not too keen on the idea I should tell you when I use the bathroom or what my email password is. If I update a social app with the fact that I’ve left work, I don’t think I’m obligated to tell you where I’m going. Or who I’m meeting. Or what kind of drugs I’m buying. What?
Yes, the truth is there’s stuff I don’t want you to know about. Stuff you *shouldn’t* know. Not drugs, exactly – I’ve been clean for at least a few weeks. The point is “transparency” is sort of a misnomer – no one really means it. Translucent? The reality is probably more opaque. …Read more »
