A recent statement by a panellist during a Networx discussion about PR and The Art of Spin, has made me question whether a conversation online would be the same as two blokes talking at a pub about a brand or product.
At first I agreed with Tom, he’s the expert right? Wrong! (sorry Tom) The more I thought about it, the stronger my opinion became on how different the two scenarios are.
So scenario one: two guys are talking face to face about a beer. Whether they love it or hate it, worst case is the two guys decide they both hate the beer completely. More damage could occur if the blokes continued the negative conversation with their wider community of beer drinks of around 30 friends.
It’s unlikely the same conversation will happen online. The responses won’t be as quick or instant. Responses could be skewed as they’ll appear in a public forum. The direction of the discussion can change by others jumping in and commenting.
Should it be on Facebook or Twitter, the conversation can go viral by friends and followers sharing with their friends and followers. Once said, it’s written for the world to see and will stick around for a while unless deleted. Either way, a conversation online is likely to be different and definitely be more damaging to a brand.
What’s your thoughts – is a conversation online the same as two guys chatting in a pub?
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Not sure, let’s discuss it further in person…
Let’s! Just name the pub
I agree. It’s more like two people in a crowded pub, holding a conversation from one end of the bar to the other, with everybody else hearing it, and some chiming-in.
The “two blokes in a pub”, on the other hand, are in a private conversation. What you say and how you say it is very different, and it is regulated only by what you think the other person will think, not what anybody else potentially will think. And what-I-think-someone-will-think-about-what-I-say tends to be the single biggest factor governing what people say, and how they say it.