Social Media Doesn’t Get Swine Flu

by Jon on 2009/04/28

in blogging, social media

Arlanda. Very quiet on the social media front.

Arlanda. Very quiet on the social media front.

I went out to Arlanda yesterday to pick a relative up from the airport. What with all the stories of Swine Flu on the news, it occurred to me that the airport was about the most dangerous place I could be going. Especially as I was going to Terminal 5 which handles a lot of the long haul passengers.

Admittedly, I’m not that concerned by the risks –yet. But it I figured it would have been nice to check the airport’s opinion on the matter. So I surfed over to www.arlanda.se to see if there was any news; or any recommendations. Hell, just a couple of words to assure me that the airport was doing everything it could to maximise health and safety.

But they didn’t.

In fact, the latest news section of the website was more concerned with promoting a photo competition.

Where’s the Social Media Response?

Now this is where blogging could really earn you brownie points. Or micro-blogging on Twitter. What would it have taken for someone at Stockholm airport this morning (or over the weekend) to have logged into WordPress or Movable Type and bashed out a quick post on Swine Flu? They could have then tweeted it so social media junkies like myself would have found it on Twitter.

Instead all I get is slilence. And a bit of frustration on my part

Businesses Haven’t Truly Taken to Blogging

For all the talk in the media of blogging crossing into the business sector and going mainstream I’m not seeing much genuinely useful work going on. Sure, I can find product promotions and tips to get the best out of my MacBook. But not really helpful stuff. Well, not everything I would expect to find.

I don’t think it’s a lack of resources or even about not understanding the technology. It’s just that the mindset of a lot of companies hasn’t changed yet. We’re not used to talking to customers through the digital channels that have emerged in recent years.

Yes, Oprah using Twitter might filter through to news desks around the world including Stockholm so there’s a short notice about it in the morning paper. But companies aren’t out there en masse talking to people on Twitter yet. Not really.

All this leaves me wondering: what can we do to get businesses to change their mindset. Is it really going to take a generation shift ? That people who’ve grown up using social media will eventually get into managerial positions?

Or is the change going to come from some other source?

Image: FlickrCC

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Jon Buscall - Communications Consultant

Communications Consultant Jon Buscall

I'm an available-for-hire online communications consultant based out of Stockholm, Sweden.

What I do:
  • Online Marketing and Communications Strategy
  • Speaking
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  • Write stuff: articles, blogs, brochures, copywriting, presentations, the works!

Contact me today to set up a free consultation to discuss how I can help your business succeed online.

  • Jon
    Correcting opinions! That's true. I've had that. I'm not so keen on it though.
  • Regarding swine flu - your drive to the airport was probably riskier than standing in the airport for hours...

    The best use i've seen of social media by business is to correct peoples opinions. Never before have companies been able to search millions of peoples opinions and interact 1-to-1 to correct them. I've had this happen twice to me now, where a company has offered an explanation or unsolicited technical support to turn my "bad tweet" into a "good tweet".
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