Studies have showed that with new technology being introduced into the society, mass media has been affected from these changes (Moragas, 1990). Overall, social media can push viewers away from old media forms such as newspapers, television, radio and printing press into new media such as personalised news, YouTube, podcasts and blogs (Cassidy, 2017). Since the last global report in January 2015, the number of active social media users has increased in size by 10% or an increase of 219 million people (Kemp, 2016). In regards to twitter, today’s society can use the platform for having personal conversations with friends, strangers, or even possibly getting the attention of their favourite celebrities.
Twitter can also be used by companies and corporations who use the platform to advertise their product as well as communicating with their users. In this strategy critique, we were given the task to choose a social media ‘fail’ and demonstrate our understanding of clearly describing the ‘fail,’ identifying the key factors that may have contributed to the ‘fail,’ and indicating how this situation could have been avoided. For this given task, the social media ‘fail’ that has been chosen is when BlackBerry posted a photo of one of their phones, telling people to keep up with the conversation on Twitter using a BlackBerry. Having said that, the tweet can be seen that it was sent from an iPhone.
On Twitter, BlackBerry has two specific accounts that is connected with the brand. This includes having one for general advertising and communicating with users and the other being a technical support page for BlackBerry users called BlackBerryHelp. Having 4.5million followers on their main Twitter account, BlackBerry (Blackberry, 2017) and 1.5million followers on their BlackBerry technical support page (BlackBerryHelp, 2017), we can assume that the two BlackBerry accounts form a nature of new media from the tools, resources and behaviours which means a high rate of change in social media is possible (Cassidy, 2017b).
Jenkins (2004) states that media convergence as something more than a technological shift and that it alters the relationships between existing industries, markets, technologies and audiences. Technological convergence is a form of media convergence and is the process by which technologies blend together into new forms of media (McGuigan, 2003). This is evident through BlackBerry’s use of their two Twitter accounts as the company uses it as a tool to connect with its users and with any technical support that is needed by anyone.
Twitonomy (2017) shows that the BlackBerry Twitter account tweets at least 5 times a day and since November 2015, they have tweeted almost 3,200 times to this day. Twitonomy (2017) also shows that the technical support account, BlackBerryHelp, tweets close to 25 times a day and from January this year have tweeted 3200 times until now. So it can be seen that BlackBerry use both their accounts to their benefit, but unfortunately it doesn’t always work towards their favour as it was said before about their social media ‘fail’. BlackBerry posted a photo of one of their phones, telling people to keep up with the conversation on Twitter using a BlackBerry but what people noticed is that the tweet can be seen that it was sent from their competitor, an apple iPhone.
This caused a massive embarrassment for BlackBerry and the tweet was deleted as soon as they found out. Unfortunately, before it was deleted, techies grabbed pictures of the embarrassing tweet and caused it to spread as a widespread disaster. From the perception of a consumer, if you were following any Twitter account for the purpose of communicating with that account or staying up to date with announcements, it would be confusing to think that the company would only use their product instead of another product to promote and advertise any new products/services.
Many different factors could have contributed to this social media ‘fail.’ This can range from a simple mistake by BlackBerry employees, a possible hack, or the lack of training and qualifications from the company’s employees. It could have been anything but one little mistake can cause the company to go downhill which in this case, it did for BlackBerry in 2015.
As discussed by Cassidy (2017c), a possible factor of the social media ‘fail’ could have been that companies such as BlackBerry are hiring experienced people who don’t have any training or any qualifications. This is also known as crowdsourcing where Cassidy (2017c) discussed it as people who are exploited to simplify the networked publics which are not trained and possibly even go unpaid during there period. Saying that, companies such as BlackBerry rely on the people that run and manage their social media accounts to help with providing and reporting on activities of followers. However, in this case of the Twitter ‘fail’ by BlackBerry, the person who was managing the account, signed into their Twitter account on their own phone which they may have forgotten and then tweeted something which in this case was tweeted by an iPhone.
Media convergence of all different media platforms and communications hasn’t stopped changing and expanding. Papacharissi (2011) states that new technologies blur the boundaries between mass communication and interpersonal events. So expanding on that factor above, new media can lead to companies such as BlackBerry to fall behind on involving training and research. Overall, a range of factors could have contributed to BlackBerry’s Twitter ‘fail.’ This was narrowed down to one mistake as an employee sent a tweet from their personal phone which was an iPhone. This goes back to lack of training and qualifications.
To minimise the risks of an incident like this Twitter fail happening again, it is suggested that to guarantee when choosing an employee to manage their social media accounts, that a compulsory qualification and training course must be completed. This can than be followed by a brief idea of what they can create. Regardless of their experience, this will be compulsory and will include content such as what should be included in the tweet, the language etc. To ensure this fail not to happen again, employees will be provided with a work phone or laptop that is just used for the company itself. As the media is continuously changing, employees will be updated through email so that they are up to date with everything. By applying these tools, it would guarantee people to be fully aware of what is shared with their followers.
In conclusion, it is evident that applying correct and different social media strategies, reduces the risks of of any social media fails including BlackBerry’s Twitter fail. Reducing these risks will avoid potential damage or embarrassment to the company. As the media is changing and will continue to change, it is important that companies stay up to date with everything that goes on behind the scenes.
References
Cassidy, E. (2017a). “KCB206 Social Media, Self and Society: Week 2 Lectorial Notes.” Accessed June 1, 2017. https://blackboard.qut.edu.au/bbcswebdav/pid-6744803-dt-content-rid-8002274_1/xid-8002274_1
Cassidy, E. (2017b). “KCB206 Social Media, Self and Society: Week 8 Lectorial Notes.” Accessed June 1, 2017. https://blackboard.qut.edu.au/bbcswebdav/pid-6789699-dt-content-rid-8347265_1/xid-8347265_1
Cassidy, E. (2017c). “KCB206 Social Media, Self and Society: Week 8 Lectorial Notes.” Accessed June 1, 2017. https://blackboard.qut.edu.au/bbcswebdav/pid-6757687-dt-content-rid-8068876_1/xid-8068876_1
Jenkins, H. (2004). Accessed April 7, 2017, from The Cultural Logic of Media Convergence. VII, 33-43.
Kemp, S. (2016). “Digital in 2016.” Accessed June 1, 2017. https://wearesocial.com/uk/special-reports/digital-in-2016
McGuigan, B. (2003). “What is Technological Convergence?” Accessed April 7, 2017. http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-technological-convergence.htm
Moragas, M.D. (1990). Accessed June 1, 2017, from New Technology and Changes in the Mass Media. Considerations for Political Scientists
Papacharissi, Z. 2011. Networked Self: Identity, Community, and Culture on Social Network Sites. New York: Routledge
Twitonomy. (2017). BlackBerry: Tweets Analytics. Accessed June 1, 2017. http://www.twitonomy.com/profile.php?sn=blackberry
Twitonomy. (2017). BlackBerryHelp: Tweets Analytics. Accessed June 1, 2017. http://www.twitonomy.com/profile.php?sn=blackberryhelp
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